The volume of the proprefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization and person responsible for the organization of the Holy Year, published by the Vatican Editorial Bookstore, is an anthology of texts by theologians, writers and artists on the theme of hope, from Augustine to Pope Francis, from Rilke to Pessoa. “Asking whether Christians know what hope is and how to live it is a question that is not only legitimate, but necessary in the current context of profound religious crisis,” writes the author.
Vatican News
“Hope belongs to all people, excluding no one. Who could deceive themselves by living without hope? But what is behind that name? What is hope really? What does it mean to wait?”
Archbishop Rino Fisichella, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization – section for fundamental issues of evangelization in the world and responsible for the organization of the next Jubilee, tries to answer this question in the volume “Waiting for all. Human words about hope”, published on June 25 by the Vatican Editrice BookstoreLEV.
An anthology of hope
“We all need it, but when we are asked what it is, we find it difficult to explain it. Hope is often indefinite and indefinable, but we know that without it we could not live. We begin to understand something of it if we think that we are pilgrims in this life, and not aimless walkers. And that, for the Christian, is closely related to faith and charity: its implementation makes the believer credible,” reads the press release presenting the book, which offers an anthology of selected texts. on the topic of hope.
From Saint Augustine to Pope Francis, passing through illustrious theologians, poets like Rilke and Pessoa, writers like Ernst Block and Ignazio Silone, pop artists like Pink and Levante, but also Charles Péguy, Francesco Alberoni, Hesiod, in “a polyphony of perspectives” which, according to Monsignor Fisichella, becomes “the tangible sign of men and women who have hoped for a different present and a better future.”
In preparation for Jubilee 2025
The objective is to guide the reader “in meditation on the human and Christian act of waiting. “Not only relying on the Word of God, but also collecting the echo of the truth that so many authors have spread in their literary works.”
The purpose of Monsignor Fisichella’s book is also to prepare for the next Holy Year.
“It never ceases to surprise us that the motto for the next ordinary Jubilee of 2025 has been accepted: Pilgrims of hope,” the prelate writes in the preface “Let us keep hope alive. A reflection between Scripture and history.” “In two terms – he continues – a program of proclamation and witness is condensed that Christians are called to make their own on the occasion of the Holy Year.
“Will they be able? Again, the question is not rhetorical. Asking whether Christians know what hope is and how to live it is a question not only legitimate, but necessary in the current context of profound religious crisis. Entering into a Jubilee of Hope with the objective of giving body and concretion to the second theological virtue is no small challenge, and it will be interesting to see the results.”
