- The following opinion article was written by Julieann Moran, General Secretary for the Irish Synodal Pathway, and was published in The Irish Catholic on 26 June.
In this Jubilee Year, we are invited to be ‘Pilgrims of Hope’, purposeful travellers on a path guided by the Holy Spirit. That path, for the Church today, is called ‘synodality’.
But what is Synodality? Synodality is the way the Church listens, discerns, and walks together. For me, synodality is not simply a Church initiative or a new trend introduced by Pope Francis, may he rest in peace, but a deep rediscovery of what it means to be the People of God journeying together. It is the way God is calling us to be Church today or as Pope Leo XIV said recently, “it is a word that aptly expresses how the Spirit shapes the Church.” And this is a cause for profound hope.
To be a pilgrim is to walk with purpose. And our purpose is rooted in Christian hope: the conviction that Christ is risen, that love triumphs over death, and that God is leading us even when the road ahead seems uncertain. As Easter people, we proclaim with our lives that “Alleluia is our song!” Hope is not a vague optimism, but a virtue anchored in the promises of God. In these times of global uncertainty, ecclesial change, and spiritual hunger, we need this kind of hope more than ever; hope that walks, listens, and acts.
The Meaning of Christian Hope
The scriptures offer us a rich vocabulary for understanding hope. In the Old Testament, the Hebrew words Qavah and Yachal capture the essence of hope as waiting; sometimes tense, sometimes patient, but always trusting in God’s timing. In the New Testament, the Greek word Elpis expressed a confident expectation in the promises of God, fulfilled in the risen Christ. Early Christians clung to this hope in the midst of persecution, misunderstanding, and marginalisation. And so must we because Christian hope is not a passive wish or optimism but a dynamic trust that God is at work in the world and in us. As Hebrews 6:19 reminds us, this hope is “an anchor for the soul.” It’s what drives us to serve, to persevere, to love, and to keep walking forward, even when the destination is unclear. Hope is not just theological; it is practical. Hope does things! As Pope Benedict XVI wrote in Spe Salvi, “The one who has hope lives differently.” Pope Francis echoed this in Spes Non Confundit when he said, “Works of mercy are also works of hope.”
This Jubilee Year, we are called to be that hope in action, a light in the darkness. When we feed the hungry, visit the sick, accompany the lonely, or stand with those on the margins, we live out our baptismal identity and become living signs of the Kingdom. But we must also remember that hope is needed and deepens even in moments of joy, when we recognise God’s blessings and anticipate even greater things to come. Just as Mary trusted in God’s promise before she could see its fulfilment, we too are invited to a radical hope – a courageous hope-filled ‘yes’ to God.
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