Hope SPRINGS Eternal…We Shall Overcome!

This week we celebrate two very important holidays – Passover and Easter.  These religious holidays are celebrations of hope and salvation – Passover commemorates God’s deliverance of the Jews from Egypt and the birth of the Jewish people as a nation.  And Easter celebrates the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and the birth of Christianity.

We will be apart for the celebrations this year, because of the Coronavirus Pandemic.  This unseen enemy has stopped every one of us in our tracks and made us realize how vulnerable we truly are. How dependent on each other we truly are.  And how responsible we are to protect and support each other, our families, friends and neighbors - but also strangers - if we want to stop the spread and the resulting deaths of thousands of people. 

Our actions can abate the spread of the virus – if we stay home - even though we are bored.  Our actions can further the spread of the virus – if we don’t stay home, if we don’t quarantine, if we sneeze or cough and don’t wear protective masks and gloves. Each one of us has a responsibility to protect everyone we come in contact with and stop the spread of this deadly virus. With diligence and Hope, “We Shall Overcome.”

Passover and Easter remind us that even in the most trying of circumstances, we must always “hope.”  May this beautiful verse* about HOPE inspire you:

Hope opens doors where despair closes them.

Hope discovers what can be done instead of grumbling about what       cannot.

Hope regards problems, small or large, as opportunities.

Hope looks for the good in people, instead of harping on the worst.

Hope cherishes no illusions, nor does it yield to cynicism.

Hope sets big goals and is not frustrated by repeated difficulties or setbacks.

Hope pushes ahead when it would be easier to quit.

Hope puts up with modest gains, realizing the “the longest journey starts with one step.”

Hope accepts misunderstandings as the price for serving the greater good of others.

Hope is a good loser because it has the divine assurance of final victory.

Hope draws its power from a deep trust in God and the basic goodness of human nature.

Hope “lights a candle” instead of “cursing the darkness.”

We wish you a Happy Passover and a Blessed Easter.

                           

*HOPE written by Father James Keller, Founder of The Christopher.