During one daily Mass Pope Francis reflected on the virtue of hope, stressing that it is a gift which does not disappoint, and warning of the false attitudes that can appear to be the virtue.
He told those present of common attitudes which often get mistaken as the virtue, “Hope is not optimism; it is not that ability to look at things with good cheer and move on. No, that is optimism, that is not hope.”
“Nor is hope a positive attitude in front of things. Those shiny, positive people,” he noted, stating that although this attitude is good, “it is not hope.”
“It is not easy to understand what hope is,” he reflected, emphasising that out of the virtues of faith, hope and love, hope is often said to be the most humble because it “hides itself in life.”
“One can see faith, one can feel it, one knows what it is. You do charity, one knows what it is. But what is hope? What is this attitude of hope?”
“To get a bit close to it,” the Pope said, “we can say firstly that hope is a risk, it is a risky virtue…”
He then stressed that because Jesus renews all things, hope is a constant miracle, “.. the miracle of what He’s doing in the Church; the miracle of making everything new: of what He does in my life, in your life, in our life.”
“He builds and He rebuilds. And that is precisely the reason of our hope.”
The Pope then asked, “Are we anchored on the shore of the ocean so far or are we anchored in an artificial lagoon that we have made ourselves, with our rules, our behaviour, our schedules… ?”
“Are we anchored there? Everything comfortable, everything secure? That is not hope. Ask yourself, where is my heart anchored?”
“Christ is the one who renews every wonderful thing of Creation,”
“He’s the reason for our hope. And this hope does not delude because He is faithful. This is the virtue of hope.”
Pope Francis concluded his homily by turning to Mary, recalling her attitude after the death of her son until his resurrection three days later, saying that “Hope is what Mary, Mother of God, sheltered in her heart during the darkest time of her life: from Friday afternoon until Sunday morning.”
“That is hope: she had it. And that hope has renewed everything. May God grant us that grace… so we too can be people of hope”
taken from CNA – Pope Francis: anchor your heart in hope, not false securityhttp://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-francis-anchor-your-heart-in-hope-not-false-security/
