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Reason For Hope
To reflect – and to remember.
As we embrace the joy of this Easter Season, we think back to Good Friday, remembering that God did not abandon His beloved Son, but raised Him from death to glory.
So too for us, in the midst of our own darkness – our personal sufferings, times of fear, uncertainty and pain – God will not abandon any of us.
Bringing people in touch with the reason for all our hope – the Person of Jesus Christ – is the heart of the Church’s mission. The Catholic Church in mission countries is indeed often the only source of hope and help for the poorest and most vulnerable of our brothers and sisters half a world away. Through their work and witness, local priests, religious and lay catechists reflect this hope-filled Good News in a world of need.
During this Easter Season, we ask you to reflect on the Reason for Hope – our Risen Lord – as you remember the call first heard at Baptism, to be missionaries of the Risen Lord to the world, by your prayers and your help!
Pope Francis and the Hope of Easter
In proclaiming the profound news of the joy of the Risen Christ at Easter, Pope Francis expressed his desire that this message would “enter every heart,” because it is it here that “God wants to sow this Good News: Jesus is risen, there is hope for you, you are no longer in the power of sin, of evil! Love has triumphed, mercy has been victorious!”
In his First Easter Sunday message, the Holy Father called upon all the faithful to live in the “grace of Christ’s Resurrection” and to bring Christ’s message of hope, love and mercy to all people especially those who are poor and suffering.
“Let us be renewed by God’s mercy, let us be loved by Jesus, let us enable the power of his love to transform our lives too; and let us become agents of this mercy, channels through which God can water the earth, protect all creation and make justice and peace flourish,” the Pope Francis said.
Pope Francis’ Easter prayer concluded with a fervent plea to all mankind to become instruments of Christ’s peace particularly in those parts of Arica, Asia and the Middle East suffering from violent conflict. The Pope called for: “Peace in the whole world, still divided by greed looking for easy gain, wounded by the selfishness which threatens human life and the family, selfishness that continues in human trafficking, the most extensive form of slavery in this twenty-first century. Peace to the whole world, torn apart by violence linked to drug trafficking and by the iniquitous exploitation of natural resources! Peace to this our Earth! Made the risen Jesus bring comfort to the victims of natural disasters and make us responsible guardians of creation.”
Click here to read the full text of the Holy Father’s message for Easter 2013
Lessons on the Holy Spirit from Pope Francis
Pope Francis, at his General Audience on May 15, 2013, continued his weekly catechesis, guiding us and teaching us in this Year of Faith.
This week’s continued focus as we approached the Solemnity of Pentecost was on the person and work of the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus calls “the Spirit of Truth” (cf. Jn 16:13) The Holy Spirit carries out the action within each of us and in guiding the Church.
Pope Francis explained that the Holy Spirit, as Jesus promised, “‘guides us to all truth.’ He guides us not only to the encounter with Jesus, the fullness of Truth, but He guides us ‘within’ Truth, that is, makes us to enter into an ever deeper communion with Jesus, giving us knowledge of the things of God… The Church’s tradition affirms that the Spirit of truth acts in our hearts, arousing that ‘sense of the faith’ (sensus fidei) through which, as Vatican Council II states, the People of God, under the guidance of the Magisterium, unfailingly adheres to the faith that is bequeathed, deepening it with right judgment and applying it more fully in their lives.”
Pope Francis stressed, “This is a prayer that we need to say every day: ‘Holy Spirit, make my heart open to God’s Word so that my heart might be open to good, so that my heart might be open to God’s beauty every day.’”
The Holy Father concluded, “Let me make this proposition to you: let us call upon the Holy Spirit every day so that He will bring us closer to Jesus Christ.”
Questions for reflection taken directly from the Pope’s catechesis:
- What is truth? (Jesus is the face of truth, which is the face of God - an encounter with a Person.)
- Who can make us recognize that Jesus is ‘the’ Word of truth, the only begotten Son of God the Father? (The Holy Spirit, the ‘Paraclete’ who comes to our assistance)
- What then is the Holy Spirit’s action? (He recalls and seals Jesus’ words of God’s law upon believers’ hearts – becoming the principle of our judgment, our choices, and our guidance in everyday actions – the principle of life.)
- Am I open to the Holy Spirit’s action? Do I pray for Him to give me light, to make me more sensitive to the things of God?
- Am I truly open, like the Virgin Mary (reliving her ‘yes’), to the power of the Holy Spirit? Reflect.
- How many of you pray to the Holy Spirit every day? (We can pray every day to the Holy Spirit that He might open our hearts to Jesus.)
- In this Year of Faith, have we concretely taken some steps to know Christ and the truth of faith more?
- What steps are we taking so that faith might guide our entire existence, so that we are not ‘part time’ Christians?
Pope Francis, at his General Audience on May 8, 2013, began his catechesis on the third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, very timely as Pope Francis explained, “Eastertide, which culminates with the Solemnity of Pentecost when the Church relives the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, is the perfect time of the Holy Spirit.”
The Holy Father tells us, “In the Creed, we profess with faith: ‘I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord the giver of life.’ The first truth that we adhere to in the Creed is that the Holy Spirit is ‘Kyrios,’ that is, Lord. This means that He is truly God as are the Father and the Son... but I want to mainly focus on the fact that the Holy Spirit is the inexhaustible source of God’s life in us.”
Pope Francis explained that Jesus has come to give us the living water that is the Holy Spirit that purifies, renews and transforms us - and that our lives, which we desire to be full and beautiful - might be guided by God.
The Holy Father teaches, “Even now the Holy Spirit invites us to see all things with the eyes of Christ, to recognize God’s immense love for us, and to share that love with all our brothers and sisters.”
Questions for reflection taken directly from the Pope’s catechesis:
- What does “Kyrios” mean? (Lord) What does it mean to you that the Holy Spirit is truly God (as are the Father and the Son) and that the Holy Spirit is the source of God’s life in us? Reflect.
- What are the fruits of the Spirit? (Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control) How can you use the fruits of the Holy Spirit, given to us by Jesus “so that our lives might be guided by God,” in aspects of your daily life?
- Why does the living water that is the Holy Spirit quench the thirst of our lives? (Because He tells us that we are loved by God as children, that we can love God as his children, and that, with his grace, we can live as children of God, as Jesus does.)
On that Wednesday, May 8 – the birthday of Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen – our National Director Father Andrew Small, OMI, in Rome to begin discussions with other National Directors about distributing support to the Missions, was blessed to meet our chief missionary, Pope Francis, during that General Audience!
Venerable Archbishop Sheen and Easter: Hope for the Poor
Wrote Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen in MISSION magazine in March-April 1957, “Stores in America are having a hard time thinking up Easter presents ‘for people who have everything’: They wouldn’t have so much trouble finding something suitable for this Chinese mother and child. She needs everything: food, clothing shelter, love. Why not put her on your Easter list – she’s so easy to shop for.”
Even today, Archbishop Sheen’s words ring true as we remember our reason for hope and try to extend that hope to the poor half a world away.
Venerable Archbishop Sheen and Easter: Questions & Answers
“The Cross had asked the questions; the Resurrection had answered them.... The Cross had asked: “Why does God permit evil and sin to nail Justice to a tree?” The Resurrection answered: “That sin, having done its worst, might exhaust itself and thus be overcome by Love that is stronger than either sin or death.”
“Thus there emerges the Easter lesson that the power of evil and the chaos of any one moment can be defied and conquered, for the basis of our hope is not in any construct of human power but in the power of God, who has given to the evil of this earth its one mortal wound – an open tomb, a gaping sepulcher, an empty grave.”
Venerable Archbishop Sheen and Easter: Hope in the Risen Jesus
On Easter Sunday in 1951, then Monsignor Fulton Sheen delivered his Catholic Hour radio program, challenging his listeners not to be like the “friends of our Lord” who were “too pessimistic and despairing.”
“Well indeed may Our Lord say on this Easter Day to his friends: Why are you troubled in heart, despairing and cast down? … Have we lost the Christian virtue of hope?” And our hope, then Monsignor Sheen emphasizes comes from the knowledge that we will never be separated from the love of Jesus.
Soon after his election as our new Holy Father, first missionary of the Church, Pope Francis spoke also on this subject, “Let us never yield to pessimism…or discouragement: let us be quite certain that the Holy Spirit bestows upon the Church, with his powerful breath, the courage to persevere and also to seek new methods of evangelization, so as to bring to Gospel to the uttermost ends of the earth (cf. Acts 1:8).”
Ending his radio broadcast for that Easter Sunday more than six decades ago, Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen signed off as he always did: “Pray for missionaries.” Pray, in essence, for those who then and today continue to remind the lost and forgotten that they are not abandoned, but loved by the Lord who suffered, died and rose for each and every one of us!
Venerable Archbishop Sheen, the Holy Hour and the Holy Spirit
“On the day of my ordination, I made two resolutions,” wrote Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen in his autobiography, Treasure in Clay. The first resolution was to offer the Holy Eucharist every Saturday in honor of the Blessed Mother “to solicit her protection on my priesthood.”
His second resolution – to spend a continuous Holy Hour every day in the presence of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.
“The Holy Hour,” he wrote, “became like an oxygen tank to revive the breath of the Holy Spirit in the midst of the… atmosphere of the world...”
In this week before Pentecost, perhaps the World Mission Rosary, offered in prayer before our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, would revive the Spirit’s actions and gifts in our own lives, for our own missionary witness.
Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen and the Holy Spirit
“They who have not the Spirit call him ‘a great man,’ ‘a teacher,’ ‘a master’; but to see Him as the Lord of heaven and earth, as the Son of the Living God, comes only through the Holy Spirit.”
-Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, from The Priest is Not His Own
Unimaginable Joy
“You can’t imagine my joy in knowing that you are ready to help me care for all these children in need,” wrote one missionary Sister in a letter to the Missionary Childhood Association. “The children too are most grateful to all those who pray and sacrifice for them.”
Sister Rosalind works in a small village in Thies, Senegal – a place she describes as “in the middle of nowhere – with no roads but many paths.” During the rainy season, the roads become pitted with deep holes which make walking or driving extremely dangerous.
At that center, there are two medical clinics, a support program for women and children, and day care for the youngest in the village.
Through the program for women and children, new mothers receive instruction about how to care for their newborns. These babies are carefully monitored to ensure that they do not become malnourished. The Sisters also distribute vitamins and milk to those in need.
At the medical clinic, adults and children are treated for illnesses ranging from malaria to diabetes to leprosy.
Children in day care are not only taught how to read, write and speak French, but also learn about the “Good News” of Jesus. They come to share and care for one another – just as Jesus loved us; they also pray and sing hymns. Above all, they learn of the Reason for all our hope – Jesus Himself – and their joy, like ours, is abundant!
A little boy receives a check up.
Students at the day care center learn reading and writing – and about Jesus!
Hope in Action: Focus on the Forgotten
The missionary Church has a long tradition of service to persons with leprosy, also known as Hansen’s Disease. Often abandoned, those suffering from the illness receive medical care and rehabilitation at church-run facilities throughout the Missions. Above all, however, they are offered the love and hope of Jesus Christ by those who care for them.
Today, the Catholic Church runs 547 leprosy centers in the world, most of them in Asia. One of these centers is located in Thai Binh, a village about 200 miles north of Hanoi in Vietnam. The Van Mon Dermatological Hospital is run by a local priest, Father Martin Mai, in collaboration with Franciscan missionaries.
Many of the residents of Van Mon contracted leprosy when they were children and were taken to the center where they have spent their entire life with no contact from their families. But they have found a new mission family – the seminarians and student friars who visit and spend time working in the hospital, a presence of the Lord’s own loving heart. These seminarians and student friars also visit with families in the nearby village, teaching the children, working in the gardens, celebrating Mass and walking with the poor in their daily lives.
Easter Resources
Hope in God's Word
May 19, 2013
Pentecost Sunday
Link to Readings
The coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost made it possible for the Apostles to take the life-changing message of Jesus out into the world. The Paraclete empowered them with the courage and understanding to use their spiritual gifts for the good of others. “No one can say ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit. There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit... To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit” (1 Corinthians 12:3-4, 7).
God’s love flourishes in us when we open ourselves to the grace of the Holy Spirit. But this love is more than a feeling. It is a choice to extend God’s mercy to all. This love must be constructively shared with all people everywhere. We need to willingly invite the Holy Spirit to use our everyday words and actions as channels of grace for the welfare of others.
Suggested missionary action: Today, on the birthday of the Church’s mission, we have the opportunity to give thanks for the gift of the Holy Spirit in our lives – and to pray for the Spirit to guide missionaries in every corner of the globe, as we pledge to support their efforts, as we are able.
“Reason for Hope”: Easter and the Missions. Learn more at this special website.
A ‘Fan’ for Jesus!
As spring draws near, some students’ thoughts turn to baseball. Use that opportunity to help remind students of the need to be a “fan” for Jesus – as they tell others about His “Good News” all year long. The reminder – a pennant, complete with Bible verse.
- All Grades
- Materials (for each student): Bible or list of Bible verses you have prepared ahead of time (see samples below), A piece of ribbon ¾-inch to one-inch wide by 12 ¾ - inches long, one piece of white felt 12 ¾ -inches wide by 31- inches long, multicolored markers
Prepare: Before class, cut a piece of felt into a pennant shape, 12 ¾-inches wide by 31-inches long for each child in class.* Glue or staple the ribbon onto the felt at the wide end.
Do: Ask the children to select their favorite missionary verse from the Bible and write it on the pennant. (Sample verses are below, to start the discussion as needed.) Encourage children to customize their pennant by using favorite team colors, the colors of their rooms at home, even the colors from the World Mission Rosary (www.WorldMissionRosary.org) which remind them of the areas of the world where missionaries tell the poor the “Good News” of Jesus.
*Older students can cut and create their own pennants.
Sample Bible Verses
- Isaiah 6:8
- Matthew 28:19
- Mark 1:38-39
- Mark 16:15
- Luke 10:2
- Luke 24:47-48
- John 20:21
- Acts 1:8
- Romans 10:15
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