A People of Hope

"The one who hopes lives differently; the one who hopes has been granted a new life." - Spe Salvi (Saved by Hope), second encyclical by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI

Hands down, the number one thing that strikes retreatants during their time with us on retreat are the few testimonies that are shared. A testimony is when one of us NET members get up and share about a difficult trial they have endured in their life, or their conversion story. Recently, we had an extremely energetic group of youth. All throughout the main talk of the day, they were distracted and chatting with each other, but they quieted down upon hearing the first word of one of our team member's testimony. I asked my small group later what they thought about her story, and their initial thoughts were that it was, "sad" and "depressing", until one girl commented, "But, really, it kind of helped me see that even when there are difficult times in life, you can get through them. God can get you through them."

What a message of hope, that we "can do all things through Christ who strengthens us" (Philippians 4:13)! No wonder hope is considered one of the three cardinal virtues, when it is something that can keep people going when they've apparently lost all else. We should not be miserable, because, as Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI once said, "the one who hopes has been granted a new life". That is what evangelization is about, sharing the hope that is within you and that sustains you. Hope is what we breathe when we lead retreat after difficult, seemingly fruitless, retreat. That is one of the many reasons why Jesus came to earth. Jesus came to give us a hope that would sustain us, to give us a new life and a reason to keep moving, despite all the difficulties. And the great thing about the gifts that God gives us is that they refuse to be solitary. As God's people, we have a hope so amazing that we cannot help but share it, and by sharing our stories of how God gave us grace to overcome our difficulties, the youth we encounter cannot help but catch that hope themselves. What a beautiful job we have, to be bearers of hope.

Our testimonies all have that one same theme: new life, and the hope that got us there.

God bless,

Encounter 2