This celebration each year is always very special, and it affords us the opportunity to pray for those children who have died before their birth, for their parents and families and for those who work at Pregnancy Assistance to support mothers and fathers as they decide what to do during a pregnancy. We celebrate with the Mass knowing that the Lord is present and He comes close to us with love and mercy, and the spiritual strength we need to go on.

This is the Day of the Unborn. Many here remember the loss of a child in the womb before they could live independently of their mother. They were children who had already come to be.

The children who are here with their parents today will bring a flower to the sanctuary in a moment. The flower is a symbol of the little brother or sister they have but cannot see. Yet they know of because of the story they have been told of little one’s short life.

The unborn child is a son, a daughter, a brother, a sister.

We celebrate this day of memories and hope in the Jubilee Year of Hope. Throughout the year, we will reflect on the faith that gives us hope. In the gospel of John, we hear the words of Jesus that there is no greater love than that someone should give up their life for another. Of course, these were more than words: they were words that became action when Jesus was lifted up on the cross for us.

The Year of Hope has given Pope Francis the opportunity to remind us of the wonderful grace that is hope, and to call each of us to be Pilgrims of Hope.

A way of being a Pilgrim of Hope is to walk with others in the times of joy and the times of sadness and loss.

Those who support and continue the mission of Pregnancy Assistance are Pilgrims of Hope, offering themselves as companions to the women and men they accompany. They meet, encourage, offer practical assistance and pray for those facing a huge decision. They offer ongoing support, no matter the outcome.

The prophet Jeremiah came to realise that he needed to put aside self in order to know the will of God. Our desire to walk with others, giving witness to the love of God and to faith in the mercy of God, is to be a pilgrim of Hope. Let us pray for the director and staff to be signs of hope, by their perseverance and care.

Let us pray for the families and the children who have been lost.

I was recently at a celebration, a scrutiny on the Profession of Faith. I heard these words of one of the Psalms in a song of the ceremony: “When I awake, I will be satisfied with your face, O Lord”. It reminded me of a beautiful Christian practice of having an icon or picture of Jesus on the wall of the bedroom that I see first when I wake each morning. The first thing I see is the face of Christ, who I know will be walking with me in this new day, and I know will bring out the good things of the day’s events for me.

And I also thought of the experience of the unborn child who fell into the sleep of death in the womb. The child, a creation of God, we believe, woke to see the face of Jesus and was immediately satisfied, filled with love and wanting nothing.

Faith in God leads to a hope that does not deceive.