i hope so...
“The people of Nineveh believed God.” —Jonah 3:5
Although the Ninevites were an extremely wicked and perverted people, 120,000 of them converted in one day (Jon 3:4; 4:11). Their conversion is a sign that there’s hope for everyone — even in the most impossible situations.
Even if you don’t understand what the Lord is doing and He is not answering your prayers the way you want, in hope you “were saved. But hope is not hope if its object is seen” (Rm 8:24). Although you may have been walking through “the valley of the shadow of death” (Ps 23:4, RSV-CE) for months or even years, “hope will not leave us disappointed, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us” (Rm 5:5). If you have a life as tragic as Job’s, Christ in you is your “Hope of glory” (Col 1:27). No matter if the devil has been accusing you day and night (see Rv 12:10) by telling you there is no hope for your marriage or family, never give up hope. Rather, “we await the blessed hope and the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ” (from the prayer following the “Our Father” at Mass).
Henry David Thoreau wrote: “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” However, Jesus has died and risen to give a new “birth unto hope” (1 Pt 1:3) and “a future full of hope” (Jer 29:11). We who are baptized in Christ have reason to be hopeful.
Therefore, “should anyone ask you the reason for this hope of yours, be ever ready to reply” (1 Pt 3:15). Hope in God.
Prayer: Father, I will “seize the hope which is placed before” me (Heb 6:18).
Promise: “At the judgment, the citizens of Nineveh will rise along with the present generation, and they will condemn it. For at the preaching of Jonah they reformed, but you have a greater than Jonah here.” —Lk 11:32
Praise: Ron had lost hope of overcoming sexual temptations, but through daily Mass and Bible study Jesus delivered Ron from the sin of habitual masturbation.
Reference:
Rescript: "In accord with the Code of Canon Law, I hereby grant the Nihil Obstat for the publication One Bread, One Body covering the time period from February 1, 2025, through March 31, 2025. Reverend Steve J. Angi, Vicar General, Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio May 22, 2024"
The Nihil Obstat ("Permission to Publish") is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.