Freyr has asked the other members of WITNESS to write a blog
post about what gives us hope. From a colloquial
point of view these things definitely give me hope for the world and those who
live in it. They may not correspond with
the theological definition of hope, but when he asked us to contemplate these
things this is what came to mind.
To start, it’s the people around me that give me hope. Or, more precisely, their actions and desires
that give me hope. I see a lot of things around me that attest to the teachings
of the church about how we were created. Even those who get things drastically
wrong can act as the face of our Lord in showing us love and justice.
In terms of love, even those in eccentric or sinful love arrangements
seem to possess a genuine desire to love and to be loved. It is quite common to see in even Hollywood movies
(which generally show disastrous examples of loving relationships) a
deep-seated and apparently real desire for love. The teachings of Holy Mother Church are
almost always denied, but the desire to love is not ever denied, even in the
face of sin and vice. It is always
assumed that, deep down, love is a good to be pursued.
Also, in the area of morality we see that the same desire
for justice is deep seated within us.
Take, for example, the actions of radical environmentalists. I do not condone either their beliefs or
their actions, but these people strongly believe and act according to their
sense of right and wrong.
Both of the above things resonate strongly with me; love is
obviously a very important thing for Catholics as we know God’s love for us,
and we are to love each other. Also, the
cardinal virtue of justice, though deformed in so many of us, is still very
much a part of those whose actions can be quite disturbing.
From these things, I take great hope, as well as faith that
we are created as children of God and in accordance with the teachings of the
Church. Let us pray that those who live
according to disordered ideals and inclinations may see the error of their ways
and reshape their lives to follow the will of God!
A really thought provoking post. It helps remind us to why so many brothers and sisters are struggling.... hopefully towards a lived and vibrant faith; which is dead without good works. Yet, good works avails nothing without faith.
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting this. Take a look at The Mystery of Mercy posted above. It also was a source of great hope for me. It taught me there was someone out there who could touch me.
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