Tuesday's Events

Your Forum Prayer Guide for Tuesday, December 8, 2020

Arise and Hope

Today, we are focusing on the theme of "Arise and Hope." We are invited to hope – to aspire, to trust, and to anticipate with joy. In his 2007 encyclical on hope, Spe Salvi, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI wrote, “We need the greater and lesser hopes that keep us going day by day. But these are not enough without the great hope, which must surpass everything else. This great hope can only be God, who encompasses the whole of reality and who can bestow upon us what we, by ourselves, cannot attain” (no. 31). Hope truly keeps us going. In the face of everyday struggles, longstanding adversity, or a global crisis, hope reminds us of the paschal mystery of joy and salvation that awaits every single one of us.

 

Scriptures for the Day:

 

Isaiah 40:25-31

This is the first reading for the celebration of Mass on the Wednesday of the second week of Advent. The prophet Isaiah shares his hope for the people of Israel, proclaiming, “They that hope in the LORD will renew their strength, they will soar as with eagles’ wings” (Is. 40:31). Let the prophet’s hope be ours as well and inspire us to consider: How can I trust and let God into my plans? What does God have in store for us?

 

Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12

This is the second reading of the celebration of Mass for the Immaculate Conception. St. Paul shares his joy in being part of a community that God had in mind “before the foundation of the world” (Eph 1:4) and which was chosen by God to do his work: “we who first hoped in Christ” (Eph. 1:12). As Christians, then, we are people who are grounded in hope and with that hope, in the company of the Blessed Mother and the saints in heaven, can respond with aspiring joy to any challenge, any obstacle, and any uncertainty placed in our paths.  

 

Saints and Companions for the Day:

 

The Blessed Mother, Mary of Nazareth (first century)

our Immaculate Conception, whose unconditional hope and trust in God manifested in the birth of her son, Jesus Christ, our Lord

 

St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622) and St. Jane Frances de Chantal (1572-1641)

whose innovative approaches to the spiritual life were unique and unprecedented for their time, grounded in their love of God and his people

 

St. Kateri Tekakwitha (1656-1680)

a young adult Native American who faced great adversity from many others, including her very own community, and responded with courageous hope and trust in the Lord

 

Bl. Michael McGivney (1854-1897)

founder of the Knights of Columbus, whose hope in and support of the fraternity, fidelity, and charity of families inspired the Church to arise to new life