With the message Christ our Hope! Pope Benedict came to the United States and inspired the faith of hundreds of thousands. The Catholic Church in America has been revitalized. Many who have fallen away from their faith are coming back to Church. Seminaries are reporting a “tsunami” of incoming applications. Countless hearts have experienced the grace of healing and reconciliation.

But now that the Pope has gone, many are asking, “What now? What can we do next?”

We at John Paul the Great Catholic University believe the time has come for Catholics to boldly embrace Pope Benedict’s message of hope for our country―a hope not in politicians, bureaucrats or “programs” but hope in Christ Jesus.

This is a call to prayerful action―a daring challenge to live out our faith in Christ and embrace our Catholic identity. It is an appeal for Catholics to be a light to the world. Simply put, Pope Benedict is calling us…

• To commit ourselves to prayer, especially in the Mass

• To stand up boldly for Christ in the world

• To proclaim our commitment to His Church and our Catholic Faith

Of course, Christ our Hope means that the focus can never be on what we can do for our country but on what Christ can do through us. As Jesus said, “apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:6). So let us now turn to Him as a community like never before…