What is Hope?
By Rochelle Cassella, Congregational Director of Communications
This week marks the start of Advent, traditionally the Week of Hope. We hear the word ‘hope’ often during the holiday season: “I hope I get a puppy from Santa.” “I hope I can make it to my parents for Christmas.” “I hope you have a happy and healthy holiday.”
But hope means much more than the Oxford Language Dictionary’s definition of “a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.” Hope, along with faith and love (charity), is one of the three theological virtues of the Catholic Church, significant because they are gifts God gives us at our baptism. In this sense, hope is defined as our desire to achieve eternal life and our trust in God that he will give us the graces we need to achieve it.
In other words, we trust in Christ’s promises that we will have eternal life. Our Catechism also says that we do so “relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit.” (CCC 1817)
Many people admit feeling hopeless or despair (the opposite of hope) as Advent begins and it’s easy to understand why. Immigrants live in fear, families are struggling financially, and social media leaves many people feeling isolated. But knowing that we don’t need to rely on our own strength, that we don’t travel this road alone, should help lift our spirits. And if we offer hope to someone else — speaking up for immigrants, making a meal for someone (have you heard about the Lasagna Love program?), supporting your local food bank, checking in on someone in person — lifts both you and the people you serve.
The Jubilee Year of Hope started by Pope Francis last Christmas may end on January 2, but that doesn’t mean we have to stop being a beacon of hope. It’s one of the graces from the Holy Spirit that will help us achieve our eternal reward.
The Act of Hope:
“O Lord God, I hope by your grace for the pardon of all my sins and after life here to gain eternal happiness because you have promised it who are infinitely powerful, faithful, kind and merciful. In this hope I intend to live and die. Amen.”
