How often, and how casually, we use the word ‘hope’ every day:
- I hope you feel better.
- I hope your company has a good time.
- I hope it gets cooler soon.
Yes, we want everything to work out for us and those we love, but that’s not the meaning of Christian hope. That hope, that theological virtue, is our heart’s desire for God to grace us with what we need to reach our goal of eternal life in heaven. With this gift of hope, we trust in God’s promises to us, and God’s fulfillment of those promises. Hope comes from God, points to God, and leads people back to God.
For days now, we’ve been reading from the prophet Ezechiel. When the Babylonians captured the Hebrew people, Ezechiel was one of those deported. Five years into captivity, he had a vision from God who called him to be a prophet amid the people. This he was for the next 22 years. Although he too suffered, he was a man of peace and remained optimistic and full of hope in God’s power.
His message to the people was unusual for a prophet. He told them that although there was no escape from their present punishment, its purpose was medicinal, that is, it will purify their souls and return them to their faithfulness in God. Thus, he was a prophet of hope because he consoled and encouraged the exiles with the message that God will set them free and bring them home. The kingdom of the Messiah will come. [1]
Last year, during the Church’s Jubilee Year, Pope Francis chose the theme “Pilgrims of Hope.” In a world torn by war, poverty, and division, he wrote this to us:
“Let us lift up our hearts to Christ and become singers of hope in a world marked by too much despair. By our actions, our words, the decisions we make each day, our patient efforts to sow seeds of beauty and kindness wherever we find ourselves, we want to sing of hope, so that its melody can touch the heartstrings of humanity and reawaken in every heart the joy and the courage to embrace life to the full.”[2]
He particularly encouraged us to sing this hope by refusing to ignore the tragedy of rampant poverty and work to prevent people who are homeless, hungry, or escaping violence in their country from living in a manner not worthy of our human dignity.
May we be those ‘singers of hope,’ a hope that we know is anchored in Christ, is rugged and strong, charitable to those around us, and ultimately focused on eternity.
[1] https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/ezekiel [2] https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2024/05/09/pope-francis-jubiliee-year-2025-247898?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAv628BhC2ARIsAIJIiK96Isc9SsQArElvvDAEKqJdNMrmyyrZsm6Lu-4vNq7Y4osr9n3-NhcaAsYMEALw_wcB
