As the Church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph within the celebration of the Christmas Octave, we find ourselves coming to the conclusion of the Jubilee Year of Hope. It has certainly been an eventful year in the Church as we watched our beloved Holy Father, Pope Francis, pass away on Easter Monday. In the midst of our sorrow, though, we began to hope, looking forward to how the Lord would provide for His Church with a successor. To take St. Paul’s words on hope slightly out of context, our hope as Americans was not disappointed as we witnessed the election of one of our own to be the new pope, Pope Leo XIV.
Leading up to that surprise, the standard belief was that no American would likely ever be elected to be the pope. But our belief was proved wrong, and as I have reflected on that, it offers us an invitation to examine other beliefs that we might have about what we think might be impossible, or at least highly unlikely. We may believe things about ourselves, about others, about the Church, about our country, and about our world that we are convinced will always be true. But perhaps an experience like the election of an American pope will give us pause and challenge us to re-evaluate our beliefs.
When Mary was visited by the Archangel Gabriel at the Annunciation, as an additional verification that what he said about her becoming the Mother of God was indeed possible, he shared with her that her cousin, Elizabeth, in her old age had conceived a son, and that it was already “the sixth month for her who was called barren.” (Luke 1:36) Then the angel proclaimed these powerful words: “For with God, nothing will be impossible.” (Luke 1:37)
This is not meant to be read that anything we want to happen will happen. Rather, this line serves as a reminder that when we factor God into any problem, question, or concern that we face in life, no matter how unbelievable, how desperate, or how impossible the situation may seem, with God, nothing will be impossible. No suffering will be impossible to bear when it is born with God. Not fear can paralyze us when we face it with God. No desire for conversion, personally, or in another, is wasted when it is expressed with God.
When we live with hope, we believe that nothing we face in life will be impossible when we lean into it with God. As Pope Benedict wrote early on in Spe salvi, his encyclical on Christian hope: “The one who has hope lives differently; the one who hopes has been granted the gift of a new life.” (SS 2)
Coming to the end of this Jubilee Year of Hope, we are confronted with some important questions: Are we ready to embrace this hope and so live differently? Are we ready to hope in the promise that nothing will be impossible with God? With faith, it is indeed possible for us to live this new life of hope, because hope Himself has been born for us.