Faith, Hope, and Love Endure

As we approach the United States’ traditional holiday of Thanksgiving, moving toward the Christian, and very American, celebration of Christmas, I am seeing more uncertainty, sadness, and fear than I can recall previously in my own lifetime. I have to admit I experience these things myself. Many good people might think that I should be above and beyond such emotions. Perhaps, but we are all human, and for better or for worse, we all experience emotions of different types and degrees.

Fr. John Corapi

Jesus often said things like “Fear is useless. What is needed is trust;” and “Let your hearts not be troubled..;” etc. We would do well to remember this at a time when it is often not easy to be certain, happy, and without anxiety and fear. Change can be traumatic. Often the older you are, the harder it is to endure change. I am not good at it, I must admit. Look at what has happened to the United States in our lifetime. If you think the trend is positive, we’re on a far different page. Seemingly caught in a fog of indecision, poor leadership, and rapidly evaporating wealth, America is dying. The cause is moral, not economic. If we end up with the curse of socialism, know very well that it was because we refused to “repent and believe the Good News, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”

Hope is the key in this little note to you. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches in paragraph #1817:

“Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ’s promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit.” “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” (Hebrews 10:23).

God bless you always,

Fr. John

edited by:  Jeffrey David