The Face of Mercy / Daniel Conway

Christ alive in us is the basis for all our hope

Evil people are without hope. They live in a state of bleak fatalism with no bright future because they live in darkness and are prisoners of the past. 

According to Pope Francis:

“A person who does not have hope is not able to forgive; he is not able to give the consolation of forgiveness and to receive the consolation of forgiveness.

“Yes, because this is what Jesus did, and in this way he continues to do so through those who make space in their heart and their life for him, in the awareness that evil is not vanquished with evil, but with humility, mercy and gentleness. Mafiosi think that evil can be defeated with evil, and so they seek revenge and do all those things we know about. But they do not know what humility, mercy and gentleness are. And why? Because Mafiosi do not have hope. Think about this.”

Pope Francis has spoken about Mafiosi (the Mafia) before. He believes they are powerful examples of people without hope who seek to control their environment with intimidation, violence and vendetta. Theirs is not the way of Christ—no matter how much they cling to the cultural forms of religion.

“Our hope is not a concept,” the pope teaches. “It is not a sentiment, it is not a mobile phone, it is not a heap of riches! Our hope is a person, it is the Lord Jesus whom we recognize as living and present in us and in our brothers, because Christ is risen.”

What does Pope Francis mean when he says that our hope is not a mobile phone? The Holy Father uses this very popular device—and our growing dependence on it—to illustrate his point that we are not saved by ideas, technology or great wealth. Our hope is a person, he says, Jesus Christ, God incarnate who gave himself entirely for us and who is living and present among us.

“Let us remember that Christ is risen. He lives in our midst, and abides in each one of us,” Pope Francis says. “There the Lord made His dwelling at the moment of our baptism, and from there he continues to renew us and our life, filling us with his love and with fullness of Spirit.”

Christ is alive in us by virtue of our baptism. So we have reason to be hopeful. But Pope Francis cautions us not to bury the Lord deep inside us, but to proclaim him to everyone we meet through our words and our actions. He says:

“If Christ is living and abides in us, in our heart, then we must also allow him to be made visible, not to hide him, and to act in us. This means that the Lord Jesus must increasingly become our model: our model of life and that we must learn to behave as he behaved. Do what Jesus did.

“The hope that abides in us, then, cannot remain hidden inside us, in our heart: it would be a weak hope that does not have the courage to come out and let itself be seen; but our hope … must necessarily be released outward, taking the exquisite and unmistakable form of gentleness, respect and goodness toward our neighbor, to the point of forgiving those who do us harm.”

Criminals, corrupt officials and people whose hearts are hardened by cruelty, self-centeredness and sin cannot make Christ visible unless they experience some form of conversion.

Dismas, the “good thief” who was crucified with Jesus, is an example of “the exquisite and unmistakable form of gentleness, respect and goodness toward our neighbor, to the point of forgiving those who do us harm” that Pope Francis says is characteristic of Christ-like courage and humility. Where great love is present, hope abounds. 

We proclaim hope “each time we take the side of the least and the marginalized, or that we do not respond to evil with evil, but instead forgive without vengeance— forgiving and blessing,” Pope Francis says. “Every time we do this, we shine as living and luminous signs of hope, thus becoming an instrument of consolation and peace, in accord with the heart of God. And in this way, we go ahead with sweetness and gentleness, being amiable and doing good even to those who do not wish us well, or who harm us.” 

May we always “shine as living and luminous signs” that Christ is risen. May we always be people of hope!
 

(Daniel Conway is a member of The Criterion’s editorial committee.) †