“Transformed by Hope” is proposed as a space of listening and discernment on the Sunday Gospels that accompany our journey.

This initiative is situated within the horizon opened by the Jubilee and seeks to extend its grace, continuing to live our vocation as pilgrims of hope amid the challenges of our time.

Each week, in the light of the Word of God, we contemplate an aspect of the conversion to which we are called, allowing ourselves to be guided by the Spirit. 

On the Solemnity of Pentecost, the reflection on the Gospel according to John (Jn 20:19-23) is entrusted to Sr. Martina Moncada Adelas, Superior General of the Augustinian Sisters of Help.

We arrive at the Solemnity of Pentecost, and today’s Gospel captures that moving and transformative moment for all the disciples. 

As I read the text, several words resonate within me: on the one hand, fear transformed into joy; on the other, closed doors that do not prevent Jesus from entering.

These are contrasting feelings, mutually exclusive situations, which through the eyes of faith invite me to affirm that it is the Lord who transforms when, by allowing Him to enter, we welcome the Peace He brings with Him.

Just as it happened to the disciples then, so it happens in consecrated life today: at times we remain behind closed doors out of fear, insecurity, looking at one another, “comforting” ourselves while at the same time preventing newness from entering our lives; we struggle amid a whirlwind of emotions, changes, and transformations that seem to make us lose balance… yet perhaps in that very “disorder” God is bringing order (in His own way) so that something new may be born… contemplating this context with eyes of possibility is the invitation for each one of us, because in the apparent disorder God continues to be present.

I also do not want to fail to emphasize that Jesus gives us peace, and becoming aware of this gift constantly offered to us, especially during the Easter season, is the first step for it to become life and concrete action. Pope Leo XIV expressed it this way on January 1 of this year during the World Day of Prayer for Peace:

“Peace exists, it desires to dwell within us, it has the gentle power to enlighten and broaden the mind, it resists violence and overcomes it. Peace bears the breath of eternity; while evil is shouted at with ‘enough,’ peace is whispered to with ‘forever.’ Into this horizon the Risen One has introduced us. (…) Before being a goal, peace is a presence and a journey. Even if it is fought against within and outside us, like a small flame threatened by the storm, let us protect it without forgetting the names and stories of those who have borne witness to it.”