HOPE IN GOD

The whole assembly cried aloud, blessing God 

who saves those that hope in Him.

Daniel 13:60

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. - 1 Timothy 6:17

May your kindness, O Lord, be upon us who have put our hope in you. - Psalm 33:22

Hope is God's Favorite Virtue

In 1929, French poet Charles Peguy wrote a long poem titled “The Gateway of the Mystery of the Second Virtue” as part of his trilogy on the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love. Peguy wrote how hope is God’s favorite virtue because “hope surprises me,” unlike faith and charity.

God says in repetitive, short lines that even if hope is the “littlest and frailest” of the three virtues, it surprises Him because despite the many tragedies in life, tomorrow comes. He describes hope as like a river flowing throughout creation with an abundance of grace coming from the pierced side of Jesus Christ.

Peguy’s poem is long but lovely like our First Reading today from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans, the take-off point of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s second encyclical, Spe Salvi or Saved by Hope. Benedict wrote that hope gives direction or orients us towards salvation which, for St. Paul, involves the whole of creation that must be set free from the effects of Adam’s transgression. According to St. Paul, that process has begun in the Church and we, children of God, must understand our role in this plan of salvation. We must remember this great honor of being the first fruits of redemption.

All we need is to believe and say yes to hope. Like the tiny mustard seed, hope grows into a large bush where birds could nest. That is Peguy’s point about hope being surprising. When Jesus likened God’s Kingdom to a mustard seed and the yeast, He teaches us to have hope in Him, to believe that no matter what happens in this life, He is always there, loving us faithfully. Hope is believing in God even if things do not get better. “Man’s great, and true hope, which holds him firm in spite of all disappointments, can only be God—God who has loved us and who continues to love us to the end, until all is accomplished” (Spe Salvi, 27). Fr. Nick Lalog




Published:

March 30, 2020, 7:41 AM
October 29, 2019, 6:45 AM
August 16, 2011, 7:10 AM