Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
As we journey together through this Jubilee Year of Hope, I wish to offer you a simple yet enduring truth from Scripture: “And hope does not disappoint us.” (Romans 5:5)
Hope, my friends, is not naive. It does not turn away from pain or pretend the past did not happen. Rather, it opens its eyes wide with courage, with faith, and gently fixes them on Christ, who walks with us now and leads us into the fullness of life to come.
It is with this hope that we remember the past, especially the profound suffering endured by the Indigenous Peoples of Canada. We do not forget these wounds; we hold them with reverence and truth. And in that same spirit of hope, we embrace the ongoing journey of healing and justice, standing together in solidarity and love.
Looking to the future, we do so with hearts full of expectation, not because the road is easy but because Christ is faithful. He is the One who makes all things new, in his time and in his way.
Christ never disappoints. Whatever we place into his hands, our grief, our joys, our struggles he receives with tenderness and transforms with grace.
May we walk forward, hand in hand, rooted in this hope that does not disappoint.
In the peace of Christ,
+Marcel Damphousse
Archbishop of Ottawa-Cornwall
