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MIRROR

HOPE AND THE ART OF LIVING

HOPE AND THE ART OF LIVING

MIRROR GIVE JOY, GIVE HOPE

CONTENTS PAGE Christians have Hope. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J F Declan Quinn.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Witness to Hope. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fr. Martin Barta. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Christians give Hope. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Hope in an Imperfect World.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pope Benedict XVI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 God is the Great Hope. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pope Benedict XVI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Hope for the Least of God’s Children. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Lights of Hope. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pope Benedict XVI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Witnesses of Hope. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pope Benedict XVI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 God alone can inspire People. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 The Venerable Cardinal Van Thuan - Witness to Hope.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Saint Pope John Paul II - Witness to Hope.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 The Word of God is Real Treasure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Bringing Hope to the World. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 We are made for Eternity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pope Benedict XVI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Judgement and Grace.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pope Benedict XVI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Getting Ready to Give People Hope. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Hope directs our Action.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pope Benedict XVI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Prayer is Hope in Action. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pope Benedict XVI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

‘This is Christian Hope: the future is in God’s hands.’ POPE FRANCIS Editor: Jürgen Liminski. Publisher: ACN International, Postfach 1209, 61452 Königstein, Germany.

De licentia competentis auctoritatis ecclesiasticae. Printed in Ireland - ISSN 0252-2535. www.acninternational.org

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CHRISTIANS HAVE HOPE A chairde,

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hristians have Hope because God sent His only Son Jesus Christ to dwell amongst us and teach us ‘the Art of Living’…

The Art of Living in the knowledge that Christ is risen from the dead and will come again to judge the living and the dead.

The Art of Living in the knowledge that Christ founded His One, True, Catholic and Apostolic Church on the Rock of Peter.

The Art of Living in the knowledge that Christ has sent the Holy Spirit to guide His Church and accompany His people throughout History.

The many sins and failings of individual Christians throughout the ages, those which are known and those which remain unknown, those among the lay faithful, those among the consecrated and those among the clergy, do not and cannot refute this Truth. On the contrary they testify just how much we need God’s Grace constantly in our lives in order to withstand the temptations the Evil One puts in our path.

doors to eternal life to all who have faith in Jesus Christ and who give witness to that faith in their works and their words.

As Christians we are called to always be ready to give Witness to the Hope we have within us (cf. 1 Peter 3:15).

As Christians we are called to give Hope to the world.

So it is that the Art of Living, of living a full life, a Joy-filled life with an endless future subsists in helping others discover ‘the Hope that never disappoints’ (cf. Romans 5:5) beginning within our own families.

Beir Beannacht

J F Declan Quinn Director, Aid to the Church in Need (Ire)

Christians know the true God. Christians know that God is a merciful Father. Christians know that we will sin but they also know that God loves sinners and that He sent forth His only Son to redeem sinners and open the GIVE JOY, GIVE HOPE

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HOPE AND THE ART OF LIVING

WITNESSES TO HOPE Dear Friends, ‘But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel’ (Lk 24:21).

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hus the two disciples expressed their disappointment on the way to Emmaus on that first Easter Sunday.

Two deflated travellers walked towards a future without meaning or purpose. They had lost all Hope. Only in the breaking of the bread did they recognise the Risen One and at the same moment they were given the divine gift of Hope. Of course, they had ‘not yet’ achieved final salvation, but now they saw the future clearly. Filled with Hope, they now possessed the sure and firm anchor of their souls, and could safely set sail to heaven.

The French poet Charles Péguy describes Hope as like a little girl, almost unnoticed as she trips between her two big sisters, Faith and Love – yet it is this little one who carries everything with her.

‘Faith sees only what is. But Hope sees what will be. Love addresses itself only to what is. But Hope sees what will be.

Hope cannot be understood on its own.

Faith is simple, and not to believe would be impossible. Love is simple, and not to love would be impossible. But to be able to hope – that is the difficult thing.’

Many Christians survive suffering, imprisonment and torture, only through Hope. This is not an escape from reality or taking consolation in the life to come, but a supernatural force that is directed unerringly towards the blessing and salvation of the world.

Christian Hope gives true meaning and direction to the here and now.

Freedom, philosophy, progress – all these cannot eliminate poverty and suffering in this world. But we can accomplish more than we think if, through the Resurrection of Jesus, the Hope of Salvation remains alive in us.

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‘To Christians, the future has a name, and its name is Hope.’

POPE FRANCIS

In his encyclical letter Spe Salvi Pope Benedict XVI enumerates three essential ways by which we learn Hope.

The first is through Prayer. For Prayer, in its original sense of entreaty, is nothing else but the voice of one who hopes.

The second way is in someone’s sincere and righteous actions carried out every day, even in the face of apparent failure, obstacles or impotence when they are confronted with the overwhelming powers of evil.

The third way is in bearing and sharing in another’s suffering.

Of course we must always strive to minimise suffering, but God alone can ultimately overcome it.

Our Hope is deepened the more we unite ourselves with him in suffering, embrace it and ‘offer it up’ in order to overcome the world’s sin and evil which are the sources of suffering.

Dear friends, we are all called to be Witnesses to Hope. Through our prayer, our good deeds and our sharing in the sufferings of others, let us strive to be a source of Easter hope for those afflicted by poverty and suffering.

My grateful blessing on you all,

Father Martin M. Barta, ACN Ecclesiastical Assistant GIVE JOY, GIVE HOPE

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CHRISTIANS GIVE HOPE

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lgeria is a ticking time bomb, with a surge in migration, an uncertain political climate, and an economic crisis facing its 43 million inhabitants, two-thirds of whom are aged under 30, with one-third of its young people unemployed. And the Islamists are waiting for their moment.

Such a situation needs hope, hope in the future of the country. Father Paul-Elie has this Hope. He knows his own country, he knows his own people, and he has an insight in to what people are thinking – and not just the Christians. As a young man he was a Muslim, in those days he was called Ali. He lived through the dark years of Algeria’s civil war in the 1990s.

Over 200,000 people died, in a pitiless battle between Islamist extremists and the army. That was when he lost Hope, no longer believing in

Corpus Christi: bringing the presence of Christ to the people.

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anything, focusing only on his studies towards his diploma in information theory. One day he went with a cousin to a hidden chapel run by an Evangelical Christian community. ‘There I heard Jesus’, he recalls. ‘He spoke to me by my name and told me He was protecting me and had always done so. I felt loved as never before.

I was deeply moved, and for ten minutes I could only weep.’

He was baptised, but he still hungered for the Truth. Years later a Catholic missionary revealed the fullness of Truth and he converted.

But Islamists learned that he had converted, and hunted him, threatening his family. He left for Europe, still restless at heart. In Belgium he joined a religious community, then moved on to France and at the age of 34 began to study Theology. Six years later, in 2016, he was ordained to the priesthood.

That all may feel the love of Christ: Father Paul-Elie imparting his priestly blessing.

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Now he is home again, a priest of the Missionary Fraternity of John Paul II. In the name of the Fraternity, or rather ‘in Jesus’ name’, he has returned to Algeria. ‘I am needed here’, he says. ‘My heart is at peace, even if the storms should rage around me.’ He recalls the words of Saint Teresa of Avila who once complained to the Lord, saying ‘Where were you, my beloved Jesus? Where were you during this terrible storm?’

Our Lord responded, ‘I was in the innermost depths of your heart.’ That’s how Father PaulElie feels as well, and it is this inner peace from God that he wants to bring to his people.

According to the Protestant Church of Algeria there are over 200,000 converts from Islam, most of them are Protestants, but the number of Catholics is also growing.

Precise figures are hard to come by. Most live in the Kabylie region of northern Algeria where Father Paul-Elie comes from. Many of them live widely scattered among the mountain villages.

He wants to bring them the Lord in the Eucharist. He wants to lead a ‘dialogue of coexistence’ between Catholics and other faiths in the villages so that they can all experience the love of Christ.

But for this work he needs a robust vehicle, and he has asked us to help him. We have promised to help him bring Hope, invincible Hope in the Risen One. •

Father Paul-Elie proclaiming the Gospel Truth.

GIVE JOY, GIVE HOPE

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HOPE IN AN IMPERFECT WORLD POPE BENEDICT XVI1

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e need the greater and lesser hopes that keep us going day by day. But these are not enough without the great Hope, which must surpass everything else. This great Hope can only be God, who encompasses the whole of reality and who can bestow upon us what we, by ourselves, cannot attain. The fact that it comes to us as a gift is actually part of Hope.

God is the foundation of Hope: not any god, but the God who has a human face and who has loved us to the end, each one of us and humanity in its entirety.

His Kingdom is not an imaginary hereafter, situated in a future that will never arrive; His Kingdom is present wherever He is loved and wherever His love reaches us.

His love alone gives us the possibility of soberly persevering day by day, without ceasing to be spurred on by Hope, in a world which by its very nature is imperfect.

His love is at the same time our guarantee of the existence of what we only vaguely sense and which nevertheless, in our deepest self, we await: a life that is ‘truly’ life.

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1 Edited and Adapted from Spe Salvi No. 31.

‘Do not abandon yourselves to despair.

We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song’ POPE JOHN PAUL II

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GOD IS THE GREAT HOPE

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n this sense it is true that anyone who does not know God, even though he may entertain all kinds of hopes, is ultimately without Hope, without the great Hope that sustains the whole of life (cf. Eph 2:12).

Man’s great, true Hope which holds firm in spite of all disappointments can only be God — God who has loved us and who continues to love us ‘to the end,’ until all ‘is accomplished’ (cf. Jn 13:1 and 19:30).

Whoever is moved by Love begins to perceive what ‘life’ really is. He begins to perceive the meaning of the word of hope that we encountered in the Baptismal Rite: from faith I await ‘eternal life’—the true life which, whole and unthreatened, in all its fullness, is simply life.

POPE BENEDICT XVI2

Jesus, who said that He had come so that we might have life and have it in its fullness, in abundance (cf. Jn 10:10), has also explained to us what ‘life’ means: ‘this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent’ (Jn 17:3).

Life in its true sense is not something we have exclusively in or from ourselves: it is a relationship. And life in its totality is a relationship with Him who is the source of life.

If we are in relation with Him who does not die, who is Life itself and Love itself, then we are in life. Then we ‘live’.

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2 Edited and Adapted from Spe Salvi No. 27.

‘Feeling hopeful does not mean to be optimistically naïve and ignore the tragedy humanity is facing.’

POPE FRANCIS

GIVE JOY, GIVE HOPE

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HOPE AND THE ART OF LIVING

HOPE FOR THE LEAST OF GOD’S CHILDREN

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t was in Bihar State that Mahatma Gandhi first launched his nonviolent civil disobedience campaign, which ultimately led to Indian independence.

But today that is little more than history for those living in Bihar, the poorest state on the Indian subcontinent.

When Catholics here pray the words ‘Give us this day our daily bread’ they do so in earnest, as many of them do not even have the bread they need.

And when they pray, ‘Forgive us our trespasses’, many have in mind the burden of financial

debt that they can never shake off, on account of sinful rates of interest.

This particularly affects Christians, who almost all belonging to the Dalits, the lowest caste in India.

They are not allowed to drink from public wells; They are forced to live in hovels on the edges of towns and villages and frequently They cannot even send their children to the state schools.

Word of God: a procession in Buxar for the Feast of Christ the King.

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AND YOU SHALL BE MY WITNESS

This is why a disproportionately high number of them are illiterate. But the diocese has set up Small Christian Communities (SCCs), which are helping small groups learn to read and write. Most of those in these groups are women. They are also learning basic life skills like cooking and needlework.

In SCCs also they pray together and learn more about their faith and about Jesus; that every one has equal dignity in the sight of God; and that the family can be a place of selfless love – so they can bring the message of Christ’s joy into their poor homes and hovels, and into the hearts of their families. In the diocese of Buxar 300 women are involved in one of these programmes.

they can mutually support one another. We are supporting these communities.

The poorest of the poor among the Dalits are the Musahars. They are being ministered to by the Claretian Fathers, who have asked our help to build a multipurpose hall where Musahar children can learn to read and write, to pray and grow together and be ministered to in their spiritual needs.

The Fathers explain that such a building ‘would be a blessing for these people and would give them a sense of self-confidence and an awareness of their own dignity’. We are being called to help the Claretian Fathers bring the hope and joy to these long suffering souls. •

They are also learning that they are not outcasts, that their faith unites them and that

Good News: learning that they are loved in Small Christian Communities.

GIVE JOY, GIVE HOPE

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LIGHTS OF HOPE

POPE BENEDICT XVI3

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uman life is a journey. Towards what destination? How do we find the way?

Life is like a voyage on the sea of History, often dark and stormy, a voyage in which we watch for the stars that indicate the route.

The true stars of our life are the people who have lived good lives. They are Lights of Hope.

Certainly, Jesus Christ is the true light, the Sun that has risen above all the shadows of History.

WITNESSES OF HOPE

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ertainly, in our many different sufferings and trials we always need the lesser and greater hopes too — a kind visit, the healing of internal and external wounds, a favourable resolution of a crisis, and so on.

In our lesser trials these kinds of hope may even be sufficient. But in truly great trials, where I must make a definitive decision to place the truth before my own welfare, career and possessions, I need the certitude of that true, great Hope.

But to reach Him we also need lights close by — people who shine with His Light and so guide us along our way.

Who more than Mary could be a star of hope for us? With her ‘yes’ she opened the door of our world to God himself; she became the living Ark of the Covenant, in whom God took flesh, became one of us, and pitched his tent among us (cf. Jn 1:14).

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3 Edited and Adapted from Spe Salvi No. 49.

POPE BENEDICT XVI4 For this we need witnesses — martyrs — who have given themselves totally, so as to show us the way — day after day. We need them if we are to prefer goodness to comfort, even in the little choices we face each day — knowing that this is how we live life to the full.

The capacity to suffer for the sake of the Truth is the measure of humanity.

Yet this capacity to suffer depends on the type and extent of the Hope that we bear within us and build upon.

The saints were able to make the great journey of human existence in the way that Christ had done before them, because they were brimming with great Hope.

• 4 Edited and Adapted from Spe Salvi No. 39.

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GOD ALONE CAN INSPIRE PEOPLE

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hanks to your help and generosity, we were able to support the Servants of Mary, Help of the Sick in Cuba. Sister Brunilda writes to say that ‘thanks to your help’ she and her three fellow sisters are living their lives to ‘the heartbeat of divine providence’.

Cuba.’ Without the help of our benefactors the sisters could not ‘keep God’s Hand open to heal, to comfort and bestow His Mercy, freely and • without expecting any reward’.

For God alone ‘can inspire people to help’ for projects such as these, where ‘the sick are suffering in inhuman conditions, without the right medication and often in houses that have been destroyed by the storms’. The sisters are the ‘feet and hands’ of Jesus, she writes.

‘But you are the heart and the nervous system that is keeping alive the body of Christ in

‘We ought never to lose hope, God overwhelms us with His grace, if we keep asking’ POPE FRANCIS

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HOPE AND THE ART OF LIVING

THE VENERABLE CARDINAL VAN THUAN WITNESS TO HOPE5

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PRAYER SAVED MY LIFE

n 1975 the future Cardinal François Nguyen Van Thuan (1928 - 2002) was named coadjutor archbishop of Saigon, three months later he was imprisoned by the communist government. The next thirteen years of his life in the regime’s prisons, nine of them in solitary confinement.

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In his later years Cardinal Van Thuan was president of the Pontifical Commission on Justice and Peace in the Vatican. He passed away from cancer in September 2002. His cause for canonisation is being advanced.

They tortured me by leaving me under lights day and night for ten days and then depriving me of all light for long periods. One day in the darkness I noticed a tiny hole through which the light shone. From then on I used put my nostrils there to breathe more easily.

Here in his own words are some reminiscences of his extraordinary Witness to Hope.

5 Adapted and edited from ‘Preaching Hope from prison: Cardinal François Nguyen Van Thuan’ https://www.catholicireland.net/ preaching-hope-from-prison-cardinal-francois-nguyen-van-thuan/

n my initial period in prison I spent many months in an extremely narrow space without windows, half suffocated by the heat and humidity. Often I had great difficulty in breathing.

Whenever there were floods snakes used to invade my cell and sometimes climbed my legs to avoid the water. They used stay with me until the floods passed.

I had no toilet but since I received hardly any food I had little need of one. My daily rations consisted of some rice and vegetables cooked with salt.

From five in the morning until 11.30 at night there was a constant din of voices over loudspeakers. To distract myself I did exercises, jumped, danced, sang and prayed. Prayer saved my life.

In moments of great suffering, sometimes when I wanted to pray I could not. I was desperately tired, sick and hungry …often I was tempted to despair and rebellion. But the Lord always helped me.

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AND YOU SHALL BE MY WITNESS

THE ART OF PRAYER

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n my later years in prison five policemen guarded me. Some even studied Latin to censor any documents or telegrams sent from the bishops in Rome.

One day a policeman asked me: ‘Can you teach me some song in Latin?’ I replied, ‘I’ll sing some and you can choose.’ He chose the Veni Creator (Come Holy Spirit) and asked me to write out the words. I did so not really expecting that he would learn them.

But in a few days he had learned them really well and sang them every morning while he was on guard. I thought to myself: ‘When an archbishop cannot pray, the Lord sends him a policeman to sing the Veni Creator and help him to pray!’

On another occasion a farmer came to the prison and asked permission to visit me. The

police permitted it and he spent a few minutes with me. When he was leaving he asked: ‘Please, pray for me’, and he added: ‘Father, one prayer from you in prison is worth a hundred offered in freedom.’

That day the Holy Spirit sent a farmer to teach me the value of prayer in prison.

‘I plead with you never give up on hope, never doubt, never tire, and never become discouraged.

Be not afraid’ POPE JOHN PAUL II

Cardinal Van Thuan with Pope John Paul II.

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GOD KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING

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hile in prison I wrote several books. All our religious literature had been burned and permission to publish new ones refused. I wondered how, as a pastor, I could encourage the faithful. At that time I was in a closely guarded cell but children were allowed to visit me.

One day I said to one of them: ‘Ask your mother to buy me a calendar-block’. When I received it I wrote my thoughts on the back of a sheet each night and in this way I produced my first book Pilgrims on the Road of Hope.

At another time when I was feeling very low and had no desire to write I received a request from Pope John Paul II asking me to write some spiritual exercises. These later became the work Witnesses to Hope.

I have personally experienced the sorrow of a pastor forbidden to care for his people and forced to abandon his diocese. It caused me great torment to be in prison while the people were abandoned. But I discovered that it had all been God’s work.

One night I sensed a voice in my heart saying: ‘François, God holds you in His hands. Always seek His will. God knows what He is doing. He will seek other collaborators who work better than you. Be at peace.’

That night I experienced a deep peace in my heart and I decided to seek God’s Will every minute of my life.

CARDINAL VAN THUAN AND THE ART OF LIVING I will live the present moment to the fullest.

I will discern between God and God’s works.

I will hold firmly to one secret: prayer.

I will see in the Holy Eucharist my only power.

I will have only one wisdom: the science of the Cross.

I will remain faithful to my mission in the Church and for the Church as a witness of Jesus Christ.

I will seek the peace the world cannot give.

I will carry out a revolution by renewal in the Holy Spirit.

I will speak one language and wear one uniform: Charity.

I will have one very special love: The Blessed Virgin Mary.

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THE LOVE OF CHRIST CHANGES PEOPLE

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t one stage while in prison five young jailers, university students, guarded me.

One reason that I survived was because of their friendship.

Those in charge had forbidden them to speak to me. Initially my guards were changed every fifteen days. Prison authorities believed the guards risked being contaminated if left with me for any length of time.

Eventually they stopped changing them because apparently they were afraid I would contaminate the whole force. And so the young students became my friends. The Love of Christ has great power to change people.

I would chat with them through the door about my life, the various countries I had visited, my family, my childhood etc. I taught them English, French, and even a little Russian.

TRUE MEDICINE TRUE LIFE

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he day I was arrested I had to leave everything behind me. The following day I was allowed to write and ask my friends to bring my clothes, toothpaste, etc. I also asked them to include some wine ‘as medicine’. My friends understood. They sent me a little bottle of Masswine labelled ‘Medicine for Stomach Aches’ and also some hosts hidden in a little burner used to keep the humidity at bay.

Every night I kept a tiny piece of bread for the following day’s Eucharist. And so every day for many years I had the joy of celebrating Mass with three drops of wine and one of water in my palm. This was my altar, my cathedral.

For me it was the true medicine of body and soul something to stave off death in order to live for ever in Christ.

One day I asked one of them to bring something to trim a piece of wood. He did and I was able to make a cross. Even though all religious symbols were prohibited, I now had a cross in my quarters. I hid it in a bar of soap.

Another time I asked for a piece of wire and a pair of pliers. My friendly policeman said: ‘I will bring them but you have to finish in four hours’ – the length of his particular shift. In four hours I had fashioned a chain for my cross. The cross was later enclosed in silver and it is the cross and chain I still wear.’

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SAINT JOHN PAUL II - WITNESS TO HOPE JUDIE BROWN6

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t. Pope John Paul II exemplified the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity. His papacy was rich with the gifts of the Holy Spirit—rich in wisdom and courage.

His charisma attracted all ages, but most significantly young people. The World Youth Day projects he instituted were phenomena in themselves as millions of young people were drawn to the authentic meaning of love anchored in Jesus Christ.

St. Pope John Paul II’s commitment to the principle that every innocent human being is a special message from the hand of God was evident every time he held a baby, embraced a teenager or touched the aged, infirm and broken-hearted.

No world leader was able to humble the wicked or strengthen the meek like St. Pope John Paul II, because no other leader represented the heavenly Father so well.

It’s no exaggeration to say that Saint Pope John Paul II celebrated God’s gift of life in every aspect of his being.

St. Pope John Paul II was indisputably in love with the Author of Life. Indeed, he preached life until he drew his last breath.

His actions told everyone that Jesus Christ is truly present and never abandons us, regardless of what the world dictates or what may happen to each of us personally.

Those of us who knew the Holy Father realised that the Real Presence of Christ was the central focus of his concentration. In thought, word and deed, St. Pope John

6 Adapted and edited from an original article by Judie Brown ‘John Paul II: Living the Virtue of Hope’ dated 1 May 2005. (www.clmagazine.org/article/ john-paul-ii-living-the-virtue-of-hope/) Judie Brown is president and cofounder of American Life League, the oldest grassroots pro-life educational and advocacy organization in the US. She served three five-year terms (1996-2011) as a member of the Pontifical Academy for Life in Rome

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Paul II imitated Jesus and the world noticed because, as he often said, ‘Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.’

Like the Lord, John Paul spoke truth with body and soul. Thus, he gained immeasurable might in his weakness, and surely that confounded the proud.

Pope John Paul II’s life was a witness to every single one of us. In his example of loving the Cross, he challenged the humanistic world to acknowledge the supernatural.

He changed the way many persons view frailty because he bore it with Holy Joy. This is what Archbishop Comastri told Vatican Radio following his final meeting with his friend John Paul: ‘When I found myself before the Pontiff, I felt an indescribable emotion, and at that moment images came to my mind that the television transmitted on Good Friday night, when it focused on the Pope’s back, with the Crucifix before him.

Seeing him in his bed of suffering, I said to him: “You truly are the Vicar of Christ to the end, in the passion you are living with an edification that moves the world.”

I also told him that all the controversies about the Pope’s efficiency in the past months had not understood that there must be a distinction between efficiency and efficacy.’

With that, the Holy Father’s friend proceeded, ‘There are efficient people who are not at all effective, and there are inefficient people, as the Pope was in his suffering, who are extraordinarily effective.

With his suffering, the Pope has written the most beautiful encyclical of his life, faithful to Jesus to the end.

I knelt down, I asked him for his blessing and the Pope moved his hand lightly.

I realised he wanted to bless me, but again he weakened. Then I rested my head on the pontiff’s hand, I wept and I stayed a few moments in silence.’

Having thought long and hard about it I have come to the conclusion that Hope is the virtue that best encapsulates the life of Pope John Paul.

Indeed George Weigel’s biography of John Paul is correctly entitled ‘Witness to Hope’ for his Holiness knew that Christ reigns forever and in all things. John Paul was an extraordinary and a heroic witness to Christ.

In his lifelong witness to Hope St. John Paul II challenges us to reflect upon what life is really all about and how well we will be prepared when, like him, Christ calls us to give an accounting of how we used the gifts He gave us.

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GIVE JOY, GIVE HOPE

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HOPE AND THE ART OF LIVING

THE WORD OF GOD IS REAL TREASURE

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disha (formally Orissa) is a land of numerous unknown martyrs. Many were killed simply for possessing a Bible. Yet the Word of God is a real treasure for the Catholics here. They not only read it, but they live it.

‘The persecution ten years ago has made us stronger’, says Bishop Kujur. But at the time, they fled in their tens of thousands throughout the region as they were attacked by hordes of fanatical Hindu extremists. The scars of the past are still painful.

But the Bible shows them that the Cross is the power of God. And it also shows that while our love for God is proven in fidelity to his Word, it is perfected in forgiveness. Christ’s disciples in Odisha are more than willing to forgive.

They want to live by his Word. ‘They are hungry for the Word of God’, writes their bishop. It gives them meaning and dignity.

And for this reason alone, the Christians of Odisha need the Word in their own language, Odia. They already have the ‘Nutan Niyam’ (New Testament) in Odia. But it has long since been out of print.

For more than 10 years now priests, religious Sisters and lay helpers have been pleading for a new edition. And now the six bishops of Odisha state have between them brought out a new edition, simplifying the language but without changing the meaning, simple and attractive in form.

Focus on the Gospel: a Bible study in northern India.

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AND YOU SHALL BE MY WITNESS

They plan to print 50,000 copies, and we have promised to help. For while the hearts of Odisha’s Christians are full of faith and love, materially speaking, their hands are empty.

The Bible is also needed for the training of men and women who will be providing spiritual help and counselling to others.

Some 250 such helpers from each of Odisha State’s six dioceses will receive training over a period of three years, on weekend courses, so they can then go out into the villages of the Dalits and tribal peoples and assist with parishes, the youth groups and women’s groups.

funerals, preparing for Sunday Mass and leading prayer groups.

But first they need the relevant training materials including the Bible, pamphlets on Catholic social teaching, human rights, papal encyclicals, and reports describing what works best in other places.

The training programme is substantial and the young students are strongly motivated.

They will bring new life to the six dioceses, and promote justice and peace, in Odisha state. We have promised our assistance in all of this. •

These missionaries will act as a bridge between the villages and the central parish, helping to keep the people’s faith alive and deepen it. Their work will include running marriage preparation courses, presiding at

Caring for the poorest of the poor: a Catholic sister with one of the Dalits.

Forgiveness – the basis for peace with God and neighbour.

GIVE JOY, GIVE HOPE

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HOPE AND THE ART OF LIVING

BRINGING HOPE TO THE WORLD

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ruth and Charity bring people together.

As Pope Benedict XVI wrote in his encyclical Caritas in Veritate, ‘Because it is a gift received by everyone, charity in truth is a force that builds community, it brings all people together without imposing barriers or limits.’

How much greater could this force become among those whose ‘job’, so to speak, is to proclaim this Love and Truth? We are, of course, speaking about priests. 51 priests from Latin America, who are responsible for the ongoing formation of priests, were recently invited to Rome by the Congregation of the Clergy for a four-week training course. They sent us testimonies filled with gratitude for this great gift.

Father Francisco Silva from Paraguay told us how, like many others, he had arrived in

Rome, weary and exhausted by the difficulties he faces his country. But like the others he returned ‘inwardly newly strengthened, with many ideas and filled with Hope’. He had learnt that ‘joyful and holy priests make their communities holy’ and are a leaven in their societies. ‘Pray for us, and help us to become better’, he wrote.

Father Enriquillo Nunez from the Dominican Republic also saw ‘the great challenges in our countries. But together with Jesus, the Good Shepherd and eternal Priest, we can succeed.’

And Father Javier Uria Vasquez from Bolivia pointed out that priests can open up the way of Truth to others. ‘The Eucharist is the sacrament that unites the whole Church and brings together all the faithful in our countries’.

Strengthening their faith at the tomb of Peter.

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AND YOU SHALL BE MY WITNESS

For these 51 priests it was a memorable experience of fraternity, not only to be able to exchange experiences but also to find pastoral solutions together and deepen their understanding of the temporal and eternal truths.

This was the second time that such a course has been run, and a third is already planned for later this year, because of the excellent results which have come out of it; it will again be held in the pontifical Spanish College of San José and will combine study, prayer and excursions in the city. The programme is a challenging one.

In addition to addressing theological, missionary and pastoral questions, subjects such as ‘The psychological health of the priest’, ‘Criteria for the human maturity of the priest’ and also ‘Human relations’ will be included.

Today, priests the world over face ongoing challenges in their life and ministry. The goal of

the course is to teach them to approach these challenges as Christ would.

The idea is that, after they have returned, they will pass on the insights and experiences they have gained on smaller, regional courses.

During the past year over 300 priests have taken part in regional courses like these. So it is that more and more priests from this continent – which is plagued by fundamentalist sects and violence – are coming to feel their unity despite their diversity; in this way the face of the earth is being renewed as the power of truth knows no frontiers or barriers.

The meeting in Rome is the driving force behind this ‘theology of encounter’. The Congregation of the Clergy has asked our financial help for the 50 priests involved. And as a pontifical foundation we have, of course, gladly agreed to assist.

•

Powerhouse of mission: course participants, concelebrating the Eucharist.

GIVE JOY, GIVE HOPE

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WE ARE MADE FOR ETERNITY POPE BENEDICT XVI7

G

od… reveals His true face in the figure of the sufferer who shares man’s Godforsaken condition by taking it upon Himself.

This innocent sufferer has attained the certitude of Hope: there is a God, and God can create Justice in a way that we cannot conceive, yet we can begin to grasp it through Faith.

Yes, there is a resurrection of the flesh. There is justice. There is an ‘undoing’ of past suffering, a reparation that sets things aright. For this reason, Faith in the Last Judgement is first and foremost Hope — the need for which was made abundantly clear in the upheavals of recent centuries.

I am convinced that the question of Justice constitutes the essential argument, or in any case the strongest argument, in favour of Faith in eternal life. The purely individual need for a fulfilment that is denied to us in this life, for an everlasting love that we await, is certainly an important motive for believing that man was made for eternity; but only in connection with the impossibility that the injustice of History should be the final word does the necessity for Christ’s return and for new life become fully convincing.

To protest against God in the name of Justice is not helpful. A world without God is a world without Hope (cf. Eph 2:12).

Only God can create Justice. And Faith gives us the certainty that He does so.

•

73 Edited and Adapted from Spe Salvi No. 43-44.

JUDGEMENT AND GRACE

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he judgement of God is Hope, both because it is Justice and because it is Grace.

If it were merely Grace, making all earthly things cease to matter, God would still owe us an answer to the question about Justice — the crucial question that we ask of History and of God. If it were merely Justice, in the end it could bring only fear to us all.

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POPE BENEDICT XVI8

The incarnation of God in Christ has so closely linked the two together — Judgement and Grace — that justice is firmly established: we all work out our salvation ‘with fear and trembling’ (Phil 2:12).

Nevertheless Grace allows us all to Hope, and to go trustfully to meet the Judge whom we know as our ‘advocate’, or parakletos (cf. 1 Jn 2:1).

• 8 Edited and Adapted from Spe Salvi No. 47.

Aid to the Church in Need

AND YOU SHALL BE MY WITNESS

GETTING READY TO GIVE PEOPLE HOPE

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very year up to 1000 priests are ordained in India. They belong to 172 dioceses and serve in over 10,000 different parishes.

The number of seminarians is also growing, today there are over 15,000. But the poorest diocese, Buxar, has only 10. It is in its early days, it was only founded in 2006.

It has 15 parishes and three mission stations, and the 15 diocesan priests minister to some 25,000 Catholic faithful. All the Catholics belong to the very lowest caste – the Dalits – and live scattered in the villages out in the countryside.

It is there that these young seminarians will be working, after their ordination, helping the people. They are looking forward to it.

We have promised to support their seminary training. They ask for so little – and yet they • have no one else who can help them.

GIVE JOY, GIVE HOPE

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HOPE DIRECTS OUR ACTIONS POPE BENEDICT XVI9

A

ll serious and upright human conduct is hope in action.

Our daily efforts in pursuing our own lives and in working for the world’s future either tire us or turn into fanaticism, unless we are enlightened by the radiance of the great Hope that cannot be destroyed even by small-scale failures or by a breakdown in matters of historic importance.

If we cannot hope for more than is effectively attainable at any given time, or more than is promised by political or economic authorities, our lives will soon be without Hope.

It is important to know that I can always continue to hope, even if in my own life, or the historical period in which I am living, there seems to be nothing left to hope for.

Only the great certitude of Hope that my own life and History in general, despite all failures, are held firm by the indestructible power of Love, and that this gives them their meaning and importance, only this kind of Hope can then give the courage to act and to persevere.

Certainly we cannot ‘build’ the Kingdom of God by our own efforts — what we build will always be the kingdom of Man with all the limitations proper to our human nature.

The Kingdom of God is a gift, and precisely because of this, it is great and beautiful, and constitutes the response to our Hope.

9 Edited and Adapted from Spe Salvi No. 35.

‘Today, amid so much darkness we need to see the light of hope and to be men and women who bring hope to others.’

POPE FRANCIS

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AND YOU SHALL BE MY WITNESS

And we cannot — to use the classical expression — ‘merit’ Heaven through our works.

Heaven is always more than we could merit, just as being loved is never something ‘merited’, but always a gift.

We can uncover the sources of creation and keep them unsullied, and in this way we can make a right use of creation, which comes to us as a gift, according to its intrinsic requirements and ultimate purpose.

However, even when we are fully aware that Heaven far exceeds what we can merit, it will always be true that our behaviour is not indifferent before God and therefore is not indifferent for the unfolding of History.

This makes sense even if outwardly we achieve nothing or seem powerless in the face of overwhelming hostile forces.

We can open ourselves and the world and allow God to enter: we can open ourselves to truth, to love, to what is good. This is what the saints did, those who, as ‘God’s fellow workers’, contributed to the world’s salvation (cf. 1 Cor 3:9; 1 Th 3:2).

So on the one hand, our actions engender Hope for us and for others; but at the same time, it is the great Hope based upon God’s promises that gives us courage and directs our action in good times and bad.

•

We can free our life and the world from the poisons and contaminations that could destroy the present and the future.

‘Hope is the virtue of a heart that doesn’t lock itself into darkness, that doesn’t dwell on the past, does not simply get by in the present, but is able to see a tomorrow.’

POPE FRANCIS

GIVE JOY, GIVE HOPE

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HOPE AND THE ART OF LIVING

PRAYER IS HOPE IN ACTION

S

aint Augustine, in a homily on the First Letter of John, describes very beautifully the intimate relationship between Prayer and Hope. He defines Prayer as an exercise of desire.

Man was created for greatness—for God himself; he was created to be filled by God. But his heart is too small for the greatness to which it is destined. It must be stretched. ‘By delaying [His gift], God strengthens our desire; through desire He enlarges our soul and by expanding it He increases its capacity [for receiving Him]’.

Augustine refers to Saint Paul, who speaks of himself as straining forward to the things that are to come (cf. Phil 3:13). He then uses a

POPE BENEDICT XVI10

very beautiful image to describe this process of enlargement and preparation of the human heart.

‘Suppose that God wishes to fill you with honey [a symbol of God’s tenderness and goodness]; but if you are full of vinegar, where will you put the honey?’

The vessel, that is your heart, must first be enlarged and then cleansed, freed from the vinegar and its taste. This requires hard work and is painful, but in this way alone do we become suited to that for which we are destined.

Even if Augustine speaks directly only of our capacity for God, it is nevertheless clear that through this effort by which we are freed from vinegar and the taste of vinegar, not only are we made free for God, but we also become open to others. It is only by becoming children of God, that we can be with our common Father.

To Pray is not to step outside history and withdraw to our own private corner of happiness. When we pray properly we undergo a process of inner purification which opens us up to God and thus to our fellow human beings as well.

10 Edited and Adapted from Spe Salvi No. 33.

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AND YOU SHALL BE MY WITNESS

In Prayer we must learn what we can truly ask of God — what is worthy of God. We must learn that we cannot pray against others.

We must learn that we cannot ask for the superficial and comfortable things that we desire at this moment — that meagre, misplaced hope that leads us away from God. We must learn to purify our desires and our hopes.

We must free ourselves from the hidden lies with which we deceive ourselves. God sees through them, and when we come before God, we too are forced to recognise them.

‘But who can discern his errors? Clear me from hidden faults’ prays the Psalmist (Ps 19:12 [18:13]). Failure to recognise my guilt, the illusion of my innocence, does not justify me and does not save me, because I am culpable for the numbness of my conscience and my incapacity to recognise the evil in me for what it is.

If God does not exist, perhaps I have to seek refuge in these lies, because there is no one who can forgive me; no one who is the true criterion.

Yet my encounter with God awakens my conscience in such a way that it no longer aims at self-justification, and is no longer a mere reflection of me and those of my contemporaries who shape my thinking, but it becomes a capacity for listening to the Good itself.

•

GIVE JOY, GIVE HOPE

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HOPE AND THE ART OF LIVING

YOUR GRACIOUS APPRECIATION...

MAKING AN IMPACT

A PESO A DAY

Thank you for helping those in most need all over the world. It is good to hear how ACN is making such an impact. We who have ‘everything’ tend to take our faith and our blessings for granted. God bless.

My class, in the University of Santo Tomas, are sending a letter committing us donate a peso everyday to support ACN.

A benefactor from the United States

Maria, on behalf of her classmates, Manila, Philippines

INNER FREEDOM On receiving your letter, I began to pray the Rosary. After a few days, the Lord granted me such great inner healing and freedom that I now feel more at peace than I have or a long time.

With all my heart I wish God’s blessing on your wonderful work, which I am delighted to support.

WHAT THE SAINTS SAY...

A benefactor from Germany

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Thank you and more power to your organisation. God bless!

SPREAD THE WORD! We feel a profound bond with ACN and we constantly spread the word about your work.

For three years now I have been baking bread for an Advent market.

Today I am sending you the proceeds and some donations from a few good people.

A benefactress from Austria

‘‘The cross means there is no shipwreck without hope; there is no dark without dawn; nor storm without heaven’ SAINT POPE JOHN PAUL II Quote selected by Eddie Cotter, founder

ead heologians ociety www.DeadTheologiansSociety.com Aid to the Church in Need

AND YOU SHALL BE MY WITNESS

...AND OUR HEARTFELT THANKS Dear Friends,

and suffering Church.

I

On both sides of this bridge I came to know wonderful individuals, outstanding missionaries and generous-hearted benefactors. In the national offices and in the international headquarters in KĂśnigstein, Germany I came across people who were working with passion and devotion to keep the bridge open.

t is seven years now since I responded to Cardinal Piacenza’s request to place myself at the disposal of ACN. At the time I did so purely out of a sense of duty towards the Church, but without any great enthusiasm, since I was not familiar with ACN and had altogether different plans about what I would do after I retired.

But today I look back with great gratitude on these years. I was able to use my professional experience to help the charity when Pope Benedict reinstituted it as a pontifical foundation. But above all I had the privilege of getting to know this jewel among Church aid agencies.

Father Werenfried saw our mission as one of building a bridge of love between you, the generous benefactors, and the persecuted

The immense fruitfulness of this work can only be explained by prayer, which allows people on both sides of this bridge of love to sacrifice themselves for one another. The Hands of God, blessing and protecting, are tangibly present here on a daily basis.

These years have enormously enriched my life. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Johannes Freiherr Heereman, Executive President of ACN International

WHERE TO SEND YOUR CONTRIBUTION FOR THE CHURCH IN NEED Please use the Freepost envelope.

IBAN BIC

Aid to the Church in Need,

IE32 BOFI 9005 7890 6993 28 BOFI IE2D

info@acnireland.org

If you give by standing order, or have sent a donation recently, please accept our sincere thanks. This MIRROR is for your interest and information.

www.acnireland.org

Registered Charity Numbers: (RoI) 9492 (NI) XR96620.

151 St. Mobhi Road, Glasnevin, Dublin 9.

(01) 837 7516

GIVE JOY, GIVE HOPE

WE ARE CALLED TO BE MISSIONARIES OF

‘Christian hope gives true meaning and direction to the here and now!’

ACN Ecclesiastical Assistant

‘Our Hope is not just optimism; it is something else, something more!

It is as if believers have an additional “piece of heaven” over their heads … accompanied by a presence which some are not even able to sense.’

The Joy of Faith: Witnesses to Hope in India.

THE MIRROR IS AVAILABLE TO READ AT ACNIRELAND.ORG/MIRROR 18 - 3

General audience, 4th October 2017