We Need Hope Part II

Last week I began a short series of articles on the upcoming jubilee year of hope (see “We Need Hope Part I).  I ended last week at paragraph 3 of Pope Francis’ Bull of Indiction, “Spes Non Confundit” (Bull of Indiction of the Ordinary Jubilee of the Year 2025, May 9, 2024) with Pope Francis’ citation of Romans 8:35-39 to remind us that nothing will be able to separate us from the hope that the Lord has given us if we remain firm in our faith (“Spes Non Confundit”, 3).

We would like our lives to be easy and without suffering.  Yet, we need to be realists in accepting that we face suffering in our lives.  When we face suffering we do well to pray with the same words Jesus prayed in the garden, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done” (Luke 22:42).  Pope Francis reminds us of Paul’s call to boast in our sufferings knowing that through them we are made stronger (“Spes Non Confundit”, 4, see also Romans 5:3-4)

It is in the midst of our sufferings that we find our faith helps us to see “beyond the darkness” to a glimpse of light (“Spes Non Confundit”, 4).  It is through our sufferings that we can grow in the virtue of patience, patience that has been lost in the “frenetic haste” and anxiety of the world today.  It is in our suffering that our faith can lead us to take a step back and look at what God has created with a sense of us.  In this we find hope.  Pope Francis describes patience as “both the daughter of hope and at the same time its firm foundation” (“Spes Non Confundit”, 4).

In paragraph 5 of “Spes Non Confundit”, Pope Francis turns to the topic of pilgrimages.  The theme of this jubilee is “Pilgrims of Hope.”  He writes, “Setting out on a journey is traditionally associated with our human quest for meaning in life.  A pilgrimage on foot is a great aid for discovering the value of silence, effort and simplicity of life” (“Spes Non Confundit”, 5). 

I am unlikely to make a pilgrimage to a geographic destination of significance in our faith.  However, that doesn’t mean pilgrimages are without meaning to me.  I am simply not a big traveler, but I am a person who desires to grow in my relationship with Jesus Christ throughout my life.  We are all called to this spiritual pilgrimage.  Any pilgrimage we make in this world should lead us to Jesus.  Pilgrimages are not a vacation.  They are a journey to Jesus.

Journey is a frequent topic in the Bible.  Called by the Lord, in Genesis 12:1-4, Abraham sets out on a journey without even knowing his destination.  He trusts that God will lead him to his proper destination.  Do you trust Jesus to lead you on your journey?

God provides us with angels to guide us on our journey (see Genesis 24:40).  Jesus would sent the Twelve out on a journey in Matthew 10:5-15 with a call to take no sack or a second tunic, trusting in Jesus to provide.  In your journey in this world, do you trust Jesus to provide what you need?

Even Jesus was on a journey.  Luke 9:51-19:44 is identified as Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem where He will be crucified.  Jerusalem is his destination in this world as the place of his Crucifixion.  His ultimate destination is to return to the Father in Heaven.  Is Heaven your ultimate destination?  If it is, then everything you do in this world should be a step towards Heaven.  As we make this pilgrimage to Heaven, “the grace of God precedes and accompanies his people as they press forward firm in faith, active in charity, and steadfast in hope” (“Spes Non Confundit”, 6).

Moving on to paragraph 7 of “Spes Non Confundit”, I was surprised when Pope Francis calls us “to discover hope in the signs of the times that the Lord gives us.  When I think of the “signs of the times,” I often think of the bad things that happen in this world and our need to return to the Lord. 
Pope Francis provides us with a different perspective.  He calls us to “recognize the immense goodness present in our world, lest we be tempted to think ourselves overwhelmed by evil and violence.  The signs of the times, which include the yearning of human hearts in need of God’s saving presence, ought to become signs of hope” (“Spes Non Confundit”, 7). 

In looking at the signs of the times, Pope Francis says “The first sign of hope should be the desire for peace in our world” (“Spes Non Confundit”, 8).  Even as wars continue today, we find people who are looking for peace. 

Then, in paragraph 9 of “Spes Non Confundit”, Pope Francis calls us to look at the future with an “enthusiasm for life and a readiness to share it.”

I get discouraged by the bad things in this world.  However, in faith I remind myself that nothing is impossible for God.  There are moments where we can find hope that all is not lost.  For me, one of these moments was when the Alabama State Supreme Court said “embryos are children” (see my article “There is Hope in Alabama”).  Sins against the beginning of life have not yet ended but this does say all is not lost.  There is hope.

Then, in paragraph 10 of “Spes Non Confundit”, Pope Francis reminds us that “we are called to be tangible signs of hope for those of our brothers and sisters who experience hardships of any kind.”  I hope my ministry helps people look beyond the gloom and doom in this world to see the light of Christ.  Actually, I also hope it helps me to more truly look beyond worldly matters to see the light of Christ.  After all, I get discouraged too.  What do you do to help bring hope to others?  After all, we all called in some way to bring goodness to others (see Isaiah 61:1). 

When we support the death penalty, we are saying there is no hope for the criminal to change (see “Spes Non Confundit”, 10 and 14).  When one says people should be allowed to commit assisted suicide, we are saying there is no hope for the victim (see Pope Francis’ call to visit the sick in “Spes Non Confundit”,11)

Where can we find hope?  Seeing people suffer and lost their homes in natural disasters can leave us feeling down but when we see the response of people in providing assistance afterwards, we find hope (“Spes Non Confundit”, 12).

Pope Francis speaks of migrants (“Spes Non Confundit”, 13). There are those who want to send migrants “back to where they came from.”  These people seem to think that all migrants come to steal and take our jobs.  I think what many of them are really looking for is hope.  I think we all need to ask ourselves how bad things must be in the migrants’ homeland given what they go through to get here.

There is gloom and doom in the world today.  People use alcohol, drugs, and momentary pleasures of sex without real intimacy to escape the gloom and doom.  Alcohol, drugs, and sex for pleasure may mask the pain but they do not provide hope.  We find the hope we need in the grace of God.

I will end here today.  I hope to continue my discussion of “Spes Non Confundit” next week.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff