Thursday, January 8, 2026: This Sunday we will celebrate a wonderful liturgy with Hope as it's theme

This Sunday we celebrate a wonderful liturgy with Hope as it's theme. Lovingly crafted by Marcie, Patti and Nancy, it speaks to our fondest wish for Hope in a dark time. Here are a few reflections on Hope.


  

Hope Brings Life

“For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.”—Jeremiah 29:11

The brilliant French philosopher Gabriel Marcel wrote: “I almost think that hope is for the soul what breathing is for the living organism. Where hope is lacking, the soul dries up and withers.” Hope is a virtue that is critical for survival in life. We don’t last long without it. Without hope we die physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Living involves hope. In his book Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl observed other prisoners in a Nazi concentration camp. He noted that those who had hope in being rescued lived on. Those who gave up died. Be alive! Have hope in something real. And the most real thing is the presence and providential plan of God for you.

Prayer: Spirit of the Divine, help me to grow in belief of your presence and plan for me. Amen.



Love Breeds Hope

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”—John 15:12

We place some of our hope in other people—family members, friends, coworkers, or neighbors. That feeling of hope and expectation brightens our life. And others are also placing some of their hope, trust, or confidence in you and me. Usually we know, or at least sense, what they hope for from us: a listening ear, compassion, a smile, or something we can actually give them. 

Our response to fulfill their hope is one word: love. Yes, it is love that moves our mind and heart to answer the hope they place in us. And if we can’t totally fulfill their hope, our love itself will fill the gaps. Love and pray for those who place some hope in you. They won’t be disappointed because they will sense your love for them.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, inspire me to love so that you can inspire the hope others need. Amen.



Rejoice in Hope

“Happy are they who make the Lord their trust.”—Psalm 40:4

Hope is essential for survival. I knew a Catholic nun who was physically challenged. She told me that she had applied to seventeen religious orders, and the eighteenth accepted her application. She persevered. She had hope based on the call she felt. She survived the refusals. She lived Psalm 71: “For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth. Upon you have I leaned from my birth.” Like that nun, we should persevere in prayer to reinforce our hope for the future. It’s all in her loving hands.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, help me to truly abandon with the greatest trust every moment of my life into your loving hands. Amen


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
 Wednesday, January 15, 2025: Announcement for Our Potential Move - and we need your comments now! Dear Sisters and Brothers of Emmaus: On Monday Linda, Marcie and David visited with Lindsey Kerr, the Pastor of Christ Church Methodist in Santa Rosa in order to assess whether moving to Christ Church for our liturgies would be advantageous for all of us at Emmaus. Many of us have worked with Lindsey and consider her to be an excellent leader who is courageous and energetic. We received a warm welcome from Lindsey who showed us around Christ Church and opened the room in which we may meet. It’s not in the church – but an unused classroom that’s part of the larger set of buildings in the complex.  The room has space enough for us, lots of windows and some storage. They are buying new tables for the room. The room used to be a classroom so there’s plenty of room for our celebrations. Because it was a classroom, there’s also potential for hanging posters and making it our own. ...
Read more
Image
Thursday, May 15, 2025: *Quote from Pope Leo X1V*:  Because this Church, as long as I breathe, will be a home for the homeless, and a rest for the weary. " Brothers, sisters… I speak to you, especially to those who no longer believe, no longer hope, no longer pray, because they think God has left. To those who are fed up with scandals, with misused power, with the silence of a Church that sometimes seems more like a palace than a home. I, too, was angry with God. I, too, saw good people die, children suffer, grandparents cry without medicine. And yes… there were days when I prayed and only felt an echo. But then I discovered something: God doesn't shout. God whispers. And sometimes He whispers from the mud, from pain, from a grandmother who feeds you without having anything. I don't come to offer you perfect faith. I come to tell you that faith is a walk with stones, puddles, and unexpected hugs. I'm not asking you to believe in everything. I'm asking you not to cl...
Read more
Image
 Saturday, February 1, 2025: Announcement about Bill Boorman (Sir Will) Victoria just called and explained that Bill Boorman is in his transitional phase. He's no longer eating or drinking. He's still mentally sharp but is having great difficulty communicating. Let's lift up Bill as he begins his passage  Bill is one of the kindest, most talented, and generous people of this age or any other. He loved life,  companionship, friends, art, and good food. Bill used every day to live a full life. He was no visitor to this world but rather a one-person celebration of humanity in all its wonder.  As I think that he's passing from this world, to whatever comes next, I think this poem by Mary Oliver expresses so much of Sir William.  when death comes  I want to step through the door full of curiosity, wondering:  what is it going to be like, that cottage of darkness? And therefore I look upon everything  as a brotherhood and a sisterhood,  and I look ...
Read more