About a month ago, Pope Francis released a special letter for the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, which was observed last Sunday. The Pope devoted several paragraphs to the dignity of a vocation to priesthood and religious life, but noted that this calling must be understood within the context of the multitude of gifts and charisms given to the Christian community. He then identified what he believes to be a common vocation  or calling from God that all of us share at this point in history: to be “pilgrims of hope.” The words “pilgrim” and “hope” are both significant.

Pilgrims are people on a journey. We have a goal or destination in mind, but we are also forced to pay attention to how we are travelling. If we are too weighed down by our possessions or our sins or our resentments, we will fail to make much progress. The other aspect of a pilgrimage is that wherever we stop for the night, that is where we start the next day. We have to renew our purpose and determination each morning or else our pilgrimage will come to a halt. Maybe we did not make much progress one day, but we can make a fresh start the next day. Every day that we move forward, we encounter someone or something new. Our lives are enriched and we have the opportunity to enrich the lives of others.

Hope is often confused with being optimistic, looking on the bright side of things, counting our blessings, having a positive attitude, or keeping up our spirits. But this is not hope. People of hope are just as willing to acknowledge that the cup is half empty as it is half full. People of hope do not mind taking a hard look at reality. The key to hope is believing that “with God all things are possible.” So, the only essential ingredient to hope is the presence of God. In the letter, Pope Francis explains why he believes that to be a “pilgrim of hope” is the vocation to which the Spirit is calling all Catholics today.

“As individuals and as communities, amid the variety of charism and ministries, all of us are called to embody and communicate the Gospel message of hope in a world marked by epochal challenges. These include the baneful specter of a third world war fought piecemeal; the flood of migrants fleeing their homelands in search of a better future; the burgeoning numbers of the poor; the threat of irreversibly compromising the health of our planet. To say nothing of all the difficulties we encounter each day, which at times risk plunging us into resignation or defeatism . . . .

“This hope finds its propulsive force in Christ’s resurrection, which contains a vital power which has permeated this world. Where all seems to be dead, signs of the resurrection suddenly spring up. It is an irresistible force. Often it seems that God does not exist; all around us, we see persistent injustice, evil, indifference, and cruelty. But it is also true that in the midst of darkness something new always springs to life and sooner or later produces fruit.  . . .  The redemption accomplished in the paschal mystery is a source of hope, a sure and trustworthy hope, thanks to which we can face the challenges of the present. To be pilgrims of hope and builders of peace, then, means to base our lives on the rock of Christ’s resurrection, knowing that every effort made in the vocation that we have embraced and seek to live out, will never be in vain. Failures and obstacles may arise along the way, but the seeds of goodness we sow are quietly growing and nothing can separate us from the final goal: our encounter with Christ and the joy of living for eternity in fraternal love. This ultimate calling is one that we must anticipate daily; even now our loving relationship with God and brothers and sisters is beginning to bring about God’s dream of unity, peace, and fraternity. May no one feel excluded from the calling! Each of us is our won small way, in our particular state of life, can, with the help of the Spirit, be a sower of seeds of hope and peace. . . . Let us rise up, then, and set out as pilgrims of hope, so that, as Mary was for Elizabeth, we too can be messengers of joy, sources of new life and artisans of fraternity and peace.”

The Easter season lasts a full fifty days, ten days longer than Lent. This is because we need time to recalibrate our life in light of the Resurrection, in light of the fact that God can bring light out of darkness, joy out of sorrow, and a glorified life out of death. Our priorities, our fears, our anxieties are transformed when we take Resurrection seriously. This message of Pope Francis can help us keep Easter going, even after the season ends and we sink back into what is unfortunately called “Ordinary Time.”

                                                                                     Fr. Joe