With my feelings of inadequacy and spiritual laziness in the forefront of my mind, when it came time for me to write this article, I knew I had to seek so-called “spiritual backup.” I keep a copy of Bishop Emeritus Robert J. Baker’s book, Rejoicing in our Hope, on the top of a bookcase in my office at work. The bishop’s motto is “rejoicing in hope,” so, for me, looking to his book seemed like a no-brainer in the context of a Jubilee Year focused on hope.

As I read portions of the book, two things stood out to me: a quote from the bishop and his references to Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclical Spe Salvi. Since I had never read the pope’s 2007 encyclical, I printed it off the Vatican’s website and started reading and highlighting. Of all the rich and profound content, the quote I would like to highlight first touched home in many ways. “To come to know God — the true God — means to receive hope,” writes Pope Benedict. “We who have always lived with the Christian concept of God, and have grown accustomed to it, have almost ceased to notice that we possess the hope that ensues from a real encounter with this God.”

That passage struck a chord not only for me personally but also for me as a mother. Not too long ago, my daughter was expressing her sadness that she has not had a moving, life-changing faith experience like some of her friends. For her, for me, and probably for many other faithful Catholics, what the pope observes is an unfortunate reality. We have become numb to and, most assuredly, distracted from God’s presence.

Going back to Bishop Baker, he writes in his book, “My role as a priest and bishop has always been one of preaching hope to my people, giving them reasons for hope and joy.” He points out that “hope is a virtue that is critical for survival in life.”

I mention this quote because it exemplifies what Pope Benedict refers to when he writes in Spe Salvi: “Life is like a voyage on the sea of history, often dark and stormy, a voyage in which we watch for the stars that indicate the route. The true stars of our life are the people who have lived good lives. They are lights of hope. Certainly, Jesus Christ is the true light, the sun that has risen above all the shadows of history. But to reach Him we also need lights close by — people who shine with His light and so guide us along our way.”

Notwithstanding his admitted priestly mission, the bishop is one of the lights of which Pope Benedict writes. Another one of those lights is featured in this issue’s cover story. Deacon Max Gallegos, who has just begun his journey of service to the Church, will undoubtedly be a light for those he shepherds as a priest of the Diocese of Birmingham, so, too, are the others featured in this issue — from seminarians John Paul Stepnowski and Andrew Vickery to Father Jose Chacko to the men preparing to be ordained to the permanent diaconate to the Dominican Sisters of Christian Doctrine. They are all “stars” lighting the way to the Lord. May we all open our eyes to God’s presence in our lives, using the “lights” around us and holding fast “not to what we have,” as Bishop Baker instructs, “but to what we will have … looking forward to the eternal happiness to come.”