​

Prefer to listen? Follow our Faith Seasons Podcast on Spotify

Week 3 | When Our Hope Feels Fragile
A reflection from Ms. Paula Kowalkowski

Jesus, hope of the world.
Jesus, light in our darkness.
Here we await you, O Master divine.
Here we receive you in bread and in wine.
Jesus, hope of the world.

Advent greetings to all.

When we are in the midst of grief, loss, and suffering, the concept of hope — and having hope — can be very difficult. If a loved one is not going to get better, or if a relationship is not going to be mended, hoping for something doesn’t really seem to make sense.

When I went to my spiritual director with this, in the midst of grief, she suggested that I not hope for things in the sense of expectation. Instead, she invited me to hope in — hoping in the fact that people would come around me to help hold me up, hoping in the fact that a good and generous God is with me, and hoping in the fact that the days will get longer.

That made so much sense to me and really changed the way that I approached prayer too.

We are almost at Christmas and our hope is Jesus — who is the hope of the world — who brings light to our darkness. At the end of the song we hear the prayer, “Even so, Lord Jesus, quickly come and night shall be no more, they need no light nor lamp nor sun for Christ will be their all."

There is a traditional Irish blessing that says:

"May you see God's light on the path ahead. When the road you walk is dark. May you always hear, even in your hour of sorrow. The gentle singing of a lark. When times are hard. May hardness never turn your heart to stone. May you always remember. When the shadows fall. You do not walk alone."

Suffering, pain, and loss in life can force change, for our lives are different and the very ground beneath us has shifted. In that shift, can we trust the One who is with us? Emmanuel — God who came to earth. Jesus, who knew joy and friendship and also horrible suffering.

This God-man who cries with us, who walks with us through raging fires, who steadies our unsteady feet, and guides us to new ground, supports us, holds us up, gives us hope, and loves us all the way.

Jesus said, “Blessed are you who mourn, for one day you will laugh.”

When all else fails, when we don’t have answers to our whys, when dark days turn into months and possibly years, there is our God — who is light in the darkness and hope for our world.

Merciful and loving God, you tell us that those who are weary will find rest, and those who hunger will be filled. You are the light in our darkness, and the darkness will not overcome it.

Amen.

And when Christmas arrives — Christmas blessings to you all.

What is this Virtual Pilgrimage?

Heart to Heart's latest video and audio series for Advent & Christmas is presented as a Virtual Pilgrimage of faith to prepare our hearts for the coming of Jesus.

Each day, beginning the first Sunday of Advent (November 30th) through Epiphany Sunday (January 4th), we will release a new video or audio reflection on the Incarnation.
​
Sundays feature a video from Fr. Michael telling one of his own personal stories experiencing God made flesh, followed by an introduction of the two other speakers for that week.

Monday through Wednesday the first speaker will have a story each day on how the Incarnation has touched their lives, followed by the second weekly speaker Thursday through Saturday.

Deeply Personal Stories of Jesus

These are stories of prayer, hope, joy, sorrow and loss. Jesus finds us in all aspects of life, from Fr. Michael reflecting on the loss of his mom to Fr. Romke at an orphanage in Russia to Lauren Hackman-Brooks on a retreat in Chicago while everyone around her was celebrating for St. Patrick's Day. These are just three brief examples of the stories told during this daily virtual pilgrimage for Advent & Christmas.

Who are the pilgrimage speakers?

Videos each Sunday from Fr. Michael Sparough, SJ. Fr. Michael's Saturday homilies will resume in January.

Audio reflections Monday through Saturday from:

Fr Michael Rossmann, SJ | Dec 1-3
Ms. Lauren Hackman-Brooks | Dec 4-6
Dr. Terry Nelson-Johnson | Dec 8-10
Fr. Sean Grismer | Dec 11-13
Ms. Paula Kowalkowski | Dec 15-17
Fr James Kubicki, SJ | Dec 18-20
Ms. Erin Maiorca | Dec 22-24
Ms. ValLimar Jansen | Dec 25-27
Ms. Rachel Forton | Dec 29-31
Fr Keith Romke | Jan 1-3

Share this experience!

Invite your friends and family to receive each daily reflection. They can sign up at htoh.us/advent. We also have bulletin ads and copy for your Parish bulletin or email announcements. Please contact Teresa Larson at teresa@htoh.us for more info.

Opt Out of this Series

If you no longer wish to receive these daily emails, click here to update your preferences.