Romans 5
Who isn’t comforted by today’s second Mass reading?! It’s on days like this when I wish the mandate for periods of silence during the liturgy was liberally applied, to give the community more time to reflect on these profound lines of Scripture. And it’s on days like this that I wish that my infant would sleep through Mass… So for those of you who, like me, can’t get enough, here’s a morsel worth reviewing:
From St. Paul to the Romans, chapter 5
“…affliction produces endurance,
and endurance, proven character,
and proven character, hope,
and hope does not disappoint,
because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.”
There are 2 kinds of “hope.” One is natural & instinctive; if you are optimistic by temperament, then natural hope arises more often during your life. The other form of hope - the one referred to in the above passage - is supernatural. Faith, hope, and charity - the theological virtues - are received as pure gift from God. We can pray for them. You may find yourself in seemingly hopeless situations… but keep praying for the gift of hope to sustain you, beyond mere human hope or endurance. You know what comes to mind? We know a man who has 5 children and lost his wife. Hard to keep the faith? Sure, if you are relying on human resources. But he’s a man of prayer, and maintained hope for the future. He is going to marry a friend of ours in a few months. The Lord gives, and He takes away. Do you like YouTube? Have you seen the one about the little boy called 99Balloons? It’s the same message.
