2020-2021 Theme: Walk With Jesus Our Living Hope.

Our CISVA theme for 2020-2021 is Walk with Jesus our Living Hope.

This theme, inspired by Pope Francis’ Easter Vigil 2020 homily, is a reminder in times of trial (such as these), that Jesus, in his triumph over the grave, proves that God is greater - greater than all our fears, weakness, worries and sorrows, and even greater than death.

Pope Francis says hope in the resurrected Jesus:

...is a new and living hope that comes from God. It is not mere optimism; it is not a pat on the back or an empty word of encouragement, uttered with an empty smile.

No! It is a gift from heaven, which we could not have earned on our own.

Over these weeks, we have kept repeating, “All will be well”, clinging to the beauty of our humanity and allowing words of encouragement to rise from our hearts. But as the days go by and fears grow, even the boldest HOPE can dissipate.

Jesus’ hope is different.

He plants in our hearts the conviction that God can make everything work unto well, because even from the grave he brings life.

Our theme also invites us to “Walk with Jesus.”

To walk with Jesus is to follow him, but it is more than this alone. ‘Walking the walk’ with Jesus is a lifestyle.

When we enter into an intimate relationship with God through his Son, taking steps in faith, even if we are unsure where our feet will land, then we are truly walking with Jesus.

Walking with Jesus is also disciplining and bringing others to know the Lord through our words and actions.

This school year we will Walk with Jesus, Our Living Hope in our school community.

We will explore ways to meaningfully experience this through prayer, scripture, and service in our classrooms and we invite all of our families to adopt this theme in our homes as well.

Together we will see, as Pope Francis says, how sowing the seeds of hope can blossom in our lives and in our world.