Since Pope Francis declared 2025 as a Jubilee Year, with a theme ‘Pilgrims of a Hope’, I have thought many times of The Knot Prayer:
Please untie the knots that are in my mind, my heart and my life
Remove the have-nots, the can-nots, and do-nots that I have in my soul
Erase the will-nots, may-nots, might-nots that may find a home in my heart
Release me from the could-nots and would-nots and should-nots that obstruct my life
And most of all, Dear God
I ask that you remove from my mind, my heart and my life, all the am-nots that I have
allowed to hold me back
Especially the thought that I am not good enough Amen
We must not become immobile as a people, so many terrible things are happening in our world at the present moment. Our world is suffering the impacts of war, climate change, the housing crisis, homelessness, food poverty and migration. Many types of exploitation are occurring, child labour, abuse and trafficking. In the midst of this we could all throw up our hands and say “what can I do”, “what difference can I make in a world with so many difficulties at present”?
The answer is like Hope that was found in the bottom of Pandora’s box, we can do an enormous amount in our own milieu with the help of Christ and our Faith. We are not alone. As Pope Francis has said, “hoping is waiting for something that has already been given to us: salvation in God’s eternal and infinite love, he has made himself flesh and blood to share our lot”.
There are many things we can do in our community to bring hope to others, simple things like a friendly greeting, a warm smile, a letter, a phone call can all lift people’s spirits and give them hope. In this way hope can have a ripple effect. One young man, Sam Bentley who is on Instagram, reports on all the positive, good news for our planet. It really is worth following as his posts do life your heart and make you realise there is lots of hope out there and people are taking action. We can all do something no matter how small, plant a wildflower bed, plant sunflowers for the joy and food the seeds give to the birds. The ‘Mindfulchristianity’ posts on Instagram make us aware of experiencing Christ’s presence around us. These posts give us bite-sized pieces of hope.
In the poem, ‘Begin’ by Brendan Kenneally, he captures the paradoxically mystery filled longing of the human race
“Though we live in a world that dreams of ending
That always seems about to give in
Something that will not acknowledge conclusion insists that we forever begin”.
Let’s all begin and move forward with Hope.
Edel Mulligan, Lay Member
Leader, Sonas Chríost Newbridge