Holy Year, 2025's theme is Hope. The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines it as follows: "Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness (What is the virtue of hope?)". But for many, hope is lived out in the immediate moment, in the uncertainty of knowing what tomorrow will bring. Will there be enough food, will our needs be met?
An abundance of material goods won't always make people happier or more virtuous since true happiness is fulfilled in God alone. In this way, the spiritual is superior to the material. However, while waiting for heaven, we must live on earth, with material needs of food, clothing and shelter. The absence of material goods makes the practice of any virtue difficult and to secure enough resources to sustain life, people may resort to stealing, taking another's life, prostitution, etc.
There is a saying that a hungry belly has no ears. Even missionaries in poor countries have to bear this in mind and feed the hungry before preaching to them. We require a minimum of material goods to survive. In Proverbs (30:8-9), we read: "Lord, give me neither poverty nor riches, grant me only my share of food, for fear that, surrounded by plenty, I should fall away and say,'Yahweh. Who is Yahweh?'or else, in destitution, take to stealing and profane the name of my God."
The necessities of life exist in sufficient quantities for everyone on the planet, but it's the money to acquire all these necessary goods that a large part of the population lacks. This is where the wonderful solution of Economic Democracy.
We pay tribute to Clifford Hugh Douglas, who invented this genius solution, and to Louis Even, who introduced it to us (Louis Even’s immense legacy), leaving us the dual legacy of a movement for financial liberation and deepening of our Catholic faith. Douglas was able to diagnose the flaws in the current financial system (see pages 6-7), and Mr. Even demonstrated how Economic Democracy perfectly applies the Church's teaching on social justice in society (“It is applied Christianity”).
We don't know what the future holds, and we all live in a state of anxiety. Some would even like to impose more controls on us (What will the world of tomorrow be?). Recent events, which some would call signs of the times point to the worst, perhaps even a third world war. However, despite all that may happen, we have every reason to hope, since we are certain that the final victory belongs to God, and that Satan and his rebellious angels will return to hell forever. And let's not forget that at Fatima the Blessed Virgin Mary affirmed that in the end her Immaculate Heart would triumph. It is a certainty.
Douglas said that a psychological moment would arrive when the population, given the gravity of the situation and despite all the power of the financiers, will have endured the debt-money system long enough. They will then become open to study and accept Economic Democracy.
Douglas wrote the following in his book, Social Credit, published in 1924: "During that period a small impetus from a body of men who know what to do and how to do it, may make the difference between yet one more retreat into the Dark Ages, or the emergence into the full light of a day of such splendor as we can at present only envisage dimly."
Those who know what to do and how to do it are those who read MICHAEL, those who know Economic Democracy, Mr. Even wrote in 1970: "Whether the present financial system collapses onto itself, or whether foretold cataclysmic events must first occur, we are not without a remedy. Either way, the survivors will have a light, Economic Democracy, to establish a worthwhile economic system."
Achieving a better world, or rebuilding civilization on solid foundations, is not possible without the application of Douglas' principles, and without the application of the Gospel of Christ. With God's help, and our collaboration in His plan, we have the firm hope that truth and justice will have the last word in history, that God's reign will prevail, that His will will finally be accomplished on earth as it is in Heaven. This is our reason for hope!
So let's spread the message of MICHAEL around us, to sow the hope of a better future for all, both materially and spiritually. And then, as the theme of the Holy Year says, we will be "Pilgrims of Hope"!