Reflections from the Heart – September 18, 2022

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time
by Fr. Ivan Olmo

“The steward said to himself, what shall I do; I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg.” Without hope, our life becomes unbearable; it becomes covered in darkness. It becomes weary and we do not seem to care much. When we lose hope, we lose energy, we lose enthusiasm, we lose the desire to press on, to go forth, to run the race – we lose the desire to go the distance – then life becomes a burden, a real struggle – life becomes impossible. When we lose hope, we seem to lose everything. Without hope, we are unable to perceive where we are going, we are unable to see the road ahead of us, we are unable to know which direction to take, we are unable to see the light at the end of the tunnel. When we lose hope, we tend to give up; it is easier for us to give in. We are weakened and so easily prone to despair. Without hope, we deceive ourselves; we believe we cannot go on. We fool ourselves and we also fool others that life isn’t worth it, why even bother, why even try, what’s the use, what’s the point, it’s never going to get better, it’s never going to change, God never hears me, he doesn’t care. Without hope, we feel alone, abandoned, unloved. Without hope, we feel unsupported, misunderstood, no one sympathizes with us, God has forgotten us; we feel he is too busy or simply he just does not care. Without hope, we believe we are too weak to continue, we cannot make it, we are unable to do so. When we lose hope, we lose interest, we stop praying, we stop believing, we do not want to keep going – we feel life is not worth living. Without hope, everything becomes hopeless, every feeling depresses us, every situation is undoable, every moment is  full of despair, every opportunity becomes an impossibility, every day is full of darkness, every conversation is unbearable, every thought is full of sorrow, every person becomes worthless, every moment is a waste of time, every tear is full of unhappiness, everything is hopeless. I beg you, please never give up, never lose hope, keep praying – God is truly listening. Never forget how much God loves you.  You are precious in his eyes. In moments of despair, in those dark moments of temptation, gaze upon the Cross, hold it tight and know that Christ is right there suffering with you. He really cares.