Hope

I must have HOPE in the mercy of God.

The Resurrection of Christ (Said Elatab)

Nothing is guaranteed in life.  Well, almost nothing.

I do not know whether I shall be rich or poor.  I do not know whether I shall be healthy or sick.   I do not know whether I shall be happy or sad.

Of course there are things that happen that can make things easier for one outcome or another.  For example, a person who chooses to associate with people who are drug addicts is more likely to become a drug addict themselves and this in turn means that they are more likely to be poor and sick and lonely and sad.  Now, this is not a certainty, but it is certainly a more likely outcome for a person who puts themselves in a position where they are exposed to the sorts of things that drive that sort of outcome.

So, while almost nothing is guaranteed in this world, one thing that IS guaranteed is that we are all born to DIE (and be reborn to Heaven eternally if God chooses to save us) and another thing that is fairly certain is that with HOPE we have so much potential for joy – even in the darkest of moments.

When my little baby died before he was even born, I experienced – for the first time in my life – an absence of hope.  And for a period of time there was little joy in my life.  Yes, I had other children and more blessings than I could count, but I also had experienced a loss so profound and terrible that I was unable to even think about how to process it.  And when I look back on that time in my life the most terrible pain was caused by the death – not of that child – but the HOPE for all that child could be in this world and also the death of all they could be to me.  There was a death of the HOPE of love for that child.  I had al this love inside me ready to give to that child and no living child to give that love to.

And it was only with years of people praying for me that I was able to experience some of the JOY that comes with the birth of hope.  And this is why Pope Saint John Paul II says that we live in the hope that our unbaptised children who have died as children will be saved by the loving mercy of God.

And that is an act of faith – a true act of faith in the mercy of God.  You see, the only way to have comfort after the death of my child is to have HOPE in his salvation.  And what that really means is that I must have HOPE in the mercy of God.

And I suppose that is the TRUEST test of my faith that there is…  That hope in the mercy of God!

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.