Where there is despair, hope
Despair is such a dark and lonely place. It can be so emotionally powerful that it blocks out all light, all rational thought to find a way out.
Despair may be the most challenging, most arduous element to tackle among all the opportunities to sow God’s peace. Because of its emotional power, despair can feed on itself and grow into a cancer that consumes the remaining love and joy in a person or a community.
By definition, despair is to give up hope. So how do we, as instruments of peace, sow hope? The first step is to BE in the darkness, remaining present (most often in silence), not turning away from the agony of another.
The helplessness of not being able to fix whatever is causing the despair makes us to want to get away from such raw visceral emotions. But our simple willingness to remain in our own discomfort and not turn away from someone’s pain creates a space for hope to begin to grow. Silent witness has a power all its own.
Despair and hope teach us volumes about our Oneness and I can’t imagine a kind of despair that doesn’t require companionship to overcome.
Can you remain in the discomfort of your own feelings long enough to bear witness the despair of another?
Can you be the Love of God for someone who sees no hope?
Can you prepare a space for Light to shine in their darkness?
This musical version of the Prayer of St. Francis was written by Allen Pope and is sung a capella by the Philippine Madrigal Singers (sorry again for the ad but his version was too beautiful to skip). Close your eyes and let the music wash over you and touch your soul.
Novena prayers and reflection questions
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