A Reflection for the Wednesday of the First Week of Advent

It’s hard to know how to live without hope. Is it even possible?

The pope sees his visit here as another way to get people in Europe and elsewhere to understand that the greatest humanitarian crisis since World War II requires a global solution.

“We fought. My God, I said bad words. I said awful things. But now, to finish the day, I must make peace”. You know why? Because the cold war the next day is very dangerous.

Cardinal George Pell, jailed for more than a year for sex abuse crimes he ultimately was cleared of, said the experience enabled him to understand suffering as a redemptive process that allows one to identify closely with Christ.

In this season of Advent, when we are trying to free our hearts for the Lord, perhaps we can put some of our own struggles with siblings into St. Andrew’s hands.