On the side of hope

Fr. Livio Tonello, director

Accidents happen along the way of life: illness, mourning, suffering, abandonment... There are those who lose their jobs, those who separate, those who suffer injustice. Personal limits and human relationships lead to this. Some more, some less. In the face of broken dreams and unfulfilled expectations, the risk of giving up and surrendering is always lurking. It is not for the majority of people who manage to start over, to find motivation, to believe that it is possible to start over.

On the other hand, we have only one chance in life, only one opportunity: the one that is now given to us. That’s why determination, strong motivations, great ideals are required: despite everything! The experience of Jesus was not very different from what could happen to us. He remains alone, at the end of an intense journey in which he welcomed, healed, forgiven, made good. Not even the company of his parents: only his mother and a few women. A story that seems a failure if we don’t consider the resurrection.

The Easter event takes place to give voice to the value of life that never dies. The best intentions may wreck, the most beautiful dreams may vanish, but not the search for the fulfillment of our life. And this happens by opening up to hope even in the midst of the greatest disappointments. Without legs or arms, it is possible to become a sports champion; for a quadriplegic, it is possible to teach at university; losing your family does not mean being alone and defeated. How many things can change when we cultivate hope and begins to fight again, considering our life a gift for ourselves and for others. Let us not forget that human potential is enormous. If enriched by faith, they can become even more so.

A Christian finds strength in the action of the Spirit. That Spirit who allowed Jesus to return to life, without letting violence and death have the last word. Only in the face of the Easter story do we find vitality and certainties to make hope flourish again. In the Risen One we find again the taste for living, the impulse to begin again after every fall, the energy to defeat resignation and failure. It is sad to see people who are unable to rejoice in what they have. They have everything and are unhappy.

They waste time and resources chasing ephemeral dreams. Some resign themselves because the years go by and they don’t finish anything, they feel useless. There are hard diseases to overcome, such as alcoholism, addiction, depression, cancer... I mention them because they come out of the stories of friends of the Association who speak shamefully about them. They would have liked a better life, but there is no lack of confidence to support the path. An illusion? “Little Hope goes along between her two older sisters, Faith and Charity, and one scarcely notices her.

Almost invisible, the little sister seems to be led by her two older sisters’ hand, but with her childlike heart she sees what the others do not” (Charles Péguy). And she drags with her fresh and innocent joy Faith and Love on Easter morning. It is she, that little one, who moves everything along. Happy Easter!