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Tending the vine – Hope

        “I hope my lottery number comes up this time.” Good luck!
        “I hope we’ll have sunshine for the party.” Wishful thinking!
        “I hope the surgery will be successful.” Pray for the surgeon and the patient!
        “I hope God will guide me.” This you can hope for!

        Does hope mean wishing for unlikely outcomes?
        Does hope mean optimism that everything will turn out the way I would like?

        Doesn’t hope really mean that I trust God? Hope means depending on God’s loving care combined with my openness. Do I let myself be guided? Am I willing to recognize the grace in unexpected outcomes…the hidden grace…the surprising grace?

A WISDOM-TEACHER

Angela Merici faced physical and emotional disappointments. Her desire to see the Holy Land came crashing down when an eye problem blinded her on her journey there. Instead of seeing, she experienced the pilgrimage as a deep interior awareness of the holy places and of dependence on the kindness of her fellow-travellers – unexpected graces.

Maybe an experience like this inspired her words, “Our every pain and sadness will turn into joy and gladness, and thorny and rocky roads we will find flower-strewn for us, paved with finest gold” (Rule of the Company of St. Ursula, Ch. 6 “On Prayer”).

Angela knew how to take the long view. Aware of her own limitations, she was not discouraged. Instead, she relied on God to achieve what God willed in her life: “Being pleased in his infinite goodness to use me as his instrument for this great work of his, even though for my part I am a most inadequate and useless servant, God has also, in his usual goodness, given and granted me such grace and gift as to be able to govern [the members of the Company] according to his will and to provide for their needs and wants. . .”  (Prologue to the Testament, 6-9). This experience led Angela to encourage others: “Do not be afraid of not knowing and not being able to do what is rightly required. . . . Have hope and firm faith in God, who will help you in everything” (Prologue to the Counsels, 14, 15).

She placed the day’s difficulties in the light of eternity: “Although at times they will have troubles or anxieties, nevertheless this will soon pass away and be turned into gladness and joy. And then, the suffering of this world is nothing in comparison with the blessings which are in Paradise” (5th Counsel, 29, 30).

REFLECTING and DOING

1) Do you use a GPS? If so, you’ve surely heard it telling you that it’s “recalculating” when you make a wrong turn or miss a highway exit. Liliane, a member of the Company of St. Ursula, reflected that the voice in the GPS is like God. When we take the wrong road, God does not abandon us. Rather, God keeps “recalculating,” until we find our way back to the right road.

2) What are your hopes for yourself, today or this week? Write one or more. What are your hopes for yourself in the future? Write one or more.

3) Recall an occasion when an unexpected outcome at first disappointed you but turned out to hold a surprising grace.

4) Hope is not optimism. Optimism is the unrealistic expectation that everything will turn out well, according to our wishes. Hope is the realistic trust that God’s purposes can be fulfilled in our lives, amid joy or suffering. . . if we cooperate. Consider a situation where this has proven to be true, or a situation where you are struggling for hope.

5) Are you discouraged? Worried? God wants what is good for you. Rest peacefully in that knowledge and trust.

6) Often our deepest desires are inspired by the Holy Spirit. What does the Holy Spirit inspire you to hope for?

7) Our hopes for others and for the good of our world depend on God’s work within Creation. The hoped-for outcomes also rely on our participation in God’s work.

8) Do you know a person who seems to glow from within, because of her/his peaceful trust in God?

9) Quarterback Tim Tebow of the Denver Broncos takes his celebrity as an opportunity to proclaim his faith in God, with the scriptural citation Romans 1:16 painted on his face. The text reads, “I am not ashamed of the gospel.” Take an opportunity to encourage someone whose hope may be dim, by affirming your own faith and trust in God.

SCRIPTURE PATHS

1)  “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).

2)  “Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).

3)  “For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare, not for woe! plans to give you a future full of hope. When you call me, when you go to pray to me, I will listen to you. When you look for me, you will find me. Yes, when you seek me with all your heart, you will find me with you, says the LORD…” (Jeremiah 29:11-14a).

PRAYER

1) Think of some of your hopes and wishes, perhaps writing them down if that helps you. Ask God’s help in bringing them about. Can you distinguish between hopes and wishes?

2) Psalm 36:7-10:
Your justice is like the highest mountains; your judgments, like the mighty deep; all living creatures you sustain, LORD.
How precious is your love, O God!
We take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
We feast on the rich food of your house; from your delightful stream you give us drink.
For with you is the fountain of life, and in your light we see light.

3)  Cardinal John Henry Newman was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI in Birmingham, England, on September 19, 2010. His “Daily Prayer” expresses his hope in God’s care:

A Daily Prayer
May He support us all the day long,
till the shades lengthen and the evening comes,
and the busy world is hushed,
and the fever of life is over,
and our work is done.
Then in His mercy may He give us a safe lodging,
and a holy rest
and peace at the last.
Amen.

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