Three simple words from Offaly influencer: 'Hope in God'

THE best sermon you preach yourself this week may be only three words long: Hope in God!

That’s the message I want all of us to have in mind. Every week I write my thoughts for the week as the psalmist says in Psalm 42, "Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God."

Hope is one leg of a three-legged stool, together with faith and charity. These three stabilise our lives regardless of the rough or uneven surfaces we might encounter at the time.

The scriptures are clear and certain about the importance of hope. St Paul taught that the scriptures were written to the end that we “might have hope.” Hope has the power to fill our lives with happiness. Its absence when this desire of our heart is delayed can make “the heart sick."

Hope is a gift of the Spirit. Having hope leads to peace, mercy, rejoicing and gladness. Hope is the foundation of our faith and an anchor to our souls.

So no matter what has happened today, don't lose hope. Hold on to Hope as much as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. Much love and blessings to each of you.

Be kind every chance you get. The ripple effect, if visible, would astound you. What the world needs now is hope! Hope transforms you, it transforms me, and it is only as transformed hope-filled people that we will be able to bring such urgently needed hope to the world: to our own personal world of family, friends and acquaintances, but also to the world as a whole. One little drop of hope has far reaching consequences for all of humanity.

As Desmond Tutu who sadly passed away recently said, "Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” They say that a “man can live about forty days without food, about three days without water, about eight minutes without air, but only for one second without hope.”

Hope can be the difference between success and failure. You can withstand so much if you know you have people who support you and are looking out for you. You can face just about anything, as long as you don’t lose the hope that you can succeed. Even hope and faith as tiny as a mustard seed can produce mountainous amounts of blessings.

Hope is a positive and potent spiritual practice that has the power and influence to pull us through difficult times. Hope is the basic ingredient of optimism, a tendency to dwell on the best possibilities.

It is often described as a metaphor such as a ray, a beam, a glimmer of hope; the break in the clouds; the light at the end of the dark tunnel. Hope can often be revealed in unexpected places or through others. Hope is energising. Certain attitudes or virtues can support the development of hope in our lives. Hope can be learned with practice.

One attitude or virtue that supports a deepened sense of hope in our lives is patience, an ability to tolerate set-backs, and a willingness to let events unfold in their own time. The other is courage, an attitude of confidence even when facing the unfamiliar. A third is persistence, the determination to keep on going no matter what happens.

We have hope when we can say, "everything will be ok‟, and we mean it. Without hope, we find it difficult to be patient and can be easily frustrated. We may lack the courage to continue struggling against hardship. We are often easily discouraged. The common expression, "Hope for the best, but expect the worst" implies the worst.

When we are without hope, we easily fall victim to such negativism. When the light of hope is absent, we are overcome by gloom and doom, despair and negativity. Hope gives us enthusiasm, courage and drive to continue moving forward in every situation. Each of us carries within our hearts the seeds of enduring hope. With a conscious effort and committed action, and rooted in God's love, our hopes have the power to transform our lives and the lives of others.

Hope challenges us

When “life happens,” people are tempted to give up hope. It must feel like that today for the people of the Ukraine, Sudan, Ethiopia, Niger and so many other places in our world where conflict and war are happening and where I have spent many weeks over the last two years of war especially in Ethiopia and Ukraine where so many lives have been ripped apart by the cruel bombings and gunfire.

“Life happened” over the last year and months in Ukraine and Ethiopia and the war and conflicts in these countries and other places around our world blew away a lifetime of work, life and memories. Homes, possessions, towns, cities, livestock, and livelihoods – all destroyed in weeks of evil carnage. I wonder what emotions they must be feeling. How would I feel? Would I still have hope? Have you ever had the sense that the virtue of “hope” gets short-changed in our Christian experience?

We focus on faith in Jesus. We focus on loving God and our neighbor. But do we really value and nurture “hope”? Hope is what sustains us as we persevere, remaining steadfast in times of trial and discouragement.

For instance, when our lives are turned upside down by a war or climate change or another of life’s disruptions that are bound to come and, when they do, feel like a hurricane. The virtue of hope challenges us and empowers us to be determined, resolute, intentional, purposive, and steadfast. Hope is not wishful thinking or passive waiting. It means intentional, purposeful living; and it is something we experience before the “bad stuff” happens. We live hopeful lives.

Thomas Merton was one of the more influential spiritual writers of the last century. He wrote a now-famous prayer that seems appropriate for those times when we experience the hurricanes of life and don’t know which way to turn. “My Lord, God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does, in fact, please you. And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do that you will lead me by the right road, although I may know nothing about it. Therefore, will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me and will never leave me to face my perils alone.”

Hope means to keep living amid desperation and to keep humming in the darkness. Hoping is knowing that there is love; it is trust in tomorrow; it is falling asleep and waking again when the sun rises. In the midst of a gale at sea, it is to discover land. In the eyes of another, it is to see that you are understood... As long as there is still hope there will also be prayer... And you will be held in God's hands.

Thought for the Week

As your thought for the week, pray for hope for the people in your life and know that hope never abandons us. We abandon hope.