The 2025 Jubilee Year, with its theme and call for each of us to be ‘pilgrims of hope’, will conclude on January 6, 2026. What a gift it is to be celebrating the season of Advent in the weeks leading up to Christmas and the closure of this special year in the Church.
HOPE, JOY, PEACE and LOVE are usually associated with the four weeks of Advent. Perhaps it is our attentiveness to the messiness and struggles, to the small successes and the triumphs of daily life which gives deeper meaning to these words than might otherwise be the case.
HOPE has been a major focus during 2025. There have been many words written and images shared. Across Mercy Ministry Companions there are stories of hope everywhere! Each of us can be a source and sign of hope to people through our simple daily interactions which reflect our commitment to show respect, compassion, justice, and hospitality – hope does not stand on its own. It is part of the fabric of our Mercy story which we continue to bring to life each day. In the face of difficulties and vulnerabilities, we continue to show up and to ‘be there’ for people.
Think about the seeds of hope which you nurture in your life. Hope can be nourished incidentally when we are surprised by the resilience and beauty of nature or the kindness of a stranger. The choices we make can shape our stance on life, work and relationships, nurturing hope in the core of our being. Spending time in prayer and reflection, nurturing our inner spirituality, can be fruitful in ways we might never imagine. Thin threads of hope can become sure foundations and constant sources of energy.
Irish Mercy sister, Mary Reynolds rsm, speaks of pilgrimage as ‘a journey undertaken in light of a story.
I invite you to make some space each week of Advent to reflect on the pilgrimage, the journey which has been your life during 2025. There may have been moments when:
- the founding story of your ministry significantly influenced your work.
- your personal or professional journey ‘hit a pothole’ but you arrived eventually, with the help of a passer-by.
- you realised you were a source of hope for someone you were accompanying on their journey.
- you took a wrong turn but what unfolded before you led to new insight and commitment.
- your usual navigation system ‘went offline’ so you used your inner sense of direction to remain focused.
- you felt graced by God, knowing that your personal values aligned with your ministry’s values.
Whatever the circumstances of the past year, may the days of Advent which lie ahead be hope-filled for you and flow into your engagement with others. The words of Mary Sullivan rsm may strike a chord:
“If we wish to sow the seeds of real hope in our world, I think Catherine McAuley would say: This is the way we must do it – one person at a time: one answering of the figurative doorbell, one opening of the figurative door, one embrace of the stranger, one welcoming of the other, one sharing of our bread and milk – one person at a time.”
[Morning and Evening Prayer of the Sisters of Mercy (1998) Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas p. 931]
Annette Schneider rsm
Formation Co-Ordinator
