Hope does not disappoint!

Mar 07, 2025

As I was contemplating - Fr Gerard Theraviam
As I write this, the Holy Father, Pope Francis is seriously ill in hospital and the focus of most Catholics is on his wellbeing and health. There has been also a strong positive response by many non-Catholics who might not share his belief but have admired and been touched by his down-to-earth humility and love for the poor and marginalised. His bridge-building openness to people of different faiths and cultures has touched many. His travels to our part of the world recently have made him more visible to us in the Asian context, helped by the fact that the media have recognised him as truly newsworthy.

Hence, it was shocking to find a Catholic commentator sensationally stating he had a mere 72 hours left and the fact that this was shared again by someone I know on Facebook incensed me. I did not mince my words when I commented that we should let God be God! For me, anyone trying to put exact times on a person’s life was usurping God’s role and playing ‘god’! I have seen people who have been given days to live by doctors go on for years while the reverse is also true – people who seem healthy suddenly fade away.

My response, while swift and strong, stayed with me that day. As I reflected on it in prayer, I realised it came from a place of great love and admiration for Pope Francis. I am unashamedly one of his admirers who hopes that he might continue his mission on earth, but respecting God’s will in this. While I also appreciate that we may not agree with him in all things, a sense of respect for the office of the successor of Peter is surely the least we can expect of Catholics. Some nasty comments from purported Catholics in the comments in social media rile me. Pope Francis has bravely allowed those who have disagreed with him to have their say without silencing them, as has been done by some of his predecessors. Surely, we can have our different opinions and agree to disagree, but when we affix obnoxious labels on people we disagree with, we really have lost it! We all need to distinguish between issues and persons! If indeed we have nothing nice to say about persons, then the most loving thing would be to shut up!

Coming back to the questions of Life and Dying, the reality of Life is that Death is a part of it too. The Christian is invited to welcome death as the doorway to heaven, rather than despairing. The death and resurrection of Jesus is the heart of our faith and the basis of our hope. In the words of Pope Francis himself in Spes Non Confundit the bull concerning the Jubilee Year of Hope 2025:

“I believe in life everlasting”. We, however, by virtue of the hope in which we were saved, can view the passage of time with the certainty that the history of humanity and our own individual history are not doomed to a dead end or a dark abyss, but directed to an encounter with the Lord of glory. As a result, we live our lives in expectation of His return and in the hope of living forever in Him. In this spirit, we make our own the heartfelt prayer of the first Christians with which sacred Scripture ends: “Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20). (SNC19)

Thus, Death, whether that of myself or anyone else, is not something that we should be unduly worried about. Of course, we will indeed miss the earthly presence of the ones we have loved. As for ourselves, we may feel as if we haven’t finished all that we intended. Yet, ultimately, Life is God’s gift! As Job says, the Lord gives and the Lord takes back! When it is our time to return, we do so without despair but instead, hope in the Risen Lord who leads us to our eternal home with Him. Therefore, Hope does not disappoint. Trusting in God, we live Life to its fullest now, with the certainty of Hope in the Risen Life to come.

In the words of Pope Francis: “What, then, will become of us after death? With Jesus, beyond this threshold we will find eternal life, consisting in full communion with God as we forever contemplate and share in His infinite love. All that we now experience in hope, we shall then see in reality.” (SNC21)

Yet, before Death comes a-calling, the reality is that we might have to undergo suffering in our illnesses and infirmities. Even in these circumstances, we need to trust and hope in God who decides our length of days here. “We boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope” (Romans 5:3-4). Indeed, whatever our circumstances, God continues to work in and through us, making us a better, hopeful version of ourselves!

“Hope does not disappoint, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us” (Rom 5: 1-2, 5)

In the love your Spirit pours into our heart, we entrust Pope Francis and all who suffer to You, Heavenly Father – confident and hopeful in Your Will, and Your mercy and compassion that the Lord Jesus, Your Son shows us. Amen

(Fr Gerard Theraviam is the Parish Priest of the Cathedral of St John the Evangelist in Kuala Lumpur, as well as the Spiritual Director to the World Community for Christian Meditation, Malaysia.)