There is perhaps no more beautiful celebration than when parents bring their newborn child to the waters of baptism. Parents, godparents, family, and friends share in this sacrament with incomparable joy. For in baptism, we share in Christ’s death and resurrection, and through the outward signs of water and oil, are made children of God and given the hope of eternal life with Him.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, our sins are forgiven, death is overcome, and life is victorious. We are called to be signs of hope to all people, especially those whose goodness, value, and dignity are undermined. As members of the Body of Christ, we carry this hope with us as we continue Jesus’ mission on earth.

Sadly, there is a devastating absence of hope today. We see this most profoundly in a sweeping disregard for human life in its most vulnerable forms and stages. Abortion and assisted suicide are products of hopelessness and despair. Yet even amid the increasing attacks on human life, we know that the “storms that buffet us will never prevail, for we are firmly anchored in the hope born of grace, which enables us to live in Christ and to overcome sin, fear and death.”¹

We have been entrusted with a message of hope for the woman who finds herself unexpectedly pregnant or for the man diagnosed with a terminal illness. At these challenging moments, we must bring God’s presence, witnessing to His love, and inspiring a renewal of hope in those whose hearts are burdened. For “hope is born of love and based on the love springing from the pierced heart of Jesus upon the cross.”² Confident of God’s presence within us, may we share the Gospel of Life with those most in need of hope.

Reflection adapted from “Life: Our Sign of Hope” (respectlife.org/life-our-sign-of-hope).

¹ Pope Francis, Spes non confundit, 25.

² Ibid, 3.