Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Thank you again for joining us for the retreat on Hope and the Narrow Gate: Singing the Lord’s Song in a Strange Land. Your prayer, reflection, and presence helped make our time together a true encounter with the Living Christ.

As a way of carrying the retreat forward, I am sharing two documents with you:

1. Hope and the Narrow Gate – this Sunday's homily and the reflections that framed our retreat. This text sets the stage for our journey, reminding us that hope is not naive optimism, but the defiant trust that God is faithful even in exile, even in a strange land.

2. Living with Defiant Hope – a retreat companion designed for your ongoing reflection. It gathers the themes we explored together, offers lyrical meditations, and includes Scripture-based questions to help you deepen your prayer and share insights with others.

My prayer is that these resources will help you keep singing the Lord’s song—sometimes through tears, sometimes through silence, always through hope. The narrow gate we walk together is not about exclusion, but about courage, discipline, and trust in the God who is faithful.

Please feel free to use the companion as a personal guide, or as a resource for small group prayer and discussion.

May Christ, our Peace and our Hope, continue to strengthen you on the journey.

In Christ,

 Fr. Matthew Hawkins