My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Peter Kreeft, Ph.D., a professor of philosophy at Boston College recently wrote “No one can live without hope... We are constantly moving into the future, and our eyes are usually facing forward. Hope is like headlights. It is not easy to drive without headlights in the dark.”

And what is that hope?

The Catholic Catechism informs us that Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ's promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit.

Hope responds to our desire for the happiness which God has placed in the heart of every human being. Hope inspires our activities and purifies them in such a way as to make us worthy of the Kingdom of heaven. Hope keeps us from discouragement; it sustains us during times of abandonment; it opens up our hearts in expectation of Christ’s eternal love. With hope, we are kept from selfishness and led to the happiness that flows from charity.

Hope unfolds from the beginning of Jesus' preaching in the proclamation of the beatitudes. The beatitudes raise our hope toward heaven; they trace the path that leads through the trials that await the disciples of Jesus 2000 years ago and the disciples of Jesus today. But through the merits of Jesus Christ and of his Passion, God keeps us in the "hope that does not disappoint." Hope is the sure and steadfast anchor of the soul that enters where Jesus has gone as gone before us on our behalf." Hope is also a weapon that protects us in the struggle of salvation.

It is very easy for one to lose hope in these dark days today. Terrorism, racial tensions, the threat of war around the world, anger, violence and hatred permeate the news every day. I often hear people say that all is hopeless. But it is not. Our hope is in the Lord! Our destiny is Heaven. Terrorism, racial tensions, the threat of war around the world, anger, violence and hatred has been a part of the human condition from the beginning of time. In the Scripture we read how Jesus is confronted with each of these throughout his ministry. One might say that these same realities brought Jesus to his cross. But let’s not lose sight that it was through his cross that he brought us salvation and the promise of heaven through his resurrection.

Hope is Christ and Christ is our hope. Perhaps I would suggest that the next time we feel that all is lost and there is no hope that we take our crucifix off the wall and hold in in our hands. Look at the face of Jesus and what may appear as the depths of hopelessness. And then consider what his hope won for us. Eternity in heaven with our God; Father Son and Holy spirit. That is our hope; the "hope that does not disappoint."

May God bless us all,
Fr. Mick