Is There Any Hope?
Last week I posted an article, “Finding Value in Suffering.” That article sought to bring positive light to the suffering we experience. I “hope” that article provided you with some hope.
As I continue to see what goes on in our world, I have to admit I get discouraged. I drafted this article last night while waiting to hear if the New York State Senate would pass the assisted suicide bill or not. Unfortunately, they did pass it. You can read about my thoughts on that in the article I wrote earlier this morning in response, “A Call to Action.”
I have not given up hope. My hope is based on my faith in God, not any politicians. My basic needs are fulfilled. So, I wonder if I get discouraged, what about those who do not have enough to eat or a safe place to sleep. Do they have reason to have hope?
That would depend on what type of hope you are talking about. I used hope in two different ways above when I wrote, “I “hope” that article provided you with some hope.” The first “hope” is my own hope. It is more a human hope than hope in God. The second hope is not based on human effort but rather God’s effort. God is the one who brings meaning and value to suffering.
Everyone needs hope and God is the one who can provide it. Hope changes the way we see things.
Why do immigrants leave their home country and make the journey to a strange land? I suspect the vast majority are looking for hope as they seek to provide for their families.
Why do misguided people seek to end their suffering through assisted suicide? Because they have lost hope and cannot see any value in their suffering (again, see my article “Finding Value in Suffering”). Without hope, ending their pain and suffering becomes their greatest motivation, albeit misguided. We need to provide them with hope by accompanying them in their suffering. In providing them with accompaniment, we witness to the fact that their life is still worth living because they are a child of God, loved by God and loved by us.
Part of my own discouragement is that some people think assisted suicide is a good thing. In my home state of New York, we are fighting for the value of life and hope in standing against efforts to legalize assisted suicide. Unfortunately, the New York State Assembly voted to pass the bill on April 29th and, as I said above, the NYS Senate passed it last night. The bill is now in the hands of the governor. Is there hope for the bill to be defeated? Yes! First, nothing is impossible for God, and secondly, Illinois voted against legalizing assisted suicide recently (see “Assisted Suicide Bill Fails to Advance” (June 1, 2025) on the Illinois Catholic Conference website). The same could happen here. If you live in NYS, please contact the governor to ask her to veto this bill (watch https://www.nyscatholic.org/action-center for instructions on what to do). No matter what happens, each of us must stand for life and witness in our own actions to our respect for life.
Of course, there are other things going on in the world that discourage me. There is the war between Ukraine and Russia. They are battling each other with missiles, bombs, and drones. These do not bring the hope that is needed. Drones depersonalize the battle by separating the drone operates from the destruction. God’s hope comes to light when the human beings responsible for the war come to realize that war cannot bring real peace and it does not bring hope. Hope comes when we turn to care and compassion to resolve our conflicts.
The same is true in the war between Israel and Hamas. Israel says they are fighting in self-defense. There was some truth in that in the beginning. One (individual or nation) has the right to defend themselves. One does not have the right to obliterate another people. How can that bring hope? If Hamas is eliminated, how long do you think it will be before another group takes their place? Hope turns to peace when all sides involved in the war come to realize everyone has a right to have a safe place to live and food to eat.
Looking within our own nation, besides assisted suicide, I am also discouraged by the polarization. Aligning ourselves with those who agree with us while “canceling” out the voices of others will not settle anything. Blaming others without loving our neighbors will not end the division. The only thing that will bring hope that brings us to peace is for everyone on all sides to side aside their personal desires to get what they want and see God’s Will instead.
One can even find this division within our Catholic Church. While it has a foothold in other nations, perhaps the most visible example of groups within the Catholic Church going astray is the German Synodal Way. Achieving God’s Will, which is the source of real hope, is not a matter of changing church teaching to follow what human beings want. This actually takes away our reason for hope. We can turn away from God’s Will but then God leads us to our own efforts. “Unless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain who build. Unless the Lord guard the city in vain does the guard keep watch” (Psalm 127:1). “In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts” (Matthew 15:9).
We do better to follow Paul’s advice in 1 Corinthians 15:58, “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be firm, steadfast, always fully devoted to the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” God’s plan includes a future full of hope for us (see Jeremiah 29:11).
Why should we trust the Lord’s plan? Why can we be assured of hope when we follow God’s plan? The answer for that is found in Romans 5:8, “But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.”
It is in his suffering for us that we can find value in our suffering. Suffering finds its value and meaning in love (see “Finding Value in Suffering.”).
Peace,
Fr. Jeff