Awaken the Memory of Hope

“Advent’s intention is to awaken the most profound and basic emotional memory within us, namely, the memory of the God who became a child. This is a healing memory; it brings hope.”
—Pope Benedict XVI

Hope begins not in our striving but in remembering. As we light the first candle on our Advent wreath this week. We are called back to the tender truth that God entered our world as a child, fragile, dependent, and utterly human. This memory heals because it reminds us that God is not distant from our daily lives but has chosen to dwell within us.

Raoul Lus, S.J., offers a practical way to live this memory: to remain not in constant acts of prayer, but in a state of prayer. Our meals, our work, our rest—all can be directed toward God when our intention is to glorify Him. Advent hope is not confined to lit candles or whispered prayers; it is carried into the ordinary rhythms of life, sanctifying even the most secular moments.

To live in a state of prayer is to let the memory of Christ’s coming shape our days. It is to awaken each morning with the quiet resolve that even in the smallest actions, we can turn toward God. This is the hope Advent plants in us: that our lives, however ordinary, can be vessels of divine presence. We are pilgrims of hope.

As we begin this season, may we remember the Child who is our hope, and may that memory guide us into a life where every moment—whether sacred or simple—is prayer.