January 8, 2026 // Thursday After Epiphany
Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel: Luke 4:14-22
Reflect on the Word //
“I hope you feel better!”
“I hope you have a great day!”
“I hope I pass my exam!”
“I hope I don’t get stuck in traffic!”
“I hope ______ works!”
Hope.
What do we really mean when we say we “hope”? Do we just want everything to work out, go our way, end well?
I often think that’s what I’m saying; then I have to remind myself that’s not Christian hope. True hope, in the end, isn’t a reliance on ourselves, on luck or fortune. Christian hope is the heart’s desire for God to grant us what we need to reach our end, eternal life in heaven.
Christian hope is not ours naturally speaking. It is a gift we receive, a theological virtue that enables us to trust that God is Who He says He is, and will fulfill His every promise, trusting Jesus accomplished our salvation and provides strength for the journey here and now.
This hope, this promise, this call to trust, is what Christ proclaims in today’s Gospel.
Do you want freedom from captivity, from slavery to sin? Christ is your hope.
He was sent to proclaim liberty to captive hearts (see Luke 4:18).
Do you want to see? Do you long to recognize His providence in your trials? Do you desire to see what He sees when He looks at you? Have you become blind to the true good that is within and around us?
He has come to restore sight to the blind (see Luke 4:18)!
Christ proclaims hope that this new year can be a year of favor, a year acceptable to the Lord (see Luke 4:19).
The Jubilee of Hope ended on the feast of the Epiphany, but Hope reigns forever in the hearts of those who believe.
Sister, the Lord invites us to hope in the One Who was sent to bring us freedom, to restore our sight that we might see and hope for the good things of Heaven, to obtain for us every grace, blessing, and healing we need to obtain the best end of all, eternal life in Heaven.
Relate to the Lord // How can you practice Christian hope today?
Sister Maria Fatima grew up in Rhode Island and entered the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist in 2005. She holds a MA in Theology from the Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity. Sister is in her eleventh year of enlightening middle school minds and drawing hearts to Jesus while teaching religion and history. She currently resides at the motherhouse in Ann Arbor, MI, having previously taught in Texas, Florida, and Ohio. She is a contributing author to our Lent devotional All She Had.
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