HOPE CHANGES OUR LIVES

Jesus Christ is our hope. He brings forgiveness and hope for the future. He changes our lives and He will give you a new heart with renewed strength. He will give you the strength to live a dynamic life of faith. The Great God who lives amongst us will bring hope through the Word and Sacrament.

Certain things in life are absolutely necessary. Air is one of them. We need air to breathe. We need water, too. Humans can only live about three days without water. We also need hope. Life without hope is difficult. 

We are in difficulties on all sides, we see no answer to our problems, we have been persecuted - but they never corner you, never knock you down or kill you - because the life of Jesus is still alive in your body. Death is at work in us but life is in us because Christ lives in us! (cf. 2 Cor 4:7-15).

One of my favourite lecturers in the seminary was the late Fr. Regis (passed away in 2002). During my philosophy year in 1996, he recommended a book entitled “Man’s Search for Meaning”written by psychiatrist Dr. Victor Frankl - whoseparents, brother and pregnant wife were all killed in the Nazi camps in Auswitz, Poland in 1944. He lost everything. Some asked him, “Why do you not commit suicide?” So in his book “Man’s Search for Meaning”, he said that a “loss of hope and loss of courage can have a deadly effect on man.”

As a result of his experience in a Nazi concentration camp, he said that when a man no longer possesses a purpose for living, no future to look toward to, he would usually curl up in a corner and die. But for him, he restored his inner strength in the camp and that was his first step towards building courage and hope.

Dr Victor Frankl wrote a total of 33 books. He became the first non-American to be awarded the prestigious Oskar Pfister Award by the American Psychiatric Association. Victor Frankl was correct when he said that to restore or to bring back a person’s inner strength or peace, he or she must first have hope of attaining some future goal. 

Even St Paul stated that the only goal that cannot be crushed by this fallen world is the living hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. We may face all kinds of difficulties in life with seemingly no answer to our problems, but Christ lives in us and that gives us hope.

Hope is necessary for our well-being. In a fallen world where pain, suffering and injustice are the norm, hope gives significance to life’s choices and enables us to endure them. Troubles, suffering, physical health, illness and eventually death comes like a thief and robs a person’s live. During suffering, pain or illness, we often focus on what we have lost, rather than on what we still have.

The Holy Father, Pope Francis has released an Apostolic Exhortation entitled “Christus Vivit”– CHRIST IS ALIVE, on 25 March 2019- for our young people.In this document, the Holy Father encourages the youth not to abandon the Church. He reminds the young people to stand beside the Church because “Christ is alive! He is our hope, and in a wonderful way he brings youth to our world.”He wants them to be alive since Christ is alive!

As only 20% of youth stay in the Church, and as a commitment to their personal vocation, the Holy Father encourages the youth “to discern their pathway”, “to grow in holiness”, “to make an effort to grow spiritually” and “to seek righteousness, faith, love and peace, (2 Tim. 2:22).”

He also warns them on the use of modern technology which can lead them to isolation, selfishness, lack communitarian aspects and expose them to the worst evils. Instead, he encourages them to pray in silence - discern and listen to God.Finally, Pope Francis wishes that young people “keep running the race”. The Church “needs your momentum, your energy, your intuitions/insights, your faith.”Find your faith and lead our Church to new life! And bring new hope.

We live in a world where people are really afraid about the future. Parents worry about the future of their children. We hope our kids and grandkids will grow up well. How many parents hope that their kids will live as disciples of Jesus? Unfortunately, I don't think we worry too much about  their spiritual aspects.

One day, Jesus is going to return to this earth. This is a truth that is taught in the Bible. And the return of Jesus is not just wishful thinking. As in the Gospel reading (Mt 20:20-28), we have James and John asking to have the privileged positions in the final kingdom. The disciples are indignant because they feel they deserve the position.But Jesus asked them – “can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?” The cup that Jesus offers is the cup of service – willing service in the way of Jesus and Mary. Service all the way to death. Through service and suffering, we will make our Jesus’s will to come true.

When we look around us, there are many things that perhaps causes us to lose hope. But when we look at God and his promises, there is great hope for the future. As you keep your hope high, St Paul says “do something each day that gets you closer to your goal of life.”(Ephesians 5:15-16). Make the best of the present time.

Hope changes our lives. The hope that we have through Christ transforms how we think and how we act. This living hope helps us to see the world with the eyes of Christ. As long as we have faith in Jesus Christ, we will always have hope. Other people see only a hopeless end, but we Christians rejoice in an endless hope.

(Homily on 25 July 2019 @ 7.30 pm at Church of St Anne, Port Klang)