Psalm 62: “In you alone is my soul at rest. My help comes from you.”

Our conversations are often full of hope! E.g., I hope they will play the game despite Covid–19. -- He was hoping to meet us. – Her family hopes the new treatment will end his cancer. -- I hope the weather will be good. -- He hopes she will take a 2nd look at him. -- I hope we don’t have corndogs again. -- Let’s hope Francis continues strong! -- Hope is for everything from good fishing to a delicious dinner! For many – worldwide – right now hope is for an end to the wars. An end to natural disasters.

Hope has its struggles. These words of a parent are typical: “My adult daughter, disillusioned with the Church, recaptured some excitement when she saw Francis in person. She wants to hope but is skeptical he really can effect change.”

Not only the Church but surely the world's challenges make hope difficult at times. As we may pray for more compassion or gentleness, so we need to pray for deeper hope. It’s more than optimism. Along with faith and love it needs to be strengthened by prayer. The Pope with hope had this to say in a TED talk recently. “A single individual is enough for hope to exist, and that individual can be you. And when hope is given to another, there will be another ‘you,’ and another ‘you,’ and it turns into an "us".” A reader, Mark, amplifies what Francis says: “To love is to bring hope to others.”

We all need to support each other with hope and trust that better days are coming. Recalling Francis’s words, we could ask ourselves what do we pass on to those around us: Joy? A smile? A frown? Cynicism? Trust? Despair? Hope? Amazement? Confidence? Discouragement? A friend, handing me a gift card for a favorite local coffee shop says with appropriate sensitivity, “A sign of hope.”

Psalm 27: “I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness / in the land of the living.

Wait for the Lord; be strong; / be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord!”

Reply to Fr. Don at: DTalafous@csbsju.edu

Watch Daily Mass online at: SaintJohnsAbbey.org/live

Send your prayer requests to the monks