22 December. This Wave of Hope reflection for Advent comes from Professor Philip Booth, Director of Policy and Research for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.
This Wave of Hope reflection for Advent comes from Professor Philip Booth, Director of Policy and Research for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.
Professor Booth finds hope in the words of Pope Benedict XVI, and specifically in his first encyclical letter:
“On Christmas Day, 20 years ago, Pope Benedict XVI published an encyclical, Deus Caritas Est. In it, he gives us a message of true hope or trust that with the Lord’s help, we will have the strength to follow the path to which God has called us. And that is all He asks of us.”
Wave of Hope offers 25 short multimedia reflections for the season – one a day – as our contributors share a moment in 2025 that has led them to a place of hope.
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During the Christmas season, we celebrate the beginning of the new year, the Feast of Mary, the Mother of God. Traditionally, it is a day on which we make resolutions to do something or not to do something in the following year to improve our own lives or the lives of others.
We might look at the troubles in the world and think, “What is the point? My little contribution will make precious little difference.” Or we might think, “Those in the positions of power need to make the changes if anything meaningful is going to happen.”
On Christmas Day, 20 years ago, Pope Benedict XVI published an encyclical, Deus Caritas Est, in which he provided a wonderful answer to these concerns. He wrote:
“There are times when the burden of need and our own limitations might tempt us to become discouraged. But precisely then we are helped by the knowledge that in the end we are only instruments in the Lord’s hands. And this knowledge frees us from the presumption of thinking that we alone are personally responsible for building a better world. In all humility, we will do what we can, and in all humility, we will entrust the rest to the Lord.
“It is God who governs the world, not we. We offer him our service only to the extent that we can, and for as long as he grants us the strength. To do all we can with what strength we have, however, is the task which keeps the good servant of Jesus Christ always at work.”
This is a message of true hope or trust that with the Lord’s help, we will have the strength to follow the path to which God has called us. And that is all He asks of us.
Nikki Dhillon Keane is a therapist, trainer, author, activist and founder of 'Safe in Faith'.
Sister Maria Cecialia Sierra is a Comboni Missionary Sister working among Bedouin communities in the West Bank.
Fr Issa Thaljieh is a Greek Orthodox priest from the Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem.
