Hope II
by
Linda Hansmeier

     I don't think one can overstate the importance of the word "HOPE."  Steph Becker presented its image in the telling of her experiences in Sri Lanka and I wove that image into the experiences of the Queen of Saints
Catechists and their individual mission projects.  But hope goes beyond
those experiences mentioned above, hope is eternal.  The Catechism of the
Catholic Church gives the following explanation of hope:

     The theological virtue by which we desire and expect from God both eternal life and the grace we need to attain it. (#1817)

      When we don't have hope, we are lifeless, we feel forgotten, unwanted,
unloved, useless; life has no meaning.  The Catechism states:

#1818 The virtue of hope responds to the aspiration to happiness which God
has placed in the heart of every man [woman]; it takes up the hopes that
inspire men's [and women's] activities and purifies them so as to order
them to the Kingdom of heaven; it keeps man [woman] from discouragement; it sustains him [her] during times of abandonment; it opens up his [her] heart in expectation of eternal beatitude.  Buoyed up by hope, he [she] is preserved from selfishness and led to the happiness that flows from
charity.

#1820 Christian hope unfolds from the beginning of Jesus' preaching in the
proclamation of the beatitudes.  The beatitudes raise our hope toward
heaven as the new Promised Land; they trace the path that leads through
the trials that await the disciples of Jesus.  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 a forerunner on our behalf."  Hope is also
a weapon that protects us in the struggle of salvation: "Let us put on the
breastplate of faith and charity, and for a helmet the hope of salvation."
 It affords us joy even under trial: "Rejoice in your hope, be patient in
tribulation."  Hope is expressed and nourished in prayer, especially in
the Our Father, the summary of everything that hope leads us to desire.

    

When the disciples were on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35), they found themselves scared, confused, and feeling alone.   What had happened?   One day they are leaving behind their wives, families, and friends to be with the "Messiah" and now he is gone.  There hearts were broken, life held no meaning; they had lost hope.  As they discussed all the things that had occurred Jesus joined them but they did not recognize him.  It wasn't until later; when this stranger broke bread with them that their eyes were opened and they recognized him.  From that moment on their "hearts were burning within them" as understanding filled their souls with "hope."
They had felt that God had abandoned them and that God had no use for
them.  The next time you feel like God can't use you, just remember.

Abraham was too old, and so was Sarah
Joseph was a daydreamer
Jacob was a liar
Leah was ugly
Joseph was abused
Moses had a stuttering problem
Gideon was afraid
Sampson had long hair and was a womanizer
Jeremiah and Timothy were too young
David had an affair and was a murderer
Elijah was suicidal
Jonah ran from God
Naomi was a widow
Job went bankrupt
John the Baptist ate bugs
Peter denied Christ
The Disciples fell asleep while praying
Martha worried about everything
Mary Magdalene was.well you know
The Samaritan woman was divorced, more than once
Zaccheus was too small
Paul was too religious
Timothy had an ulcer
Lazarus was dead BUT
eleven disciples of Christ went on to build the Church which is alive and
moving forward 2,005 years later, and that gives me hope, how about you?