Choose the Good – Part 4
(c)Mateo Ivankovic 2017 July 10, 2018 Dear Family of Mary! “…My children, you are given the freedom to choose, but, as a mother, I implore you to choose the freedom for the good…” (July 2, 2018) Today we reflect on the Theological Virtue of Hope! This wonderful virtue powers us through the most difficult trials and keeps our eyes fixed on Heaven. It helps us to endure our troubles and choose the good, because of the joy that is set before us in Christ. Here is the Catechism’s description of Hope: Hope 1817 Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ’s promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit. “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. (Heb 10:32-32) “The Holy Spirit . . . he poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:6-7.) 1818 The virtue of hope responds to the aspiration to happiness which God has placed in the heart of every man; it takes up the hopes that inspire men’s activities and purifies them so as to order them to the Kingdom of heaven; it keeps man from discouragement; it sustains him during times of abandonment; it opens up his heart in expectation of eternal beatitude. Buoyed up by hope, he is preserved from selfishness and led to the happiness that flows from charity. 1819 Christian hope takes up and fulfills the hope of the chosen people which has its origin and model in the hope of Abraham, who was blessed abundantly by the promises of God fulfilled in Isaac, and who was purified by the test of the sacrifice. (Gen 17:4-8) Hoping against hope, he believed, and thus became the father of many nations.” (Rom 4:18) 1820 Christian hope unfolds from the beginning of Jesus’ preaching in the proclamation of the beatitudes. the beatitudes raise our hope toward heaven as the new Promised Land; they trace the path that leads through the trials that await the disciples of Jesus. But through the merits of Jesus Christ and of his Passion, God keeps us in the “hope that does not disappoint.” (Rom 5:5.) Hope is the “sure and steadfast anchor of the soul . . . that enters . . . where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf.” (Heb 6:19-20) Hope is also a weapon that protects us in the struggle of salvation: “Let us . . . put on the breastplate of faith and charity, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.” (1 Thess 5:8.) It affords us joy even under trial: “Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation.” (Rom 12:12.) Hope is expressed and nourished in prayer, especially in the Our Father, the summary of everything that hope leads us to desire. 1821 We can therefore hope in the glory of heaven promised by God to those who love him and do his will. (Cf. Rom 8:28-30; Mt 7:21.) In every circumstance, each one of us should hope, with the grace of God, to persevere “to the end” (Mt 10:22) and to obtain the joy of heaven, as God’s eternal reward for the good works accomplished with the grace of Christ. In hope, the Church prays for “all men to be saved.” (1 Tim 2:4) She longs to be united with Christ, her Bridegroom, in the glory of heaven: Hope, O my soul, hope. You know neither the day nor the hour. Watch carefully, for everything passes quickly, even though your impatience makes doubtful what is certain, and turns a very short time into a long one. Dream that the more you struggle, the more you prove the love that you bear your God, and the more you will rejoice one day with your Beloved, in a happiness and rapture that can never end. (St. Teresa of Avila, Eccl. 15:3) http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P66.HTM Our Lady calls us to accept Jesus in our hearts, and carry hope to the world: November 25, 2008 “Dear children! Also today I call you, in this time of grace, to pray for little Jesus to be born in your heart. May He, who is peace itself, give peace to the entire world through you. Therefore, little children, pray without ceasing for this turbulent world without hope, so that you may become witnesses of peace for all. May hope begin to flow through your hearts as a river of grace. Thank you for having responded to my call.” May hope begin to flow through our hearts as a river of grace!!!! In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan ©Mary TV 2018