Hope

 

Merry 2nd Day of Christmas!
Just this morning I read a profound reflection on hope, an article in the December 19 issue of Commonweal by Jerry Ryan about the poetry of Charles Peguy. I spent some time reflecting on it. It is so rich I intend to return to it. Ryan is quoting and paraphrasing Peguy's "The Porch of the Mystery of the Second Virtue" and much of what follows are almost direct quotes from Ryan's article.
The poem begins "The Faith that I like best, says God, is Hope." Hope is like a little girl who constantly astonishes God. Faith and charity one can understand. How can anyone who has seen the wonders of nature not believe? And charity is almost natural: to be distressed by the sufferings of others is part of our makeup. But hope is unexplainable. How can anyone seeing how things have gone today and the day before and the day before that still go to bed thinking that all will be different tomorrow? Hope astonishes even God. Faith sees things as they are, charity loves things as they are, but hope sees and loves what will be.
We get faith and charity. They are like hope's two elder sisters, the practical ones who have business to attend to, who seem to be dragging their little sister along. But it is really Hope who is dragging her sisters along, for without her they would be a couple of old women going nowhere. Like a child, hope keeps running up ahead and then back to her sisters to make them follow her. For hope every road is always new, every day a new adventure.