Where Hope Begins
A Festival of Readings and Carols
Saturday, December 12 at 8:00 pm
Sunday, December 13 at 2:00 pm
Holy Spirit Chapel, 5 Park Street, Boston
Where does hope begin?
Not in Bethlehem, for hope is as ever-present as God’s love itself. Long before the birth of Jesus, hope sustained a people through exile and uncertainty, inspired prophets to imagine a world made new, and gave Mary and Joseph the courage to trust in promises they could not yet fully understand.
Perhaps, then, the journey through Advent and the mystery of Christmas invites us not simply to ask where hope began, but where hope begins again—in every age, every generation, and every human heart.
This year, the Paulist Fathers have challenged their communities to consider more deeply what it means to become missionaries of hope. Our Festival of Readings and Carols takes up that invitation by returning to the mystery of the Incarnation. In Jesus, the hope that has always been present in God takes on “sinew and muscle and bone.” Hope becomes flesh and dwells among us.
This is not a passive or sentimental hope. As Jan Richardson reminds us, Christian hope is not wishful thinking about some distant future. It meets us in the uncertainty of the present. It enabled Mary to say yes, Joseph to trust, shepherds to leave their fields, and Magi to journey by another way. Their encounter with Christ changed how they understood themselves, one another, and the world.
And perhaps this is where hope begins for us: in remembering that God has chosen to dwell among us and within us. In Christ, we discover again who we truly are—God’s beloved. All of us. And once we recognize that belovedness in ourselves, we are called to recognize and defend it in one another, especially in those our world too easily forgets, excludes, or casts aside.
Through scripture, poetry, and song, this year’s Festival invites us to rediscover the hope that has always been ours—and to ask where that hope might take flesh today.
For hope begins again whenever we trust that God is still at work, whenever we turn toward rather than away from one another, and whenever we dare to believe—and work for—a world made more whole.
Hope begins here. Hope begins now. Hope begins again in us.
Since early October, over 30 musicians have been rehearsing. This beloved tradition offers us an opportunity to embark on our Advent pilgrimage together, culminating in the joyful celebration of the Feast of the Incarnation.
Performances will take place on Saturday, December 12, at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, December 13, at 2:00 p.m. Sunday’s performance will begin with A Christmas Story, presented by the youth of the Paulist Center.
Donations and Sponsorships
Tickets are not required for admission, but donations and sponsorship level contributions are most welcome. To make a contribution online, please click here.
Sponsorship Levels:
- Angelic: $100 – $149
- Celestial: $150 – $199
- Archangel: $200 and above
You do not need to donate in order to attend! Consider inviting family and friends to sponsor the concert!
Note: Sponsorships received by Dec 2 will be acknowledged in the program. Please indicate in the memo how you would like your name to appear. For mail-in donations, make checks payable to The Paulist Center with “Where Hope Begins” in the memo. Donations will also be accepted at the door. All are welcome at the events whether making a donation in advance or at the door, or not.
