If you are a fan of WPR (Music), you know about the daily (M-F) “quiz question” of the noon program. Midway through the program a question is asked and listeners try to answer correctly. A winner is chosen from all the correct answers and is awarded a prize. The categories for the question are varied, but I like the “commonality” one, i.e., a list of items is given and listeners try to identify what is “common” to all of them. Well, here is my quiz question: What is common to the Gospel of St. John, three minutes, and a February 11, 2025, letter from the Wisconsin Catholic Conference? Spoiler alert! The answer is that they all are signs of hope.

The Wisconsin Catholic Conference is the public policy voice of the Catholic Church in Wisconsin which expresses the perspective of the Wisconsin Bishops on various topics of public interest. Their recent letter addresses the current immigration issue and is a clear, balanced and compassionate response to the current administration actions on mass deportation. The Bishops write that they “want all immigrants to know that we are here to walk with you – and that God is with you!…Let us resist the temptation to consider this great land of ours as only for its current citizens. Everything we have is given to us by God and therefore we are called to offer the love of God to all.” The letter is a sign of hope!

This reflection is being written in the midst of another cold snap and so it is a sign of hope that three minutes of sunshine are added each day during the month of February.

And, finally, the Gospel of St. John focuses on the seven signs in the ministry of Jesus – e.g., the miracle at the wedding feast of Cana is the first sign. The power and presence of Jesus are reflected in the various healings and feedings, all of which gave people hope that Jesus was indeed the Son of God who came to save us.

Even though Jesus criticized people who were always looking for signs because they wanted to be amazed with the spectacular, He always desired that the signs he provided were intended to be invitations to an encounter with Jesus on a personal level. Any sign that Jesus performed would have provided only a momentary glimpse of His enduring presence, but would have strengthened their trust and hope for daily life.

So what are the signs of God’s presence that we look for? What gives us hope? Whether it is a pastoral letter or extra sunshine or the Gospel, let us be attentive to the many signs of God’s presence all around us that give us hope!

– Fr. Dennis Lynch