Hanging on to Hope

Sometimes it's hard to keep hope in our hearts when our world is so chaotic. It seems like every time we look at social media or our newspapers there's another mass shooting, scandal, attack, or disaster.  It's tempting to crawl into our shell and avoid the bad news. But that does not make it go away.

I'm sure Moses felt like giving up after finally leading the Israelites out of Egypt only to encounter their whining and infidelity in trying to get to Canaan. He himself doubted God once when striking the rock for water. Forty years of struggle and hardship through deserts and enemy territory must have seemed pretty hopeless to these "chosen people." But they did not give up.

St. Monica must have been tempted to stop praying for her son Augustine's conversion after 30 years, but she kept on. He went on to become a bishop and a saint.

When our world seems to be collapsing and the future looks bleak, we need to keep on prayiing and bringing light to the darkness. Every time we do an act of kindness we bring a bit of light to our world. Every time we contribute to a just cause, we bring light. Every time we support others working to overturn unjust laws, we brighten our part of the world. Every time we volunteer to help the poor, the imprisoned, the disabled, the stranger, we are light-bearers.

Prayer and positive actions can help us hang on to hope, even if it takes 30 or 40 years to see any results. We have Jesus' promise to be with us always and role models who have gone before us to give us courage.