Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Thursday, 11-05-2015, Gaudium Press) Cardinal Orani João Tempesta, Archbishop of Rio de Janeiro, has launched a new Pastoral Letter last Sunday, November 1, on the Solemnity of All Saints. This is his third pastoral letter and is titled: “Hope does not disappoint” (Rom 5,5).
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The letter is directed to the members of the archdiocesan clergy and to the lay people, especially to those who find themselves in need or are affected by violence. The Cardinal says: “For the third time I address my brothers and sisters of this beloved Archdiocese of “Sao Sebastiao do Rio de Janeiro” through a pastoral letter. Having expressed what I think and feel about my mission as pastor of this part of the Church of God and having expressed my joy due to my consecration, I want to address now a theme that has marked our lives this year: hope. This is a theme ever timely and urgent.”
According to Archbishop Orani, “hope is always a crucial issue,” since “we have learned since our childhood that everything can go except hope in our lives.” “When we let hope go, somehow, we let life itself to go. Wisdom says that hope is the last thing to die. To no other being God has filled with hope. If He gave it to us, human beings, it is because without it we cannot live, nor seek God, source of all hope.” he said.
In addition, the cardinal pointed out the origin of the Archdiocesan Year of Hope, which is part of the 11th Pastoral Plan. “The plan which runs from 2012 to 2016, proposed for each year a theological virtue, always accompanied by a concrete gesture. In 2013, the year dedicated to the virtue of Faith, we celebrated the World Youth Day. In 2014, the year dedicated to charity, we collected 180 tons of food for our brothers of Haiti. Now, in 2015, the year dedicated to Hope, we were invited to go on a mission and to proclaim Jesus Christ, the source and goal of our existence. This initiative will materialize after the first visit and three meetings which will take place in parishes including a beautiful novena for Christmas, and by that time we hope that the Bible study groups will double their numbers in this Archdiocese. And then we will enter the `Jubilee Year of Mercy’ called by Pope Francis.”
According to Archbishop Orani, “the Archdiocesan Year of Hope has been therefore a time for us to turn towards Jesus Christ. A time to start or restart again our lives in the Lord” (LMI)
From the Editor’s Desk at Gaudium Press with information from the Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro
