hope chest
"Creation was made subject to futility, not of its own accord but by Him Who once subjected it; yet not without hope." —Romans 8:20
We should not compare ourselves with other people, but we should compare our present sufferings "with the glory to be revealed in us" (Rm 8:18). We Christians may suffer greatly because we follow Jesus Who suffered greatly. However, our sufferings should not be due to our sin (see 1 Pt 4:15); they should be in the pattern of Jesus' death (see Phil 3:10). Although these sufferings hurt us, we consider them to be nothing compared with our hope to rise from the dead, see Jesus face to face, and live forever with Him in the perfect joy of heaven.
When we hope in the Lord, we compare the present with the future in such a way that we rejoice in the Lord always (Phil 4:4). Hope makes it possible for us to rejoice in proportion to our redemptive suffering (1 Pt 4:13). In hope, sufferings don't crush us but strengthen us (see Rm 5:3-5). Hope helps us to be free and unmanipulated by the threat of suffering. Hope energizes us and frees us from being paralyzed by fear. "In hope we were saved. But hope is not hope if its object is seen; how is it possible for one to hope for what he sees? And hoping for what we cannot see means awaiting it with patient endurance" (Rm 8:24-25). "Praised be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, He Who in His great mercy gave us new birth; a birth unto hope" (1 Pt 1:3).
Prayer: Father, may my hope overshadow my sufferings.
Promise: "What does the reign of God resemble? To what shall I liken it? It is like mustard seed which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a large shrub and the birds of the air nested in its branches." —Lk 13:18-19
Praise: The Horton family surrounded their dying grandmother with rosaries, prayer, confidence, and peace as she received the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick hours before her death. "Happy now are the dead who die in the Lord!" (Rv 14:13)
Rescript: †Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, May 22, 2013
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