Hope for the Future
Romans 12:12: "Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer."
Pope Francis has called all Christians to be Pilgrims of Hope during the 2025 Jubilee Year — a Judeo-Christian tradition in which, following God’s commandment to Moses, the Church sets aside a Holy Year for the forgiveness of sins, to call all to conversion, and to joyfully celebrate the blessings from God.
Hope is a virtue so often misunderstood and misused as simply wishful thinking. However, hope is so much more meaningful and powerful than that. It is the theological virtue that overcomes despair because it reminds us to look forward to what we know exists in faith. It is trusting that what the Lord promises is true and that inspires us to persevere in the face of great adversity. Take the example of the Halpin family, who lost their homes in the L.A. fires in January. When finally able to return to the ruins of their home, they found that singed statues of Our Lady of Gaudalupe and St. Joseph had survived the inferno. The family said a prayer of consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and sang Regina Caeli, a 12th-century Latin hymn honoring the Blessed Mother. Amidst tremendous heartache and devastation, this family chose to honor Jesus and His mother.
“We have to give everything to God. And if that means our home at this time, we choose to trust that we’re in the palm of his hand,” Andrew Halpins told the Register.
Hope helps us be greater than what we suffer. By doing so, we become beacons of hope and faith to those in despair and help lead them into the light of Christ. That is what we are quietly doing at Chesterton Academy of St. Padre Pio. Every founding family has taken a leap of faith in great hope that what we are doing at Chesterton is worth it and necessary for our times; that the hard work that goes into helping our students understand their worth, dignity and place in God’s plan will lead our students to become men and women of great hope to their generation; that they will show a different path forward, one where joy, peace, understanding, forgiveness, faith, surrender and love are not just lofty ideas, but a very real and viable way of life. We are raising up Pilgrims of Hope like the Halpins.
“Surrender”, “intention”, and now “hope” are words that have defined our journey at Chesterton Academy of St. Padre Pio. This year, we want to truly give thanks to God for the beautiful theological virtue of hope which reminds us of what we are capable of through Jesus Christ.
If you agree, we ask you to share about Chesterton Academy of St. Padre Pio as our goal is to let more people know what a gem we have in this school. Upcoming admissions events can be found here.
We are praying for each one of you as we enter into Lent knowing that after The Passion, there is the Resurrection, which gives us the reason for our hope. Have a blessed Lent!