Today we enter into the first phase of a new Liturgical Year, another year of grace in our salvation history. As with every beginning, let us revive our hope for peace and justice in this world. Though our spirituality calls upon us to keep our eyes on heaven, nevertheless, we cannot separate our faith, hope and love from our lives in this world That has always been a principle of spirituality, especially Ignatian spirituality, where we do not flee from the world, but are deeply inserted in it and so deeply affected by it.

Similarly, especially in our modern world so battered by war and terrorism among many other evils, we cannot separate our hope in Christ from our lives. Each year as we prepare through Advent to celebrate his birth, our faith assures us that God renews and strengthens our hope in Jesus. May our Advent prayer ensure that our hope is not mere wishful thinking but an attitude towards our world and humanity that will bring us God's peace.