Pope Francis: hope is a gift from the Holy Spirit

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2013-10-29

To make this concrete, consider the pope’s reference to Judas and to Mary Magdalene. Both were guilty of serious sin. They both had a bad conscience. But Mary accepted forgiveness and welcomed Christ to stay in Bethany with her sister Martha and Lazarus.  Judas did not accept and committed suicide. Mary had hope and Judas did not. Hope comes from the humility of contrition and confession which heals consciences.

Speaking at morning Mass at Casa Santa Marta, the Pope reflected on the words of St. Paul in which he says: 'Never disappoint yourself'- Hope never lets you down. Why? Said the Pope: “Because it's a gift from the Holy Spirit”. And he continued: Paul tells us that hope has a name. Hope is Christ.

Elaborating on the meaning of hope the Pope said that it creates a tension directed towards the revelation of Jesus Christ, towards true joy that is eternal life.

And referring to the virtues of faith, hope and charity, the Pope said that often the virtue of hope is seen as the most humble of the three, because – he said – it is hidden in life. You can see faith – he added – you can feel it, you know what it is. And charity too – we know what that is. But what is hope? What is this attitude of hope? First of all - he said - we can say it is a risk, a risky virtue – as Saint Paul says: it is a virtue of ardent expectation for the Revelation. "It is not an illusion".

And he continued: “Jesus, the hope, renews everything. So hope is a constant miracle. "The miracle of what He’s doing in the Church. The miracle of making everything new: of what He does in my life, in your life, in our life. He builds and He rebuilds. And that is precisely the reason of our hope". "Christ is the one who renews every wonderful thing of the Creation; He's the reason of our hope. And this hope does not delude because He is faithful. He can't renounce Himself. This is the virtue of hope.”

And Pope Francis concluded reminding all Christians about the Virgin Mary's attitude after her son's death, up until His resurrection on Sunday.
Hope – he said – is what Mary, Mother of God, sheltered in her heart during the darkest time of her life: from Friday afternoon until Sunday morning. That is hope: she had it. And that hope has renewed everything. May God grant us that grace.”