WHY ARE YOU A MAN OF HOPE?
Cardinal Leon Suenens (1904-1996), former Archbishop of Brussels-Malines, Belgium, was one of the fathers at the Second Vatican Council. His influence on the Council was notable and he was close to Pope John XXIII. Here is his response to the question: "Why are you a man of hope?"
Why are you a man of hope? Because I believe that God is born anew each morning. Because I believe that God is creating the world at this very moment.
God did not create it at a distant and long forgotten moment in time. It is happening now: we must be ready therefore to expect the unexpected from God. The ways of providence are by nature surprising. We are not prisoners of determinism, nor of the somber prognostications of sociologists. God is here, near us, unforeseeable and loving. I am a man of hope, not for human reasons nor from any natural optimism. But because I believe the Holy Spirit is at work in the Church and in the world, even where God’s name remains unheard. I am an optimist because I believe the Holy Spirit is the spirit of creation. To those who welcome the Holy Spirit,
God gives each day fresh liberty, renewed joy and trust. The long history of the Church is filled with the wonders of the Holy Spirit. Think only of the prophets and saints, who, in times of darkness, have discovered the spring of grace and shed beams of light on our path. I believe in the surprises of the Holy Spirit. John XXIII came as a surprise, and the Council, too. They were the last things we expected. Who would dare to say that the love and imagination of God were exhausted? To hope is a duty, not a luxury. To hope is not a dream, but to turn dreams into reality. Happy are those who dream dreams
and are ready to pay the price to make them come true.
from Cardinal Leon Suenens' book: A New Pentecost
One can get a pdf copy of the book here
If you are one, why are you a woman or a man of hope in today's world?
Graphic | Philip Chircop
