Hope. This is a word we use daily. “We hope it doesn’t rain” – “We hope it snows” – “I hope I win the lottery.” We are all hoping for something ‘more.’ There is just something within us that keeps this desire alive.  

To build on our understanding of hope, let’s relate it to friendship. With our friend or spouse, we are “at home.” It is a space where we are safe, secure, and know we are loved and trusted. So, we desire to be with the person and in their absence, we hope for the time we are together again to see their faces.  

To raise this to yet a higher understanding, the theological virtue of hope is the virtue that orients us to God and our friendship with Him. In Him, we are anchored and yearn to dwell in the household of God (Ps 23:6) to see Him face-to-face. Just as we endure hardships to see our friend or spouse—the same sense of hope anchors us to endure sufferings, knowing we can one day be united with God—Who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  

Venerable Fulton Sheen used an analogy of a piece of our heart being taken out and placed in Heaven. During life, we are searching to have this piece united to make our hearts whole. Let us pray each day for an increase of hope so when we encounter difficulties, we remain steadfast with the eyes of our heart fixed on our final resting place—the house of the Lord. 

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