A Song of Hope

I've returned to blogging after a long hiatus. I didn't have much time to sit and collect my thoughts for this page, as I have been joyfully busy as a parish priest now for nearly two years. Of course, so much of the day-to-day ministry has come grinding to a near halt due to the Corona Virus pandemic. This time in quarantine has afforded me an opportunity to return to this page and share some thoughts of hope and faith during such an uncertain moment in the life of our world.

Really, the idea of blogging came to me today as I was praying Morning Prayer - which is part of the Liturgy of the Hours, the universal prayers of the Church which includes psalms, canticles, scripture passages, petitions, and reflections from various saints that are prayed daily by clerics, religious, and many lay faithful throughout the world.

Each Morning Prayer includes the Canticle of Zechariah (see Luke 1:68-79). This is the song that the father of John the Baptist belted out upon the birth, circumcision, and naming of his son. Zechariah praises and blesses the Lord for the liberation that God has offered to God's People. Zechariah then looks to his infant son John, and offers a prophecy of his mission as preparing the way for the Christ. Finally, in stunningly beautiful language, Zechariah prays: "In the tender compassion of our God, the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace."

This daily prayer can become our own song of hope. Yes, even in the darkest night, we know that Jesus Christ, Light of the world, will usher in another dawn. We believe that Jesus Christ offers us a peace which the world cannot give. In Jesus Christ, we experience the very face of the Father's compassion and mercy. While the pall of death is ever-present, so is the life-saving and self-sacrificial work of doctors and nurses, modeled after Jesus the Divine Physician. Though now is the time of the cross, we believe that resurrection and new life will follow.

So my friends, let us make Zechariah's song our own. Let us not be robbed of hope.