Hope is active. It sounds passive, if you think about it in its dreamy sense — the feeling of wanting something to happen, or wishing for things to be different than they are.
But, as our Health Progress authors remind us, hope is more than a feeling. It can be the spur to lead us to unify and focus on a shared goal, the spark that takes us from musing about how things could be better to the action that leads us to bring them into being.
Prior to working on this issue, I don't think most people would have pegged me as a Jubilee Year enthusiast. But I’m now all in on the Pilgrims of Hope Jubilee Year, and I hope (there’s that word again) that you will be, too. Because the ability to encourage authors to reflect on hope as they think deeply about its importance has been such a wonderful antidote to much of the flood of news around us.
Multiple writers explore the theological understanding of hope in this issue, and where Catholic social teaching points us today when considering care for immigrants and those who are poor and sick. Despite the policy importance of security, do we not live in a world crying out for more empathy toward one another?
Beyond that, what an opportunity this issue has provided for people to reflect on the importance of spiritual pilgrimage in their own lives. Authors don't just write about it here, they provide ways for any Health Progress reader to take part in a pilgrimage. We’ve created online audio resources for the Prayer Service, so that people may meditate or walk for a brief personal pilgrimage. (The related QR codes are found with the prayers on the last pages of this Health Progress.) This issue discusses how several CHA members engage in spiritual practice. It also details the Pilgrims of Hope for Creation effort involving dozens of Catholic organizations, and how people in community can plan a journey to respect, appreciate and advocate for the environment.
Similar to the game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon (where people try to link other people to projects involving the actor), Americans have been playing a more pious version of Do You Have Ties to Pope Leo XIV? The announcement of a pope from Chicago made waves, soon followed by word that he had spent time in St. Louis. Who knew his first church was just around the block?
My daughter, my dog and I went on a brief pilgrimage of our own. I meant to show her a new coffeehouse and cabaret stage around the corner. We then found ourselves drawn to the up-for-sale and under-renovation church for the Immaculate Conception/St. Henry parish, where Robert Prevost was a novitiate for the Order of St. Augustine in St. Louis. Pope Francis was beloved for his close proximity to the people. The proximity of Pope Leo XIV’s former residence means it's a place I’ll return to, as it reminds me that we are all one united, hopeful church.