Fr. Don's Daily Reflection - September 17, 2024
Psalm 62: “In you alone is my soul at rest. My help comes from you.”
The hope so often on the lips of Pope Francis is a good shared by Christians of all denominations. It sets us apart from those who have no hope. This hope is in Christ and the good he promises, even beyond this life; it is not something to hug to ourselves but to offer the world. If it is to convince others, it has to be more than a private comfort.
It must inspire us to work for the betterment of human life, for good here and now, for the oppressed and poor, the victims of racism, of injustice and neglect. Those who have no hope might be inclined to say, “Why bother? Nothing is going to change.”
We fail in hope when we ourselves believe and act as if nothing we do could ever be of any use and we must wait for the Lord to intervene. Waiting for the Lord to do everything might sound like hope, but genuine Christian hope spurs us to concern for the world. Since hope is not the same thing as optimism, even those who have a more melancholic nature can have it.
It doesn't mean ignoring reality, ignoring suffering, but seeing through it to the Lord's love and care for the world. Hebrews says: “God will not forget your work and the love you have shown him by your service to his holy people. Our desire is that each of you show the same zeal till the end, fully assured of that for which you hope” (6:10).
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!”
