Th e Light of Hope
God Is in Charge Hope includes the feeling that Someone greater than we are is in control, the knowledge that everything will work out— even if we don’t know how. Hope gets us out of bed in the morning and inspires us to plant a garden, play the piano, or do other beautiful and healing things. To have hope is to have one of the three theological virtues. The seeds of these virtues—faith, hope, and charity—are planted in our hearts by God. He waters them by his grace. They grow strong in the light of his love. The Church tells us, “Hope assures us that, with God’s grace, we will see our way through what now seems such a daunting challenge. For believers, hope is not a matter of optimism, but a source for strength and action in demanding times.”51 When we have hope, we surrender our pain and worries to God. We believe his promise: “I know well the plans I have in mind for you, . . . plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope” (Jeremiah 29:11). Anthropologists have found evidence that even the earliest peoples hoped in some kind of god or creator. They didn’t know God’s name, but they still felt Someone Greater than They was out there. They believed and hoped in God as they understood him, turning to him to send the rain, to provide food, and to calm the storm. Hope is still planted in our hearts today. But now we are blessed to know the source of this hope—to know God’s name, to know his Son.
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FINDING A LOVING GOD IN THE MIDST OF GRIEF
Knowing God exists is not enough. What brings us hope is knowing that God cares. Even before Jesus suffered and died for us, the Israelites knew this: The Lord’s acts of mercy are not exhausted, his compassion is not spent; They are renewed each morning . . . . . . I will hope in him. The Lord is good to those who trust in him, to the one that seeks him. (Lamentations 3:22-25)
Fr. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was a Jesuit priest and renowned paleontologist who, as a scientist and a priest, had a unique perspective on God. His beautiful prayer, “Patient Trust,” gives us good advice for putting our hope in the God who has always been and will always be: Above all, trust in the slow work of God. We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay. We should like to skip the intermediate stages. . . . as though you could be today what time . . . will make of you tomorrow. . . . Give Our Lord the benefit of believing that his hand is leading you, and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself in suspense and incomplete.52 125
Th e Light of Hope
Hope for Today It would be easier if hope were like a dependable high-beam flashlight that could lead us quickly and permanently out of our grief. But instead, hope is a flickering candle. Sometimes its light is bright. Sometimes it’s weak, or it seems as if it has gone out. While we would prefer the strong, dependable flashlight, a candle is much more beautiful. It has a soft dancing glow that can bring us peace. We don’t use high-beam flashlights to create a sense of calm and comfort in our lives. We use candles. God gives us this kind of glowing hope. Even when it seems as if our wick of hope has gone out, we know that God will be there to light it for us again. When we have God by our side, we don’t need a hope that lights up the entire path before us. We only need enough hope to get us through the next few hours. We don’t have to ask God to dump a bucket of hope on us. We only need enough for today. Pope St. John XXIII was great at making spiritual “rules” for himself. These are scattered throughout his journals and essentially are simple daily goals. (In a similar way, we can write our own goals as we strive to grab just enough hope for a day.) Pope John’s ten most inspiring rules have become known as his Daily Decalogue, each of them beginning with the encouraging phrase “Only for today.” As we strive to replace grief with hope, here are two of the pope’s rules that might be helpful:
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• Only for today, I will seek to live the livelong day positively without wishing to solve the problems of my life all at once. • Only for today, I will have no fears. In particular, I will not be afraid to enjoy what is beautiful and to believe in goodness.53 Early in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus stands up in the synagogue in Nazareth and reads from the scroll that is handed to him. The words he reads are from the prophet Isaiah. Luke only records that Jesus read the first part of the passage, which proclaims, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.” (4:18-19)
Those of us who grieve might like to believe that Jesus finished reading that section of Isaiah, affirming that he had come to comfort all who mourn. . . . To give them oil of gladness instead of mourning, a glorious mantle instead of a faint spirit. (61:2, 3)
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Th e Light of Hope
What we do know is that after reading the scroll, Jesus proclaimed, “Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21). He promised that he would be our hope, but the people of Nazareth rejected him. They couldn’t believe that a man with whom they were so familiar could work such wonders. Let’s not make the same mistake. Let’s not turn our backs on the oil of gladness or the glorious mantle God promises to all who mourn.
Try This Take a “hope” inventory. Make a list of things that bring you hope. This might include activities you enjoy, good friends, or dear family members. Then make a list of things that tax your hope. This might include too much time alone, overeating in front of the TV, or reading too much braggadocio on Facebook posts. Now plan one way to spend more time with what feeds your hope and less time with what dampens your hope. This might be as simple as deactivating your Facebook account and using the time you usually spend there to take a walk and pray the Rosary. Just one simple switch from something hopeless to something hopeful can make a big difference.
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Lantern of Hope Holy Spirit, Please be the lantern of hope in the midst of my grief. Let me see even a glimmer of the good and the beauty that are still present in my life. Let me see that you are planning a future full of hope for me. Surround me, please, with family, friends, and even strangers who can give me hope. Introduce me to new possibilities. Give me strength to undertake activities that will energize and inspire me. Gently lead me forward when I am tempted to stay right where I am. When I worry too much and forget to follow you, please be the spark that gets me going. When I get bogged down trying to paddle alone through dark, muddy pools, please light my way to fresh, bubbling streams. Fill me with hope—even if it is only enough for today. Then, everlasting Font of Hope, light the flame of my hope again tomorrow if my tears and sorrow should extinguish it. For this I thank you, great Spirit of God. Amen.
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