Pope Francis has placed the Jubilee Year 2025 under the sign of Hope. He invites all followers of Christ to be pilgrims of Hope in a living, personal and communal encounter with Christ, “our hope” (cf. 1 Tim 1:1) and “door of salvation” (cf. Jn 10:7.9).

St. Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal is part of this ecclesial dynamic, and has chosen “With Joseph, let us walk in Hope” as the theme for the 2025 novena.

Hope is one of the three great capstones of the Christian life, the other two being Faith and Love.

It is founded on the certainty that God is faithful to his promises, and that his assistance will never fail those who put their trust in him.

In the tradition of the Catholic Church, hope is seen as a driving force that enables us to take a fresh look at every event and every being. For those who walk in hope, every human achievement bears the sign of God’s active presence. For those who walk in hope, life is no longer understood as a simple adventure, but as a project that is part of God’s plan. “Wait for the Lord with courage; be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord”, we read in Psalm 26:14.

Thus, there is a dynamic of hope. It mobilizes us, keeps us moving forward without discouragement. In fact, hope is a vital force for every human being. It is in the breath of life of every human being. Hope is part of the assets that build and animate the resilience that every human being deploys for human, psycho-social and spiritual growth. When the flame of hope flickers and runs out of steam, the very meaning of existence is affected, darkened and without horizon. Hence the importance of always rekindling the flame of hope within ourselves, in order to make life flourish.

Hope is therefore one of life’s impetuses, a driving force of existence. It gives the ability to stand tall, to bear wounds without loss of composure, to resist life’s contradictions, to get back on one’s feet, and to move forward.

It’s often said that “as long as there is life, there is hope”.  But I think we should rather say “as long as there is hope, there will always be life”, because hope is an essential condition for life to blossom and flourish.

We can illustrate this with the experience of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, plunged into confusion by the torture, hanging and death of Jesus. “We were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel,” they say to the stranger who joins them on the road to Emmaus. But thanks to the listening and words of this fellow traveler, these two disciples will gradually move from darkness to light, from disappointment to hope. They rediscover their zest for life and the need to share their joy of living with the other disciples. Therefore, they immediately retraced their steps and returned to Jerusalem (Gospel according to St. Luke, chapter 24, verses 13 to 35).

The encounter of the Risen Christ with these two disciples, pilgrims to Emmaus, is “a therapy of Hope”, said Pope Francis at the General Audience on May 24, 2017.

In his encyclical letter “Spes Salvi”, Pope Benedict XVI stressed that it is in the Risen Jesus that “ we have been given hope, trustworthy hope, by virtue of which we can face our present: the present, even if it is arduous, can be lived and accepted if it leads towards a goal, if we can be sure of this goal, and if this goal is great enough to justify the effort of the journey” (Benedict XVI, “Spes Salvi”, no. 1). With Hope, he tells us, “the dark door of time, of the future, has been thrown open. The one who has hope lives differently; the one who hopes has been granted the gift of a new life” (Benedict XVI, “Spes Salvi”, no. 2).

“All serious and upright human conduct is hope in action. This is so first of all in the sense that we thereby strive to realize our lesser and greater hopes, to complete this or that task which is important for our onward journey, or we work towards a brighter and more humane world so as to open doors into the future. Yet our daily efforts in pursuing our own lives and in working for the world’s future either tire us or turn into fanaticism, unless we are enlightened by the radiance of the great hope that cannot be destroyed even by small-scale failures or by a breakdown in matters of historic importance. If we cannot hope for more than is effectively attainable at any given time, or more than is promised by political or economic authorities, our lives will soon be without hope. It is important to know that I can always continue to hope, even if in my own life, or the historical period in which I am living, there seems to be nothing left to hope for. Only the great certitude of hope that my own life and history in general, despite all failures, are held firm by the indestructible power of Love, and that this gives them their meaning and importance, only this kind of hope can then give the courage to act and to persevere.” (Benedict XVI, “Spes Salvi”, no. 35).

In the “Bull of Indiction” for this Jubilee Year 2025, Pope Francis invites us to remember St. Paul’s exhortation to the Christian communities of Rome facing persecution: “Hope does not disappoint” (Rom 5:5).

Here at St. Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal, we are invited to be Pilgrims of Hope, in communion with St. Brother André, a witness and bearer of hope, and supported in our journey by the Hope of St. Joseph.

Brother André’s devotion to St. Joseph introduced him to the dynamic of Hope, a fundamental value in St. Joseph’s existence. Thanks to his friendship with St. Joseph, Brother André never lacked hope, even in the worst moments of his life. Brother André stood firm in the face of life’s great trials.  His unshakeable faith in God’s love was a source of courage, perseverance and, above all, unfailing confidence. In this way, he became a witness and bearer of hope for all those who entrusted themselves to his prayers. It was by walking with St. Joseph that his way of seeing the present and envisioning the future became firmly rooted in confidence in the permanent presence of God, in concrete situations of his existence. Brother André reminds us that there is no such thing as a stuck situation or a trial that cannot be overcome. There is always a path of hope for those who know how to trust in Jesus.

Sustained by the Hope of St. Joseph, we are therefore called to journey, with the same simplicity and confidence as St. Brother André, as pilgrims of Hope, paying attention to all the good that is present in the world, so as not to fall into the temptation of feeling ourselves overwhelmed by evil and violence.

Following in St. Joseph’s footsteps, Brother André clearly understood that hope does not mean fleeing or ignoring existential reality, with its joys and trials, but rather illuminating it with a light that enables us to project ourselves beyond the night of doubt and despair. It is thanks to the presence of this light in the heart, however tenuous it may be, that any night can become a propitious moment of human and spiritual growth.

In the New Testament, the author of the letter to the Hebrews affirms that “hope is the anchor of our soul, sure and firm” (Heb 6:19). We can add that hope is also the veil that keeps us moving, that moves us forward on the tumultuous waves of life.

Accordingly, hope is both the anchor and the sail for the boat of our life. It is the anchor that gives security to the boat. It is also what catches the wind and quietly transforms it into a driving force. When hope is in the hands of a good sailor, it is capable of harnessing any wind, no matter which direction it blows, to move forward in the desired direction.

Walking in hope with St. Joseph, following in the footsteps of St. Brother André, should encourage us to look at things and the world differently, with different eyes. With St. Joseph, our hope gives meaning and direction. With St. Joseph, our existence is not meaningless; our existence is not doomed to nothingness.

May St. Brother André lead us to St. Joseph, may he support our walk alongside him, so that we may become more witnesses of Hope for the world today.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Rom 15:13)