Even though we experience peace as something that comes from outside of us, it begins within. It begins with us deciding to be fully present when in the company of a loved one. Peace begins with conquering our fears by deciding to increase our love.

To have hope is not to wish for something better. Hope is to see the life that is already here. Hope is to participate in the good that is already here. Henri Matisse believed that flowers are always visible to those who want to see them.

Sometimes we are so good at othering. By doing this, we effectively objectify the one we disagree with. I think we are called to be better. I think we are to see the other not as an object but as a member of the human family. We are a part of the same family.

Sometimes, poets help us see the world from a different perspective, painting pictures with words that remind us of our inner lives. ... May we find the heart of God in the fallen leaves, the yearning trees and the sleeping birds.

Above all things, practice and persevere. Some things in life come by accident, but what matters most comes to us as we give ourselves to them and persevere.

These students, faculty and staff vividly demonstrate that there are so many ways to embody love and to join in where it is already in action.

When I pay attention, even just for a day, to the beautiful solutions, practices and relationships that my community is planting, I find a hope growing in me that empowers me to continue pursuing a more just and beautiful world.

At a time when we, as human beings, seem so disconnected, these simple acts, one to another, help us to see one another and to reconnect. These acts remind us of what really matters and they reawaken our hearts.

I wonder where you see tangible signs of hope even when it feels everything we know is shifting? I wonder where are the places of hope you can touch or hold…or perhaps even mount on a Christmas tree? May God give us grace to see concrete hope, even in places of desolation and despair.

Love is truly the most powerful force we can encounter. If our communities put the energy it takes them to be angry into being loving, no challenge will stand against them. Love always wins.