Earlier this week, one of my oldest friends whom I have known from grade school, posed the question, “In your opinion, how are hope and wish alike or different.” This question piqued my interest and I came up with the following response:

Hope is that light of faith, light of Grace, Light that keeps me going even in the darkest most troubling times. Wish is just that, a desire for an outcome that really may or may not be in my best interest. I can live without wishing.  Living without hope would be miserable and seem “hopeless”.

Hope is that light of faith, light of Grace, Light that keeps me going even in the darkest most troubling times. Wish is just that, a desire for an outcome that really may or may not be in my best interest. I can live without wishing.  Living without hope would be miserable and seem “hopeless”.

Donald Knight

We live in a world where all that makes news are stories that seem to incite panic, exaggerate division, arouse criticism, shame and blame and in the process erode the hope of many who listen, or read, or view this “news”.

Wishing might seem the only act one can do in a world like this. Any change in course might be seen as a random chance opportunity of good luck.

Luckily, we pilgrims on this spiritual journey know that there is a higher purpose, a higher force at play, a higher calling we each are called to. Our focus is on that inner spark of the Divine within each of us, that inner spark of Light, that Light of Grace that helps light the way and keeps us from giving up.

As our Lenten journey enters its first week, may we work within our lives and respond in our lives in ways that help stoke that Light of Hope, that inner spark into a massive flame of Light charting the course for all to gain a greater hope in the goodness of ourselves, our neighbors, our God and all of creation.

So each day of this Lenten season, I will be taking to time to discern and review how in the day ahead I might act in ways that build hope or helped increase Light and hope. At the end of the day, I will be taking stock of those ways I did build hope and Light, and those ways I only contributed to dimming light and hope.