Director’s Foreword:

As we look outside our window this Advent, we may feel fearful and worried about all that
is going on. It is difficult to get away from the bad news, which seems to be everywhere.
And yet Advent is the opposite of this; it is a time of fearlessness; a time of consolation and
hope; a time for the newness of our God.

As Pope Francis has said, “Life should not be spent in waiting for things which may never
arrive; but in expectation, in the desire for the Lord who always brings newness. This does
not mean waiting around doing nothing but being active in love. As Christians we are called
to keep and spread the joy of anticipation: we await God, who loves us infinitely, and Who,
at the same time, waits for us”.

‘Being active in love’ is the phrase which comes to mind when I see and hear of the amazing
things our young people are doing. Especially impressive this term was the COP27 workshop
for the young people from so many of our schools across the world and also other Religious
Order schools. The voice of the young was taken to the heart of COP27 and was raised in
unison for a world of fairness and justice; a world where we all take responsibility for the

earth which was given into our care; a call to action on behalf of the poorest nations who
are disproportionally affected by climate change and a clear message to our world leaders
and policy makers to act now, swiftly and without hesitation.

Listening to the voices of the students on Radio Maria on ‘Life lessons with Edmund’ has
also demonstrated that there is real hope in the world.

In the Gospel for the first Sunday of Advent we are called to ‘look up’ and ‘raise up your
heads’. We are invited to ‘turn our gaze to heaven, from hence He will come’. So, we can’t
remain on the shore, but must leave safe harbours and venture out into the open seas. The
young people are already doing this; we need to go with them.

This Advent let us embrace the invitation of the Gospel; the invitation to stand up on our
feet; to rise up; to turn our gaze toward heaven and then we will know that we are called to
be people of hope; to bring light into the darkness and take away fear; to support those of
our neighbours who need us, whether close by or across the world; to be beacons of hope
and joy during this season and always and to never live in fear.

Roisin Maguire