Hope

On Saturday we celebrate the Feast of St. Angela.  Angela founded the Company of St. Ursula in 1535.  St. Angela was a woman of hope, and her words continue to encourage and support our efforts to “have hope and firm faith in God who will help us everything” (Prologue to the Counsels). Our January Heart to Heart selection was  an invitation to respond to the following questions: 

What are you hopeful for in the new year?

How might you nurture hope in yourself and others?

How/where do you find invitations to hope in your daily life?

Jeannie was one of the seven who responded to the invitation.  Her refelction is below:

A way I can nurture hope is by being more of a listening presence to hear people’s stories and then trying to acknowledge their pain and reaffirm the goodness in them. So many I know are being asked to make changes within their lives and I need to help them see that, no matter what, God is present. As I write this response, it is Epiphany Sunday, and I am struck by how the magi had to go home another way. What is the other way that I might be? How can I be creative when faced with challenges? How can I exist in the grey and uncertainty? I need to remember and remind others that no one is exempt from the human condition and experience of pain and disappointment, but how we deal, live life and treat others is what matters. I always think of hope as “Hold Onto Positive Energy” and “Hang On Peace Emerges,” and these are messages I find myself thinking and praying with each day and sharing with others.

—Jeannie Humphries, OSU