Happy New Year 2025
Happy Feast: Mary, Mother of God
Happy New Year: 2025
First, let us thank God for this new year. God has blessed us abundantly, and we remain grateful to him. We also entrust ourselves to Mary, Mother of God, as we enter the door of 2025 as pilgrims of hope.
Mary, Mother of God, pray for us.
Inspiring story From St. Francis de Sales on hope
Francis de Sales, a young college student in 16th-century France, was consumed by hopelessness as he grappled with the daunting idea of predestination. The Protestant notion that God might have predetermined his eternal fate, possibly condemning him to hell, filled him with despair. For months, Francis endured a profound spiritual crisis, often referred to as the "darkness of the soul." His faith was shaken, and he was tempted to abandon all hope. One fateful day, Francis entered a church dedicated to Our Lady of Good Deliverance, seeking solace. Kneeling before a statue of the Virgin Mary, he prayed the Memorare, a powerful prayer seeking her intercession:
"Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection or implored your help was left unaided…"
As Francis prayed, a profound transformation took place within him. His despair lifted, replaced by an overwhelming sense of joy and hope. This marked the beginning of his journey toward spiritual conversion, ultimately leading him to become a revered saint and Doctor of the Church.
Hope
God gave us hope through Jesus. Jesus gave hope through Mother Mary as he said St. John, “Behold your mother.”
Hope in Our Life: Psycho-Spiritual Outlook
Hope is a rudimentary virtue of life. Eric Erickson a development psychologist speaks about children born into this world. A child enters into a relationship with the social world. First child meet……, Resolution comes through the strong relationship the child has with mother or caregiver.
Year of Hope – 2025 by Pope Francis
SPES NON CONFUNDIT. “Hope does not disappoint” (Rom 5:3-5).
“3 More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,
4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,
5 and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us.”
St. Paul does not tell us there will be no more darkness, suffering or anxiety. He only tells that amidst these negative elements, hope does not disappoint. Therefore, rejoice, not reject the suffering for …,
Ø Hope dwells as the desire and expectation of good things to come, despite our not knowing what the future may bring. Hope because hope does not disappoint you. Because, he says, hope is born of love and based on the love springing from the pierced heart of Jesus upon the cross.
Ø Holy Spirit will illumine the light of hope. It means that nothing can separate you from the love of God.
Ø Hope is found on faith, nurtured by charity, it makes you move forward in life. As Saint Augustine observes: “Whatever our state of life, we cannot live without these three dispositions of the soul, namely, to believe, to hope and to love”.
Ø Hope is lived through patience.
Ø Hope is to look for peace.
Ø Hope is to show mercy.
Fr. Raja MSFS