IN THE economic and political uncertainties of Ireland many find it very hard to hope, the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin, John Neill, has said.
In his final new year message, before his retirement at the end of next month, he said that 2011 “can be an opportunity to hope”.
“The new year reminds us, too, that the way ahead is full of uncertainties. This is why we pray each new year for God’s help and for the courage to work for peace, integrity and justice in our own land and throughout the world.”
He continued: “Without prayer, there can be no hope. Genuine prayer includes facing the real responsibility that we have for one another, however great our own personal hardship appears to be, or actually is”.
Both “hopes and uncertainties abound at the beginning of 2011. There is so much we can do and so much that is beyond our control.
“The Christian message does not provide easy answers or quick solutions. Instead it points to God’s way as shown in the life, death and rising of Jesus Christ.”
That is “a way of peace and of forgiveness and of love,” Dr Neill continued. “In Jesus Christ we see the power to transform the new year into something to be faced with joy and without fear – an opportunity to hope once again. This is the hope for which to pray.”
