Mother of Holy Hope

Father Nicolas Schwizer

The Council defined the Church of today as a people on the way, a pilgrim people. And hope is the virtue for travelers. Hope seems to be the most forgotten virtue of Christians, but the most necessary virtue to follow life’s route. Hope keeps the heart of the Christians alert. Today we need that virtue in our country more than ever because many brothers and sisters have lost hope for a better future.

While there is life, there is hope. To live is to have desires, to live is to long for something and to fight for it until you reach it. We are always waiting for something: a promotion at work, to add on to the house, a larger television set, a new pair of shoes. And when one of these wishes is frustrated, we then feel bitter.

However, what is also strange is that we often also feel empty when we get what we so much wanted. Earlier, we believed that with that we would be completely happy, that we would need nothing more. But according to the measure in which a hope is fulfilled, other desires emerge and we feel we are still not satisfied. We always long for something new because what is old, that which we already have, has not fulfilled us. The fever for new things has become an illness for the man/woman of today.

We can build our hopes on sand or on rock, and we know that the only true rock is JESUS CHRIST. The things of this world were created to lead us and to bring us nearer to HIM. No matter how beautiful or how noble they may be, they are only milestones along the way. They cannot fulfill all our hopes. We cannot build our life’s hope on sand. We have to build on Christ the rock. When we build our hopes on HIM, we then have the enthusiasm and the optimism to face life.

But, how can I find Christ in my actual life? How can the light of his hope penetrate me and fill my heart? We know that the Star which leads us to Christ is Mary, his Mother.

The Church calls her Mother of Hope. From the Annunciation, She builds her desires on her Son. She knows that Christ is the rock which is steadfast and never deceives. Therefore, She hopes against all hope including when He dies…..next to Her, on the Cross. For the apostles, the death of Jesus becomes the tremendous end to all their hopes. It is not this way for Mary: She continues her way through the darkness, but with her heart full of hope.

Therefore, let us get close to Her – that land of encounter and hope which is Mary….. With her light. She also kindles in us the hope of Christ and leads the way for us. In this way, She illuminates us so that we may know how to build all our human hopes on the Lord. And like Mary’s life, our life too will all be filled with joy, with a steadfast enthusiasm, with an eternal youth.

Dear brothers and sisters, therefore, let us ask the Virgin to help us build a Church of Hope, but built on the rock of Christ. Only on this foundation will we be able to build a better future for our country and our people. To do this, we should begin building our personal hopes on that rock.

Because a Church of hope is only built by men and women of hope – joyful and confident – who have had a vital encounter with Christ in the heart of Mary. May the Mother of Holy Hope help us on this mission!

Questions for reflection

1. Tragedies and illnesses…..are these my favorite topics of conversation?

2. The others, do they see me as an optimistic person, full of hope?

3. Do I use this type of phrases: “that won’t work,” “there is nothing that can be done,” “everything is wrong…..,” etc.?