A NEW YEAR - A CALL T0 LIGHT THE WORLD WITH PEACE AND HOPE

By Sr. Brenda Walsh, Racine Dominican

As we celebrate the New Year, it is a good time to reflect on the needs of our communities, nation and world. We find that they are often marred by violence, war, hunger, disease and other ills. This leaves us with a daunting challenge to bring hope and healing in a divided and hurting world. Some time ago, Fr. Brian Massingale, Prof. of Theology at Marquette University, reminded us that hope must be the center of our lives. That does not mean that everything will go as we had hoped or planned. It offers us the assurance that no matter how things work out, God can work through all the events of our lives. They can be turned into new possibilities and opportunities for new life and growth.

When I think of this, I am reminded of the life of an 83 year old African American woman that I served in the past. She was a person who experienced great hardships and setbacks. She said that when she wakes up every morning she says to her God: “Loving God, whatever happens to me today, I know that your outcome will be the best outcome.”  She reminds us that hope is in our day-to-day journey.

Charles Peguy describes hope as “that little earnest of a bud that appears in April. We cannot see the fully-developed flower or plant. It is still in the making within the bud.” We wait patiently for the full growth to take place.

As we watch the evening news, we are challenged to imagine a world where there is peace and not war, where the hungry are fed and resources available to meet all people’s needs. We are reminded by Gandhi that “there is enough for everyone’s need but not enough for their greed.”  This can lead us to live with hope in our day to day journey.  Hope is in the journey and not just in the destination. We cannot let fear or obstacles on the way, deter us from creating the new, through the power of God working in us and through us.  Fr. Massingale reminds us that the obstacles and problems were created by humans and can also be corrected by humans. As we continue the journey, we cannot let obstacles keep us from creating new possibilities, new life and growth. Hope is in the search as well as in the finding. Leaving a place to get away from the problems is not the answer. We are called to stay with the struggle as long as  possible, and we have the assurance that God is with us every step of the way, and will be our source of hope and strength to bring  about a better world. This will empower us to be the compassion of Christ and be agents of peace and reconciliation wherever we find ourselves in the divided world.

St. Paul reminds us that “when God is at work among us and within us, we can do infinitely more than we dare ask or imagine”. (Eph. 1: 3, 20-23) With that power offered to us, we can confidently be agents of change,  bringing God’s healing power and being a sign of hope to all we meet and serve. 

We can then continue the journey together and rely fully on God’s power and presence, knowing that the challenges can lead us to the beginning of a new day. God is truly the God of our journey, as well as the destination. May we journey forward and be agents of God’s healing presence and bring hope and peace to our bleeding world. Let begin today with courage, conviction and hope. New Year blessings to all!