By Virginia Vollmer, OFS
Pope Francis named 2025 as the Year of Hope and gave us ten hopes to live by, attain, and consider. He named the second of these as Hope for Enthusiasm for Life. This is a hope for all ages, all circumstances, and all stages of life. What were you enthusiastic for when you were a child? For many of us that would be holidays. Even today, children are enthusiastic about their birthdays, Christmas, the end of the school year, lazy summer days and vacation. Those memories just put a smile on your face, didn’t they?
According to the dictionary, Enthusiasm is “an absorbing possession of the mind by any interest or passion.” Zeal, fervor, excitement, and eagerness are synonyms of the word enthusiasm.
Pause for a moment to consider what makes you enthusiastic today. A weekend outing perhaps? The impending visit of out-of-state family or friends? Working from home and a three-day weekend? Going to a sporting event or concert? Planning a vacation or pilgrimage? Participating in a hobby, craft, art?
Now bring that enthusiasm to the act of living, of being alive, to each moment of time. What would life be like if we are as enthusiastic about Mondays as we are about Christmas? If we bring zeal to the washing of dishes with the same zeal of the choir singing at Mass? If the fervor we put into planning a pilgrimage is the same fervor we have when taking the car to the mechanic?
“Isn’t enthusiasm a high consumption of energy? It sounds exhausting, even impossible” you may say. How can someone maintain such a level of emotion day-in and day-out? What Pope Francis was asking of us is to be excited about life. God created the world of sunrises and sunsets, spring and winter, birdsong and ocean waves. And God created every person on earth. In Genesis 1:31, “God looked at everything He had made, and found it very good”. Just by being alive we give praise to God for He has found us “very good”. Yes, the diapers still need changing, homework needs to be completed, and the floor needs mopping. Yes, the sun keeps rising, the seasons change, and the birds sing. All of it is very good. Hope for Enthusiasm for Life can be all we need to get out of bed on Monday morning.
This next hope is one that can challenge, in a way, the hope for enthusiasm for life. It is the Hope for the Poor and Hungry. Jesus said that the poor we will always have with us. The question for each generation is: what do we do about the poor and hungry? What are we doing today about the poor and hungry? Jesus does not want us to forget them, nor leave them on the margins. For those of us who have the capabilities, hope for the poor can be volunteering or donating to Andre House, St. Mary’s Food Bank, or St. Vincent de Paul. We may have neighbors, family or friends who are struggling whom we can help with monetary assistance, rides to appointments, or invitations to dinner, with plenty of leftovers for them to take home.
What does hope look like when we are poor and hungry? Hope for a better job or a raise? Hope for assistance that doesn’t go away? Hope for a vehicle that doesn’t need repairs? Hope for a healthy family? Hope for kindness when asking for help? Hope for the ability to be able to have enthusiasm for life, which can feel like a luxury?
Two hopes which are entwined in the church family and in the wider world are: Hope for Enthusiasm for Life and Hope for the Poor and Hungry. Can we bring these two to fruition? Can we elevate them in our lives to the attention that Pope Francis asked of us? What a different world we can create by being enthusiastic as we help one another!
