4th Week in Ordinary Time 2023 - Wednesday - February Hope

 Back on the first day of August we celebrated the feast of St. Alphonsus Liguori, the great moral theologian who wrote extensively on the virtues. God made us to be virtuous. And so St. Alphonsus teaches, “It is part of the love of God to acquire and to nurture all the virtues”. And so effort is to be given to obtain the virtues, grow in the virtues, and strengthen the virtues. 

The virtues are like muscles in the body, and athletes will tell you that if you want to strengthen a particular muscle, you have to focus on it intentionally. So, St. Alphonsus encouraged that each month we focus on one particular virtue. 

In January he recommended working on the virtue of faith. In February we move on to the second theological virtue, the virtue of hope. 

Faith, hope, and love, the theological virtues are the foundation of a solid relationship with God and the Christian life. And so you’ll never advance in the Christian life without solid hope.

Simply, the theological virtue of hope means to trust that God will be true to his promises. Trust is very difficult for a lot of people. We speak of trust issues. Instability in the family life and the increase in divorce have wounded a lot of people’s ability to trust. Global instability shakes our sense of security. Changes in the church, constant changes to the liturgy, church leader’s weak moral guidance, and betrayal by church leaders have caused many to lose their trust. 

But hope, hope is vital, because change and chaos are inevitable. And hope helps us to remain rooted in the promises of God which do not change. This is why the symbol for hope is an anchor, hope anchors us to solid ground, the solid ground of the promises of Christ—that believing in him, following him, eating his flesh and drinking his blood, carrying your cross with him, laying down your life for him, leads to eternal life.

Christ is our hope. And when you are solidly anchored to Him and His promises, you will have peace and tremendous strenth "in your struggle against sin" as Hebrews puts it today. When you build your house on the solid rock foundations of his teachings, your house will stand the inevitable storms of life. 

St. Bernard of Clairvaux said: “Place all your hope in the Heart of Jesus; it is a safe asylum; for he who trusts in God is sheltered and protected by His mercy. To this firm hope, join the practice of virtue, and even in this life you will begin to taste the ineffable joys of Paradise.”

Strengthen hope this month by meditating often on Christ’s promises found in the New Testament. Meditate on the goodness of God, the heart of Jesus who would never deceive you, who has conquered sin and death and promises eternal life to those who follow him, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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To God the Father Almighty we direct the prayers of our heart for the needs and salvation of humanity and the good of His faithful ones.

For the holy Church of God, that the Lord may graciously watch over her, care for her, and aid her in her mission.

During this Catholic Schools week, for all young people, for their teachers and catechists and parents who are the first teachers of the faith, and that the truth of the faith may be learned, cherished, and practiced in every Catholic school and Christian home.

For an increase in the virtue of hope, especially for the hopeless and despairing and for hardened sinners.

For the sick and suffering among us, for those who care for them, and for all of our beloved dead, especially X, for whom this mass is offered.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord

November 23 2020 - St. Clement, Pope and Martyr - Anchor of Hope

Imagine a sailing ship, several miles offshore, being battered by stormy, raging seas and buffeted by high winds.  The captain, prevented by the storm from getting into the safe harbor, lowers the anchor to the sea floor to prevent the wind and waves from sweeping the ship away.  The anchor holds “sure and firm”; and though the ship is caught in a storm, the anchor keeps the ship from being lost or destroyed.

Today’s saint, St. Clement, is often depicted with the anchor. For it was the instrument of his martyrdom around the year 100. For opposing the emperor Trajan, Clement, the fourth Pope of the Roman Church, was condemned to death by drowning—he was tied to a marble anchor and thrown into the sea.

Clement is often depicted in art with the marble anchor by his side. Much like the cross, the terrible instrument of Our Savior’s agonizing death, has been transformed into a symbol of hope—so too, Clement’s anchor. The anchor is found in many of the catacombs and is still utilized in Church art and architecture as a symbol of hope. We HOPE that what we suffer for Christ—great trials and persecutions, and even offering up our minor inconveniences—we hope that these things will bear fruit in eternal life.

The letter to the Hebrews calls to mind this symbol. In speaking about the need to hold fast to the promises of God amidst the threat of persecution, Hebrews says, “This we have as an anchor of the soul, sure and firm, which reaches into the interior behind the veil.”

When our lives become hectic, chaotic, stormy, we need to hold fast to Our Lord, who is our anchor. When we are firm in hope, we become safe from being swept away by the turmoil of the world. 

Again, imagine, you are hiding in the catacombs, three of your best friends have just been thrown to the lions or burned at the stake, or crucified and set ablaze during the emperor’s persecution.  The anchor reminds you, that Jesus’ peace can be yours in this life and the joy of heaven can be yours in the next, if you but hold fast to Him.

The relics of St. Ignatius our patron, are buried in the Church of St. Clement in Rome. And like Ignatius, Clement wrote to several of the churches before his martyrdom. Clement, writing to the Corinthians, calls to mind this virtue: “Having then this hope, let our souls be bound to Him who is faithful in His promises, and just in His judgments.”

The anchor, or the cross are not magic symbols that will banish our earthly storms; but if Christ is your anchor, your soul will survive the storm. Christ is the only hope for a future existence in heaven. If we remain true to Christ, if we die with him, then we shall be raised with him, forever and ever. May Christ be our anchor of hope today and all days for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

 

That the holy Father and all bishops and priests will help the Church will remain true to their mission of helping the Church grow in faith, hope, and love. Let us pray to the Lord.

For those who do not put their hope in the promises of Christ, for those who have left the Church or despair of God’s forgiveness, that the holy Spirit will bring the hopeless to safe harbor. Let us pray to the Lord.

For those undergoing the storms of life: for the poor, the hungry, the homeless, the sick, the aged, the lonely, the grieving, those who are out of work, those who are facing financial difficulties or struggling with addiction, and those most vulnerable, that God will draw close to them, raise them up, and answer their needs.  Let us pray to the Lord.

We pray in a special way for all of the faithful departed during this Month of November, for the deceased members of our family, friends, and parish, and all the souls in purgatory, and for…N for whom this mass is offered.

O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the prayers of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our Lord.

2nd Week of Lent 2018 - Monday - Lent is a season of Hope

Over in the Academy last week, I was talking about the theological and cardinal virtues. Alongside the western wall here at St. Clare, the theological virtues, faith hope and love, and the cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude, are depicted symbolically in our stained glass windows.

I’d like to speak this morning about the virtue of hope. Hope is depicted so often in Christian symbology as an anchor, as it is here, on one of our stained glass windows. The anchor was an early Christian symbol commonly found in the Roman catacombs as a symbol of the hope we have in the promises of Christ. Imagine you are a first century Christian taking refuge in the catacombs: three of your close friends have just been thrown to the lions or burned at the stake, or crucified and set ablaze as torches at one of Emperor Nero's garden parties. The anchor is a symbol that amidst the storms and uncertainties and suffering, Christ is our anchor, Christ is our hope.

Letter to the Hebrews speaks of hope as an anchor: "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure."

Hope helps us to remain anchored in the truth, anchored in reality. Lent is a season of Hope. The ashes of Ash Wednesday remind us of the all too real reality of suffering and death, the result of sin, but it is a day of hope, the ashes are placed on the head in the sign of the cross, an expression of our hope to be saved from sin and purified from sin through Lent.

Yesterday’s Gospel, for the second Sunday of Lent, is filled with hope. Jesus’ glory was revealed in dazzling display on the Mount of Transfiguration. This was to give his disciples hope, that though he would suffer and die, the cross was not the defeat of God, but God’s defeat of sin and death.
I thought of this image of the anchor of hope today, in light of our readings today, in which we find Daniel confessing his sins and the sins of Israel to the Father in the first reading, and which speak of the Father’s forgiveness and our need to forgive in the Gospel.

The Virtue of Hope is discovered between two vices: the vice of despair and the vice of presumption. Despair claims that my sin is so great, God will never forgive me. Presumption claims that it doesn’t matter what I do, I am assured of salvation, so I don’t have to make any attempt to amend my life.

True Christian Hope is rooted in the truth, that Yes, God is full of grace, mercy and forgiveness for the sinner, but as sinners, like Daniel, we are called to confess our sins, and show mercy and forgiveness, as the Lord teaches in the Gospel. “For if you do not forgive, the Father will not forgive you.”

May our Lenten practices help us to grow in authentic Christian hope which leads us to acknowledge and confess our sins, amend our life, forgive others and lead others to the fountain of God’s mercy, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That those despairing of God’s mercy and those presumptuous of God’s mercy may come to know and practice authentic Christian Hope.

That those preparing for baptism and full Christian initiation at Easter may be strengthened in Faith, Hope, and Love through the Church’s prayer and witness.

For the Holy Father’s prayer intention for the month of February, that those who have material, political or spiritual power may resist any lure of corruption. We pray to the Lord.

That we may generously respond to all those in need: the sick, the suffering, the homeless, the imprisoned, and victims of violence.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Grant, we pray, O Lord, that your people may turn to you with all their heart, so that whatever they dare to ask in fitting prayer they may receive by your mercy.