For the Jubilee Year, Pope Francis has invited us to become “pilgrims of hope.” Students were asked to share a personal story about a time when hope played an important role in their lives, and what they learned about hope from this experience.

We received submissions in two divisions (grades 6-8 and grades 9-12) from students currently enrolled in a Catholic school or Catholic religious education program. Following are the winning essays.

Div. II (Grades 9-12)

First Place Winner: Cole Urwiller, Grade 12
A Beautiful Plan

I learned about hope at a very young age. When I was 7 years old, my family was expecting our fourth child. We were all so excited watching my mom’s belly grow and feeling the baby kick as we lay our heads on her stomach while she read to us every night before bed.

Our excitement turned to sadness, though, when my mom came home from the doctor one day in tears. She shared with us that our baby brother had gone to heaven to be with Jesus. I remember holding his little body in my arms at the hospital after she delivered him, his perfect little fingers and toes, so wonderfully made. And I remember standing by his little coffin at the cemetery singing “Jesus Loves Me” with my siblings.

Jesuit Father Michael Sparough, a retreat director, has said, “Ultimate hope is accepting what is beyond our control and believing that God will use the circumstances of our lives to help us grow in holiness.” That is just what my family did. We trusted in the Lord’s plan for us through our sadness and grief; we stayed strong in our faith and we never lost our hope.

Two years later, my parents gathered us all together for a family meeting and shared the exciting news that we were expecting another baby. Our excitement turned to shock when the ultrasound showed not one baby, but two … we were going to have identical twin girls! The Lord answered our faithful prayers with two babies.

Things took a sudden turn, however, when our twins were diagnosed with TTTS, twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, which happens when identical twins sharing one placenta begin to have an imbalance in nutrients. One twin was receiving nearly all the nutrients. The doctors monitored the twins closely, hoping the condition would level out and the babies would each get the nutrients they needed. Meanwhile, we prayed and stayed faithful in hope.

News of our babies spread throughout our church, our diocese and the world. They were lifted up in prayer by so many faithful prayer warriors, blessing our family with so much hope. Their TTTS, however, continued to progress, so my parents flew to Houston, Texas, to see a specialist. It was decided that surgery was needed in order to give the twins the best chance at survival.

Along with all our faithful prayer warriors, we covered the surgeon and medical team in prayer as they operated inside the amniotic sac with the twins, closing off the connecting blood vessels in the placenta so that each baby would have their own source of nutrients. We knew it was a high-risk procedure, but we trusted in the Lord and had hope.

Eight weeks later, my little twin sisters made an early arrival at 34 weeks. My parents shared with us that the delivery room was packed full of specialists, expecting to have to administer blood transfusions and other medical interventions for the babies. Much to the doctors’ surprise, my sisters came out of the womb perfectly healthy with loud, joyous cries. There was a collective pause and sense of wonder in the delivery room as everyone took in the perfectly healthy little babies with complete awe. From that day on, my twin sisters have been known as “the miracle twins” they truly are.

Through the lives of my brother in heaven and my miracle twin sisters here on earth, I have learned the importance of hope. Hope is what carried my family through our time of grief after losing my little brother. Hope is what gave us the strength to not give in to fear and despair during my twin sisters’ struggle with TTTS. And hope is what makes each moment of every day worth living.

The Oxford Dictionary describes hope as “a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen, a feeling of trust.” And to me, that is what hope is all about — trust. Trusting that the Lord has a beautiful plan for our lives and that everything that happens is a part of his beautiful plan. “Never, ever give up on hope. Never doubt, never tire, and never become discouraged. Be not afraid!” — St. John Paul II

Maryknoll Father Kevin Hanlon presents Daniel Cobio with the Bishop Francis X. Ford Award for Division I at Holy Family Catholic Church, the Cobio family’s parish. (Courtesy of Holy Family Catholic Church/U.S.)

Division I (Grades 6-8)

First Place Winner: Daniel Cobio, Gr.8
A Ray of Hope

When I was a little boy, I read a story about a lighthouse. In this story, a little lighthouse emitted an intense light that shined bright in the dark night. Sailors in a ship were saved from getting lost at sea while navigating treacherous waters because they followed this light. I truly believe that hope is a light that gets us through our darkest moments in life. Although I am only 14 years old, I can recall a time of darkness and worry that consumed my existence. This occurred four years ago during COVID.

One morning, I woke up as usual and started getting ready for school. I was excited to go and see my friends since I had not seen them for a week due to spring break. My mother came into my room and told me that I wouldn’t be going to school because everything was being shut down due to people getting sick. I was confused at first and soon became scared. To me, if people got sick, they would go to the doctor. We didn’t close buildings and make people stay home.

Soon, only my father would go get groceries and no one else would be allowed out of the house. My mother would wipe down with bleach wipes everything that came into the house. I had never seen this before and I wondered if we, too, could get sick and die. At one point, I accidentally heard that many people were dying around the world and there was no cure. I was terrified and had nightmares every night.

Days, weeks, and months went by with no end to this chaos in sight. I would spend my days inside the house doing my homework online. Those were very stressful times. The saddest time came when I went with my mother to check on my grandparents. We could see them only through the window, and it was devastating not to be able to hug them. I can still remember how the tears rolled down their cheeks as they waved to us from across the glass. That image will be engraved in my heart forever.

One particular afternoon, I remember feeling a deep sadness in my heart. To me, nothing would ever be the same again and things would not get better. I sat inside on the window ledge in our dining room, looking outside to the sky and asking God for a sign. I’ve always believed that God talks to us by sending us signs. We just need to talk to him, and he answers. Well, that afternoon, as I looked up to the grayish clouds, I asked God if things would ever get better. Would we ever return to a more normal existence?

At that moment I saw the brightest ray of sunshine pierce through the clouds. I knew that God was sending me a sign. He was saying that everything would be all right. To me, that bright light was a ray of hope.

After that day, I knew in my heart that things would be fine. The hope that I felt helped me get through the toughest days. Hope was like candlelight that shines bright in the darkest night. It fueled my soul and gave me the courage to stay strong. Little by little, things did get better, and we slowly started getting back to a more normal life.

From this experience, I have learned that hope is powerful. Hope is God. It is a force that lifts our spirits and gets us through the toughest times. It is not only important to have hope, but it is also equally essential to be a beacon of hope for others. There is so much suffering going on in the world, and people face a variety of challenges every day. One can be that light that brings hope and pulls someone out of despair. I, too, can be a lighthouse that shines a light of hope and makes a difference in the world.

Second Place Winners

On a service trip to Jamaica, Galen volunteered at an elementary school. In the poor but vibrant community, he learned that hope is not “distant or unreachable,” nor is it “reserved for perfect solutions.” Instead, “Hope is a shared journey, one that unites us in our humanity and connects us to something greater.”

Third Place Winners

Division II (Grades 9-12)
George Sercan

Everything changed for George’s family when his father fell into a prolonged coma due to COVID-19. Yet, George says, by staying close to family and community, journaling and praying, he learned about “choosing to hope.” He adds, “Hope does not erase difficulty but gives us the courage to face it.”