"In hope we were saved" (Rm 8:24). Jesus saved us by dying on the cross, and He saved us "in hope" (Rm 8:24). While dying "in agony" (Rm 8:22), Jesus could only see horrible suffering. He couldn't feel the presence of His Father, and cried out loudly to express His feeling of abandonment (Ps 22:2). "Hoping for what" He could not see, the glory of a reunion with His Father in heaven and the salvation of those who were presently killing Him, meant "awaiting it with patient endurance" (Rm 8:25).

As Father Al Lauer, the founder of this booklet, often proclaimed on these pages, Jesus is our only Hope, but He is the only Hope we need. Jesus hoped so perfectly that, in a sense, He was Hope incarnate. Are you trapped in a situation that seems hopeless? Jesus is your Hope. Are "the sufferings of the present" (Rm 8:18) overwhelming? Then compare them "with the glory to be revealed" (Rm 8:18) when we join Jesus, our "Hope of glory" (Col 1:27), in heaven. Our citizenship is in heaven (Phil 3:20). We must live with one foot in heaven (Col 3:1) and the other on earth (Mt 28:19; Jn 17:11). The best way we can live in hope is to go to Mass as often as possible. At Mass, "heaven is wedded to earth" (Easter Vigil Exultet). We eat at the banquet of the Lord while still on earth. Jesus "encourages those who are losing hope" (Sir 17:19). Are you losing hope? Go to Mass today, receive Hope, and "wait in joyful hope."

Rescript:  †Most Reverend Daniel E. Pilarczyk, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, April 21, 2005

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