FORGIVE ME WHILE I write again about hope because I think it’s critical to our moving on from the trials and tribulations of 2020 and those we have already experienced in 2021. I’m turning to the wisdom of our elders to help find reasons for hope at this point in our lives. Who better than those who have experienced life’s twists and turns over a long period of time to help us find reasons for hope in our day and age?
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, priest, paleontologist, theologian, and philosopher, began to question just what it was we knew about the creation of the earth, the planets, the universe, and the cosmos. In his research among the rocks, the fossils, and the many geological digs he participated in, he could not help but notice major shifts in our knowledge about the very universe itself. When he published and shared these new insights and facts, he found himself in deep trouble with his Church and with many others in the scientific community. Being a deeply spiritual man, he saw that just because others disagreed with his findings about the physical world did not mean that he must abandon what he knew to be a major shift in our understanding of the Creator’s way of working in the world in which we live.
We continue to have others in our midst today who are challenging even Teilhard de Chardin’s discoveries, and hopefully we will always have new insights garnered from our life experiences. I am especially impressed with his acceptance of new knowledge affecting both his spiritual and scientific understanding.
Pope Francis reminds us of the importance of hope and has challenged all of us, especially the young, to be people of hope. He reminds us to “look beyond personal inconvenience,” and that has certainly been evident among the essential workers, especially in health care, during this pandemic, many of whom have gone over and above their regular role in caregiving. He tells us that hope can help us to look beyond “the petty securities and compensations which limit our horizon,” and we see this happening as families must find new and different ways to provide food, shelter, education, and entertainment in a world turned upside down by this pandemic and other events.
I think Pope Francis gives us a wonderful reason for hope when he writes, that hope “can open us up to grand ideals that make life more beautiful and worthwhile.” What are some of these grand ideals that are already evidence of change in our society? The cry for unity and peace among all peoples, increased awareness of our need to embrace one another in the midst of our differences, welcoming the stranger into our midst because we too were once strangers and know how it feels to be welcomed as a brother or sister, being willing to dialogue and reach compromises realizing that there are many ways to view an issue and many ways to solve our problems.
I challenge myself to be open and look for these more beautiful and worthwhile ways to live together in this very complex world. I especially challenge myself to give a hope-filled pep talk to someone in another generation. I hope this article did that for someone today. Remember—hope is bold and the future belongs to those who give the next generation reason for hope.
Sister Mary Thill is a Sylvania Franciscan Sister. She can be reached at mthill@sistersosf.org.
The future belongs to those who give the next generation reason for hope.
+Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, philosopher
I invite everyone to renewed hope…
Hope is bold; it can look beyond personal inconvenience,
the petty securities and compensations
which limit our horizon,
and it can open us up to grand ideals
that make life more beautiful and worthwhile.
+Pope Francis, Brothers and Sisters All, 2020
