We’re pleased to share this year’s Communications Award submission—a reflective piece exploring how we can live as pilgrims of hope in our daily lives. Read the full article below.

How do you live as a Pilgrim of Hope in your daily life?

By Nina Fatima Mercado

Psalm 84:5 proclaims, “Blessed are those whose strength is in You, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.”
To live as a pilgrim of hope is to walk each day with our hearts set on Heaven, journeying toward the eternal home God has promised (Hebrews 13:14). This path of holiness means hoping not as a feeling, but as a desire for eternal life, trusting in Christ’s promises through the Holy Spirit’s grace (Catholic Catechism).

The Pilgrimage of Hope and the rosary
I see the pilgrimage of hope as a journey through the rosary: a path of joy, sorrow, and glory. The rosary itself is a spiritual pilgrimage: a meditation on Christ’s life, death, and resurrection that leads us toward Heaven. As St. Louis de Montfort wrote, it is “the most powerful weapon to touch the Heart of Jesus who loves His Mother.”
St. John Paul II noted that countless saints found in the rosary, “a genuine path to grow in holiness.” Among them, St. Carlo Acutis called it “the shortest ladder to Heaven,” with each bead and prayer a step closer to God. This means the easiest way to be a pilgrim of hope is to pray the rosary.

The rosary as a way of life: faith, hope, charity
The rosary begins with the virtues.
Hope is one of the three theological virtues—faith, hope, and charity—which together form the foundation of Christian life.
I like to think of it this way:
For an increase in faith, begin “climbing the ladder” of the rosary. For an increase in hope, persevere in praying it. For an increase in love, walk the way of the rosary with others.

“The greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13), for faith and hope are meant to deepen love; a true pilgrimage is communal, for love is meant to be multiplied. To be steadfast in faith and hope is to love greatly and vice versa.
It follows that if hope is perseverance, then to live as a pilgrim of hope means to persevere joyfully and faithfully on our journey to Heaven.
Let’s go through each bead…

Faith and Our Lady
Mary is our perfect example of faith. Her heart is fully consecrated to God’s will. The first joyful mystery, the Annunciation, reveals her fiat, her total “yes” to God.
During my “faith gap year,” I took what felt like a radical leap of trust. I postponed university to pursue God more deeply, unsure where it would lead. Like Mary, I simply said “yes,” and that surrender led me to a deeper relationship with Him. Prioritising God above all else gave my life order, because He led the way and still does.
As a pilgrim of hope, how can you say “yes” to God each day?

Hope amidst sorrow
Hope shines the brightest in suffering, for our weakness is made perfect in Him (2 Corinthians 12:9). The sorrowful mysteries remind us that Christ’s path, our perfect pilgrim’s path, was one of both extreme agony and glory.
In our pain, we can look to the Cross: perseverance through suffering leads to redemption. Our Lady’s heart, pierced with her Son’s, remained faithful and hopeful through His Passion. Sharing His pain, she became His consolation. On the Cross, Jesus gave His Mother to us so she may help us to carry our own crosses; our hope is her company.
Thus, we must ask Our Mother to aid us in carrying our crosses.

Charity: the fruit of the pilgrimage
Faith and hope culminate in charity, which is the self-giving love of God poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.
The glorious mysteries call us to surrender attachments, embrace our crosses, and trust in God’s providence. Through the rosary, Mary walks with us, forming our hearts to love like hers; this love requires total surrender to God.
As Mother Teresa said, we must ask Our Lady to keep us in “her most pure heart” and love with it!

A hopeful end-note
The pilgrimage of hope is difficult—it is meditative, mysterious, and it can be painful. Each of us carries a different cross, yet our cross is our hope, for it unites us to Christ who leads us home. Like the rosary, the pilgrimage of hope is God’s Word lived in practice.
To ask how we can live as pilgrims of hope is to ask how we can persevere toward Heaven in a distracted world. Each rosary strengthens the soul with new grace and virtue for the road ahead.