What is hope? We are told it’s something we should keep, something we should hold onto, something we can receive, and most definitely something we should give.
It has been defined as – and become synonymous with – anticipation, desire or expectation. Hope seems intimately connected to the future then. I, for one, know I am more inclined to be preoccupied with what may or may not lie ahead, and many more people still experience anxiety about the future, their goals, and so on.
However, the essence of true Christian hope is not found in fear or anxiety or simply forward-thinking. The Catechism teaches that hope is “the virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ’s promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit.” (CCC 1817)
More than personal wants or aims is the trustful surrender that colors the Catholic portrait of hope. Especially during these days of Jubilee and Easter, I am reflecting more about hope and how to foster it within as well as how to communicate it to others.
We all have approached moments and trials that maybe seemed hopeless – whether it’s the sudden death of loved ones, turmoil in relationships, big changes and life transitions, or difficulties in work and study. I reflect back upon my own experiences with these moments of life and whether I truly kept hope in grief, in struggle and in pressure. We should all ask ourselves that and bring it to prayer.
Consider those true marks of Christian hope: It is a gift, which we have all received at Baptism. As well, as adopted sons and daughters of such a great Father, we can cry “Abba” with our feet planted firmly upon Earth and our eyes raised to heaven. Hope is what anchors our beliefs, and “it keeps man from discouragement; it sustains him during times of abandonment; it opens up his heart in expectation of eternal beatitude.” (CCC 1818)
By hope and in hope, we long for God. All the more then, let us long for God in those times when hope seems lost or tested. When anxieties arise and we experience loss and uncertainties, let’s lean on the Spirit’s assistance and Christ’s fidelity to His beloved people. God will anchor us and hold us steady in the wavering moments of life. He is in control and works all things, in the end, for our good.
In this light, hope is more of a someone than a something. Let each one of us keep Christ within, hold onto Christ, receive Christ and make Christ known – as pilgrims of hope.
Michael Leason attends Saint Joseph’s Seminary, Yonkers, N.Y.
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