“You, Lord, are our father, our redeemer you are named forever.” – Isaiah 63:16
Happy Advent! I love this time of year, a time of quiet, watchful waiting. It’s a beautiful time to focus on and pray for God to fill us with the Advent virtues of hope, peace, joy, and love. Then when Christmas comes, we are like an overflowing reservoir that spills these fruits of the Holy Spirit out to those we encounter, most especially our family, friends, and coworkers. It’s almost like a Christmas wish list: “God, for Christmas, please fill me with Your hope, peace, joy, and love.” That’s the thing: virtues can’t be earned or bought. They must be given to us by the Holy Spirit. We can practice cultivating them, but we can’t put them into our virtual shopping carts then check out and receive them in 2-3 business days!
Hope is the virtue for the first week in Advent. The Catechism teaches that “Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ’s promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit” (CCC 1817). Hope is more than a wish; it’s connected to a firm faith that Christ will deliver us to eternal life. It’s imbued with the belief that God the Father will provide His abundant life for us here and now. It’s grounded in a deep trust that He will keep His promises, that He desires what’s best for us, and that He has the power to do so.
Over this past year, I have been thinking and praying about what it means to truly hope in the Lord. Something new that the Holy Spirit revealed to me is how deeply God the Father loves me, and how infinitely good He is. I can place my hope and trust in God my Father because he only wants what is best for me and my loved ones, and His plans for me are always better than whatever I have cooked up for myself! Even when I’ve been thrown a few crazy curve balls this year, I have been at peace, knowing that God has everything under control. I’ve been able to hope for the best in a new way. My prayer for you is that God fills your heart with hope this week.
God the Father, I have faith in Your goodness, power, and love. Jesus, I trust in You! Holy Spirit, fill us with your hope.