Reflection
True hope is rooted in a Reality beyond ego and illusion. Hope that rises in our hearts is like a buoyant bubble of champagne; for some, it brings tears of relief, while others, may sense a new way to the future that will bring healing to us — personally, communally, nationally, globally — to all of Creation. Hope recognizes that many challenges await us on the path, obstacles and possible pitfalls that may delay outcome. In hope we are made new; for it is a sure and steadfast anchor of our soul that enters “the inner shrine behind the curtain,” where the Divine abides. So, in the Silence, let us embrace Love and dare to hope: the promise for all of Creation.
Nan Merrill
Prayer
Those who hope in God will renew their strength.
Isaiah 40:31
Action
Amid the challenges of the present time where do you see hope? Where can you foster hope? How?
Suggested Reading
Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
Joshua 1:9
I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Philippians 4:13
Dream of a world still not seen, but will certainly come one day.
Pope Francis
The theological virtue of hope is the patient and trustful willingness to live without closure, without resolution, and still be content and even happy because our Satisfaction is now at another level, and our Source is beyond ourselves.
Richard Rohr
But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough can you see the stars.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Hope can be a powerful force. Maybe there’s no actual magic in it, but when you know what you hope for most and hold it like a light within you, you can make things happen, almost like magic.
Laini Taylor
We have always held to the hope, the belief, the conviction that there is a better life, a better world, beyond the horizon.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
I find hope in the darkest of days, and focus in the brightest. I do not judge the universe.
Dalai Lama
Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.
Thich Nhat Hanh
Hope is a state of mind, not of the world. Hope, in this deep and powerful sense, is not the same as joy that things are going well, or willingness to invest in enterprises that are obviously heading for success, but rather an ability to work for something because it is good.
Vaclav Havel
Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.
Dale Carnegie
Hold fast to dreams,
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird,
That cannot fly.
Langston Hughes