A Moment To Pause: Monday May 18th 2026

Hello and good morning and welcome to the Oblate time of prayer and reflection today, on Monday the 18th of May, written by Mary Tyrrell. In Saint John's Gospel, chapter 16, verses 29 to 33, Jesus outlines the reality of what the disciples lives will be like after he's gone from them, stating, “In this world you will have trouble.” This is a reminder that suffering is inevitable for all men and women. It makes it clear that belief in Jesus doesn't make us immune to struggles, but it does provide us with a source of strength and comfort to get through any difficulties. Though the problems are different today, we too live in a very troubled world. People are despairing of what can be done about poverty, climate change, lack of peace, greed and a lack of faith - I could go on here - Jesus is reassuring his friends that though they, like us, will face trials in the world, we can all have peace. Jesus gives us all hope and encouragement with this powerful declaration: “But take heart! I have overcome the world.” These words of Jesus are the foundation and the basis of Christian hope. Christian hope is much more than the optimism politicians promise but seldom provide. Christian hope gives it the disciples and us, the promise that in Christ we can find peace and strength to endure and overcome whatever challenges we may face. We have only to trust in those words of Jesus: “But take heart! I have overcome the world”, to bring us peace when we face challenges. But do we? Let's ponder this today as we bring our time of prayer to a close and we say, Our Lady Queen of peace, pray for us. Thanks for joining us this morning. God bless.