This short anthology begins with a meditation on Christmas and the Nativity scene and then dwells on a number of dangers we might encounter on the way. Christian hope is nourished by prayer and daily choices, by the example of Mary under the cross, and by the strength of the saints and martyrs. Cultivating hope means not giving up in the night, not being satisfied with worn-out words of consolation, preferring spring to autumn--as the Pope poetically states--and making all things new.