Week 7 Thursday (Year 1)

Readings: Sirach 5.1-8; Psalm 1; Mark 9.41-50

The virtue of hope is highlighted in this Holy Year for which Pope Francis chose the theme 'Pilgrims of Hope'. Life is a journey towards a destination for which we hope. The destination is attained with the help of the one for whom we are hoping. 'To hope for God from God' is a neat summary of what this theological virtue is about.

There are two ways of falling away from hope. One is despair which means giving up hope. Feelings of hopelessness, helplessness, depression, sadness, meaninglessness, feeling lost - these are not the full blown vice of despair which, like all sins, requires a conscious and intentional choice. Even suicide, I imagine, expresses a kind of misguided hope that things will be better after it than they are before.

As 'pilgrims of hope' we are called to be witnesses of hope, ready to support as best we can those who are experiencing these kinds of darkness and distress.

The opposite vice to despair is presumption and the readings at Mass today are warnings against this in particular. Our wealth or power are not enough to rely on, the first reading says, and even a certain way of trusting in God can be presumptuous. His mercy is real and infinite, of course, but our sins are also serious and our hope cannot mean overlooking the seriousness of them and their consequences. 'Delay not your conversion to the Lord', the reading says, not just in a finger-wagging kind of way but in order that we might begin to live our lives in as wholesome and as fruitful a way as is possible.

Likewise with the gospel reading. A cup of water given in the name of Christ is enough to ensure our salvation. But such kindness is to be accompanied by a conversion to right living which is determined and radical. Whatever in our lives is holding us back on our journey towards our destination is to be eliminated - hand, foot, eye, it does not matter. We are salt, Jesus says, and must strive to keep our 'saltiness'.

The gift or virtue of hope enables us to walk steadily between these two temptations of despair and presumption. It gives us the freedom to live joyfully and confidently, because God is good and is faithful to his promises. At the same time we are strengthened to live intentionally and seriously. God's love salts us with fire, Jesus says, it purifies, heals, strengthens and preserves us on the journey.