Sometimes it’s the hardships and challenges we face that shape and strengthen us the most. In the most difficult times, we learn what it truly means to put our trust and our hope in God alone.
This week, as part of our ‘Pilgrims of Hope’ series, we hear Fr Stephen Battal’s remarkable story of hope and faith in the face of extraordinary danger and suffering, and of his eventful, grace-filled journey from South Sudan to Melbourne.
Modern slavery survivor Moe Turaga is another person who knows about the struggle to remain hopeful through difficult times. In our new ‘Hope does not disappoint’ series, he shares his story of finding freedom through the kindness of an attentive stranger, and urges Catholics not to turn a blind eye if they suspect someone is being exploited.
And today, on the feast of Our Lady or Lourdes and World Day of the Sick—a day when Pope Francis encourages us to be ‘angels of hope and messengers of God for one another’—we hear about the recent Lourdes Day Mass at St Patrick’s Cathedral, which each year brings the healing waters of Lourdes to those who are unable to travel there themselves.
