In today’s Gospel, we read of a large crowd who gathered to hear Jesus. No doubt many of them came from a distance when they heard Jesus was in Capernaum. They had come because they hoped to hear the message of Jesus, or perhaps they hoped for a cure. The four men carrying the paralytic knew what they wanted, and no crowd was going to prevent them from getting to Jesus in the hope of Jesus curing their friend. They all come in hope with their focus on Jesus.
Pope Francis ceremoniously opened the Holy Door of Saint Peter’s Basilica on Christmas Eve to initiate the Holy Year 2025. Every twenty-five years, the pope proclaims a Jubilee Year. In his Bull of Indiction, “Hope Does Not Disappoint,” Pope Francis sets out the path and focus of this year. The virtue of hope is this year’s singular focus.
Today’s world is in great need of hope with two devastating wars being waged, our continued abuse of the planet, COVID-19 still spreading fear and isolation, a huge migration of immigrants seeking refuge, and millions of people suffering from famine, poverty, and disease.
The four men who carried their paralytic friend to Jesus did so because of their hope in Jesus. That same hope brought thousands of people to Jesus as he announced the Kingdom.
Can we muster the same hope today so as to be pilgrims of hope to a world lost in sadness, anger, loneliness, and despair? This Holy Year, which calls us to prayer, penance, and fasting, seeks to give us the grace and courage to be beacons of hope. Like the friends of the paralytic, can we carry our world to Jesus to be healed? Fed by the Eucharist, we can do this. Jesus, like hope, never disappoints.
Let Us Pray:
We are blessed with a Holy Year that offers us an abundance of grace to heal our world. Urge us, Jesus, to become beacons of hope in our own areas of influence and inspire others to find hope, healing, and rebirth in you. Amen.