Stewardship 2025: Crossing with Hope Into Relationship

Crossing with Hope into Relationship is a call to be in right relationship with God, the Earth, and our fellow human family. We make decisions that affect the planet and each other, sometimes without recognizing the impact we have. Our relationship with God influences how we think and act. If we are close to God, we will be on the path of love and care for God’s creation  and remain hopeful that the Kingdom of God is near.

Let us start by looking at the relationships in our lives to see if a need for reconciliation is necessary. Let us cross with hope to make peace with one another, not knowing what the outcome might be.

Let us cross into the confessional. We all need the Sacrament of Reconciliation so to feel God’s mercy and be able to forgive others.

Let us think about the poor and perhaps literally cross into a place to help someone or stand in solidarity. Pope Frances said, “May the Christian community always be prepared to defend the rights of those who are most vulnerable, opening wide its doors to welcome them, lest anyone ever be robbed of the hope of a better future.” And as Jesus said, “I was a stranger and you welcomed me [for] just as you did it for one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did it to me. (Matt 25:35, 40)”

Let us cross onto the path of the elderly who frequently feel lonely and abandoned and deserve signs of hope. We are blessed by their life experiences, accumulated wisdom and the contribution that they can still make, which strengthen the covenant between generations.

Let us change our lives to be better stewards of the Earth. We may need to cross to a new way of thinking and make changes in the way we live to keep God’s Earth intact for the generations to come.

The cross is an amazing symbol of hope and strength for Christians. We need only be willing to journey towards it and know that Jesus is with us the entire way. As we cross with hope through our witness may hope spread to all those who anxiously seek it. May the way we live our lives say to them in so many words: “Hope in the Lord! Hold firm, take heart and hope in the Lord! (Ps 27:14)”

May the power of hope fill our days, as we await with confidence the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and glory, now and forever.