Advent 2024: Believe in Hope
As we begin the new liturgical year next week, we enter not only into Advent but also into Pope Francis’s Jubilee 2025: Pilgrims of Hope. He invites us to “fan the flame of hope that has been given us and help everyone to gain new strength and certainty by looking to the future with an open spirit, a trusting heart, and far-sighted vision.”
At Good Shepherd, we are building our Advent, Lent, and Easter seasons around these tenets. During Advent, we “Believe in Hope” with an open spirit, looking forward to the coming of Jesus at Christmas.
We carry that spirit with us into Lent, where we “Trust in Hope” with our whole hearts in anticipation of the Resurrection and eternal life. During Easter, we strive to “Live in Hope” with belief and trust in the enduring promise of God’s love.
When you arrive for Mass next weekend, you’ll find an atmosphere inside church that is meant to facilitate quiet contemplation with low lights and quiet voices. We encourage you to come early to pray and reflect on the season before beginning Mass with an anthem of hope, Pepper Choplin’s “We Are Not Alone.”
With the end of the year and the dawn of Advent comes the reminder that even from a dark and ominous present, a hope-filled future may emerge. Rather than focusing on the fear and dread of the end of times, let us feel encouraged and empowered to begin this liturgical year with hope and faith in Jesus.
Believe in Hope.
~Alicia Levin, Music Coordinator & Judy Zunk, Liturgy Coordinator