Inbox Inspiration: May 6, 2020: Living Through This - 7

Living Through This – 7   

Dear Friends,
We are now beginning, if my count is correct, the 8^th week of shut-down, stay-at-home here in Maryland.
The coronavirus has had a major impact on our lives. 
It threatens us physically, emotionally, relationally, financially, and spiritually.
The immediate and at least short-term future are uncertain.
In the midst of this, what is popping up in my inner self is the need for hope – the Christian virtue of hope.
Faith is directed more toward the present: that there is a God, that God is life itself, that God is all good, and that God loves us.
Hope is directed more toward the future: that God will always be with us and take care of us, and that God will in some way make us whole and bring us happiness.
It is this hope that strikes me as an important virtue or quality right now.
Pope Francis speaks of hope in his Easter Sunday message.
He says:
“‘Christ, my hope, has risen.’ This is no magic formula that makes problems vanish. No, the resurrection of Christ is not that. Instead, it is the victory of love over the root of evil, a victory that does not ‘by-pass’ suffering and death, but passes through them, opening a path in the abyss, transforming evil into good: this is the unique hallmark of the power of God.”
What I see in Francis’ insight is that love is central to hope:
above all else, trusting in God’s love for us;
then, in return, loving God through our prayer and lifestyle;
and, out of that love, loving those in our lives as God loves us.
This love can transform evil into good.
It is an expression of the Paschal Mystery and can transform suffering into new life.
It can bring us hope.
More on hope in this column next week!  

May the peace and hope of the risen Christ be with us! Amen.
Father Michael Schleupner