Being Hoped-Filled
It is a challenge to be hopeful these days! We seem to be surrounded by stories of tragedy, violence, ecological devastation, poverty and pessimism, to name just a few. At the same time, there is love and birth and joy around us as well.
Once again, as it was for Charles Dickens in nineteenth century England, “It is the best of times, and it is the worst of times.” The main thing about our time is simply that it is OUR time, our moment of grace, our now, right where we are; and so it is our time to be hope-filled.
Hope is a gift of the Holy Spirit of God, and it lies deep within us, waiting to be activated. In spite of popular misconceptions, hope has little to do with happy outcomes, the absence of problems, the coming of better times, even the achievement of peace and justice in the world. Christian hope is about knowing that we are one with the Holy One, and therefore with all others of creation too.
As I say this, I’m reminded of a little poem by Wendell Berry:
The incarnate Word is with us,
Is still speaking, is present
Always, yet leaves no sign
But everything that is.
Reprinted with permission courtesy of Dolores Hall
Spiritual Director at Providence Spirituality Centre www.spiritualitycentre.ca
The Lives Our Lives Prepare
The Lives Our Lives Prepare
If we will have the wisdom to survive,
To stand like slow-growing trees
On a ruined place, renewing, enriching it…
Then a long time after we are dead
The lives our lives prepare will live here.
Excerpt from Wendell Berry, “A Vision”
This short excerpt by Wendell Berry captures in poetic form the heart of evolutionary consciousness. Beyond the language of evolutionary consciousness which can feel just a few steps beyond us at times, the concept is simple and profound. It is attractive and saturated with implication in our everyday lives.
We, as humans are not destined to be stuck in the grim places that keep us at war, that separate us, that leave us living with anxious expectation. We are capable of sensing our ultimate belonging to each other. We can know that we are part of a larger whole. We do care about life beyond our own particular life span.
There it is. The invitation to accept the responsibility to engage the life that is ours personally with all its challenges.
There it is. The commitment to be part of a larger planetary community that changes the course of history.
There it is. For now and for a long time after we are dead, what is the life our lives are preparing?
Margo Ritchie, CSJ