‘Fan the flame of hope’ this Advent, Christmas and throughout the Holy Year

In anticipation of the ordinary Holy Year that the Church will begin celebrating at Christmas this year, our Holy Father has chosen as its theme “Pilgrims of Hope.” In his 2022 letter announcing the 2025 Holy Year, Pope Francis wrote: “We must 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. The forthcoming Jubilee can contribute greatly to restoring a climate of hope and trust as a prelude to the renewal and rebirth that we so urgently desire.”

The theme and message of the upcoming Holy Year are quite profound and timely as we begin the Advent and Christmas seasons again this year.

Advent is a unique “season of hope,” filled with preparation for all of us in the Christian community – although it can be missed easily by society at large as simply an extended, early celebration of Christmas. True enough, Christ has already come, and we should rejoice in his Incarnation every day of our lives. But the four weeks of Advent leading up to Christmas give us all a special time for the prayerful “retelling” of the story of the birth of Jesus, the Hope of Israel.

The images of Isaiah and the prophets, John the Baptist, and Mary figure so prominently in the Scriptures we read and preach during these few, fast weeks. They help us “fan the flame of hope” we celebrate at Christmas and because of Christmas. We need to let the “Word” sink deeply into our minds, hearts and souls as the great scriptural Advent figures anticipated the “Word made flesh.”

The hymns we sing and the orations we pray at Mass during this time each year all fix our attention in faith and hope upon the One who has come, the One who is coming and the One who is yet to come, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is all about Him: everything we are, everything we hope for and everything we do as Christians. We need to make every day of Advent a hope-filled anticipation of yet another, more profound, more transforming revelation of Emmanuel, “God among us.”

Although we have read and sung and prayed the seasonal Advent and Christmas messages many times before, a pause, some quiet time for prayer, the celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and going to Mass more frequently all go a long way to “fan the flame of hope” as we “make all things new” … again, not only for the people of God but for those who minister to them in our parishes as well.

As we journey together through the Advent season to Christmas, as we begin the celebration of the Holy Year 2025, may the Lord Jesus Christ renew our hearts in joyful hope and expectation once more as we celebrate his presence among us, especially in the Holy Eucharist!