When I read today’s readings, I immediately thought, “Oh, surely this one is too easy – a justice-themed reflection for the good community at STM!” There are some natural parallels to draw between the story of the rich man and Lazarus and modern-day examples in our nation and world.  Justice is always a timely topic.

The bigger message at play in these readings, I believe, is one of hope. It is indescribably easy to be bogged down by the pain of this world. Each time I hear a news notification on my iPhone, my Pavlovian response is to brace for some horrible story: a natural disaster, a mass shooting, lawmakers stripping the dignity of the human person away. Even scrolling through social media has lost its flavor for me, as my timeline is inundated with rants (some of which I echo, some I do not) and comments and stories which leave the knot of despair in my stomach hopelessly tangled. “More tortuous than all else is the human heart, beyond remedy; who can understand it?”

This may seem seasonally appropriate for Lent, a time of sacrifice and penance, but what we often forget is that Advent is not the only season of anticipation in the life of the Church. Hope is the hallmark of Lent; it is what keeps us facing and moving forward through forty challenging days and a Triduum which commemorates the most difficult days in the life of God made flesh.  It is the hope of what our faith tells us, that Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead and conquered all which keeps us from the God who loved us enough to take on our form. I will say something somewhat controversial here: sometimes, we Christians spend so much time talking about the Gospel that we don’t talk quite as much about Jesus! While matters such as how we treat the least of these are crucial in how we are known as Christians, what sets us apart is a professed belief in a hope which pervades all that we do and who we are: blessed are they who hope in the Lord. A wise member of the STM community once said: “Hope lives.” That simple phrase can serve as a mantra in so many areas of life, but should most of all resonate for us – because hope lives, and so does Jesus.