On Sunday 15 December, the Franciscan friars of the Custody of the Holy Land started the Christmas Novena, a period of spiritual reflection in preparation for the solemnity of the birth of Jesus.
This year, the Novena, which is held in St Saviour’s church in Jerusalem, focuses on the topic of hope. Every evening at 7.00 p.m., during the celebrations of the Vespers, one of the three friars chosen for the preaching proposes a short meditation on the meaning of Christian hope.
The hope that saves
The first three reflections from 15 to 17 December are entrusted to Fra Rosario Pierri, dean of the Studium BiblicumFranciscanum.
“The topic chosen for this Novena, hope,” Fra Rosario explains, “was tackled by Benedict XVI in the encyclical Spe Salvi, and was also taken up again by Pope Francis in the Bull of Indiction of the Jubilee, which is soon to open.”
Hope is both a divine gift but also a human commitment. “Hope is a theologal virtue, but it can also be oriented negatively. We can hope for things that are not in line with God’s project.”
The second part of the reflection is dedicated to the figure of “Christ our hope” from the theological reflections developed over the centuries by the Fathers of the Church.
Fra Rosario concluded his meditation with an invitation to look at Mary as a model of hope.
“She is the creature who hoped the most, and based her life on trust in God. Mary the servant of God teaches us to hope in the creation of the Kingdom of God.”
Keep looking upwards
From 18 to 20 December the meditations are held by Fra Enrico Maiorano. Hope and expectation are closely linked, says Fra Enrico. “Waiting for the child of Bethlehem is the most important thing a Christian can wait for and this year, with the start of the preparation for the Jubilee, this waiting has an even greater value.”
“The topic of hope,” says Fra Enrico, “makes all of us keep looking upwards. Is there really life where there is hope?” With this provocation, Fra Enrico challenges us to reflect on the fact that, in the face of adversity, often hope is the first to waver.
When man loses hope, he seeks refuge in complaining, in mediocrity or in self-sufficiency. But where can we find Christian hope again? Fra Enrico refers to the passage on Christmas by the evangelist Luke. “In the Child of Bethlehem, we see a God who is totally supportive of man. Having a God who is so close is the source that allows hope to be born again in man.”
He concludes the reflection with an invitation to care for hope. “I believe that there is no better way to care for hope than to be witnesses of it. To be witnesses of hope, we also have to know how to care for patience, i.e. how to wait for the times and ways of God.”
Hope and change
Fra Corrado Sica, the organist at St Saviour’s convent, will hold the last three meditations of the Novena, from 2 to 23 December. In his reflection, he invites us to see hope as the possibility of positive change of man.
“Hope is an opportunity for a positive change in our lives. A change towards something new awaits us.”
The meditations of Fra Corrado will also be based on the topic of the imminent Jubilee. Through a historical excursus, Fra Corrado relates that in the history of the Church, Jubilees have always been an opportunity for spiritual renewal.
“The Jubilee is the opportunity that the Church offers to meet God and go from a life of everyday events to a life of extraordinary events.”
By Lucia Borgato | Custodia.org
