Hope Does Not Disappoint

Hello Everyone!

I loved the Second Reading today. For those of you who don't remember, or haven't been to Church yet, the second reading was Romans 5:1-2, 5-8.

The priest chose to focus on the second reading during his homily. He pulled out the verse that said, "And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." He talked about how God does not desert us, and how even when our lives seem beyond repair, we need to endure in hope- and God will deliver.

This made me think about my favorite movies, The Lord of the Rings, and all other well-written fantasy stories. The good guys are always virtuous people, striving to do the right thing and improve the world around them. The bad guys are selfish, ugly things (I say things because often they aren't human) that want to wipe all that is beautiful from the world. And a battle ensues between these two groups. The fight is hard and tiring, and the good guys are doing everything they can to keep up the morale, to persevere to the end. Then, night falls. Rain drills the earth. But the battle does not stop. And just when it seems all hope is lost, when the good guys are at the point of exhaustion and don't know if they can last any longer, the sun rises. Dawn breaks through the clouds, and the hero comes riding in with the warmth of the sun behind him. And goodness triumphs (I've basically just described the Battle of Helm's Deep from the second Lord of the Rings movie, I encourage you all to watch it- and the rest of the other movies- because they are truly incredible).

Where is this in the Bible? Look at Christ. The disciples thought it was all over, their Savior had been killed. They buried Him at night, left him in the stone tomb as darkness fell. Three days later, they came back at sunrise, and Christ had resurrected.

So, hold to truth and hope. God will not leave you alone. Instead, suffer as Christ suffered, unite your pain to His, and offer it up for yourself- or those you love. And trust that your Lord will not disappoint you.

"Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer," (Romans 12:12 RSV) and God will be with you.

And may you all have a wonderful week!

(I apologize for how long it's been since my last post. I hope this will not happen again!)