A Passion for Hope

This week, the world lost one of its great advocates for hope: Pope Francis. His autobiography, titled Hope, reflects the central role it played in his life and teachings. In his final address—the Urbi et Orbi message delivered on Easter Sunday at the Vatican, just one day before his death—he used the word hope eleven times. Even while acknowledging the pain of a world burdened by conflict, war, and poverty, he declared:

“I would like all of us to hope anew and to revive our trust in others, including those who are different than ourselves, or who come from distant lands, bringing unfamiliar customs, ways of life and ideas…
I would like us to renew our hope that peace is possible!”

Last year, Pope Francis wrote about the need for hope as he acknowledged the suffering on the planet and the uncertainties ahead:

“Uncertainty about the future may at times give rise to conflicting feelings, ranging from confident trust to apprehensiveness, from serenity to anxiety, from firm conviction to hesitation and doubt. Often we come across people who are discouraged, pessimistic, and cynical about the future, as if nothing could possibly bring them happiness…”

And yet, he reminded us:

“Everyone knows what it is to hope. In the heart of each person, hope dwells as the desire and expectation of good things to come, despite our not knowing what the future may bring.”

The Challenge of Hope

While most of us understand hope on some level, not everyone embraces it as Pope Francis did.

I’ve heard motivational speakers caution against hope, placing it in the same category as “trying”—both seen as signs of passivity or lack of determination. Some argue that hope keeps us from being present or taking meaningful action. Some cite an adage, “He who lives in hope, dies in despair.” 

I disagree. What, if not hope, fuels our commitment to act when the odds are against us? What gives us courage to rise each day and keep going? As Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope.”

But I disagree. What, if not hope, fuels our commitment to act when the odds are against us? What gives us courage to rise each day and keep going? As Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope.”

He was pointing to a deeper kind of hope—not the everyday wishful kind (“I hope it’s sunny this weekend” or “I hope our team wins”), but a sustaining, motivating force that empowers action.

Secular Hope

Although many of Pope Francis’s words were directed to a Catholic audience and draw on divine grace, they resonate even when secularized. In Stories of a Generation, a recent docuseries by Martin Scorsese—featuring conversations with the Pope and elders from around the globe, Francis offered a profound image:

“The sower needs hope in order to sow. In other words, what leads him to sow is the hope that the seed will bear fruit in the future. I do not hold on to the seeds. I sow them every day. I do not hold on to my skills, my knowledge. I share them and I keep working, giving.”

Everyday Hope

As a gardener, I loved that image of planting seeds. It made me wonder how we can grow hope through our everyday actions.

Looking back on my life, I grew hope when:

• I said “Yes” to a man I barely knew and promised to love him for the rest of my life. (It has worked out beyond my best imaginings!)
• I saw the sparkle in my great-granddaughter’s eyes and envisioned her blossoming as she grows.
• I rejoiced on the 60th birthday of my friend with Down Syndrome and saw him continuing to thrive.
• I planted snap peas last month and celebrated the first green tips pushing through the soil.
• I allowed myself to feel carried during times of great loss.
• I greeted the Madrona trees with my arms raised high in joy.
• I forgave—just a little—and felt my heart soften.

For me, hope is a life force. It can be cultivated in both joy and sorrow, in the ordinary and the extraordinary. Sometimes it appears as grace when we are at the end of our rope, but we can also seek it daily.

Two Practices

Recently, I’ve tried two practices to enhance my feeling of hope  that isn’t tied to achieving a certain outcome.

1) I sat quietly and imagined myself surrounded by hope—as a gentle comforting force that fed my spirit.

2) I focused on the world that Pope Francis pointed us toward—without war, greed or senseless violence. A world where the immigrants and the poor and marginalized were respected and supported, and where people cared for each other across boundaries. Then I let my feeling of hope surround that world.

Hope That Fuels Dreams

Martin Luther King Jr. and Pope Francis were men of action—leaders willing to work for the future they believed in. Pope Francis wrote:

“Because hope is life—it is living. It gives meaning to the journey. It helps us find reasons to go on, to stay present, to be here now.”

Near the end of his life, King reminded us:

“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”

And Pope Francis said simply:

“Hope is a window to eternity.”

A Good Wager

I believe hope is a force that connects us to our deeper selves and gives us courage to face an uncertain, potentially difficult future.

If you’re still unsure about hope, ask yourself:

Who would my children, grandchildren, and friends prefer me to be?

1. Someone who meets adversity with hope and uses it as fuel to keep dreaming and striving?
2. Someone who goes it alone, dismissing hope as a distraction or illusion?

I know my answer.

And now…

I’m not Catholic, yet my tears ran deep on Monday.

May the legacy of Pope Francis continue to bring hope to many.