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This Lent Crucify Your Despair to Christ’s Cross of Hope

By Gabe Garnica

 

Scripture teaches us the difference between despair and hope in the persons and reactions of Judas and Peter. Peter denied even knowing Our Lord three times, felt great sorrow over his actions, and sought Christ’s mercy in loving, selfless, surrender to the Hope synonymous with Divine Mercy ( Mk 14:66-72). Judas, however, wallowed in self-pity and despair, too obsessed with self to fathom that Christ would or could forgive his sin and perhaps so proud that he preferred guilt over redemption and death over humility and contrition for his sin ( Mt 27:4-5).

Join the Club

I have often heard comparisons between Peter and Judas in terms of how they each betrayed Jesus, but only recently did I really consider just how large this betrayal club really is.  After all, did not all of the apostles, except for John, betray Jesus.  Running for the hills and scurrying under the bed when your friend and loved one is in trouble is not exactly loyalty and dedication. Did not half or more of the people in Jerusalem betray Jesus as well?  After all, they welcomed him with open arms less than a week earlier and gladly accepted his miracles curing their various ills only to either turn on him at the slightest suggestion or cower in corners as he was led to his most unjust death.  Don’t we all, in fact, betray Our Lord every time we pompously pump our chests declaring total allegiance to him only to pathetically fall for the same tired sinful script which has brought us down in the past?  Common sense, and human nature, would indicate and dictate that the club of Jesus betrayers reads more like the universal phone book than anything else. Sure, Judas messed up big time. However, he was clearly too self-obsessed to look at Our Lord in humble contrition and simply allow Christ’s Divine Mercy to defeat even the greatest of sin.  Simply put, Judas preferred to die with self than to die to self and actualize everything Jesus had taught him over the previous three years.

The Comfort of Despair

You may wonder how despair can ever be comfortable.  Do we not associate despair with extreme stress and crushing  hopelessness?  Yes, we do, yet I suggest to you that we often prefer such stress and hopelessness because it both fits our secular model of self and selfish model of resolution on our terms.  We only feel hopelessness and despair when we wallow in our own situation as compared to the situation we envision for ourselves instead.   Who feels greater hopelessness, the student who sees everyone else getting As in math while he fails or the one surrounded by failures just like himself? Satan wants us to focus on how we fall below the standards that Christ calls for us. He wants us to become immersed in just how we fall below everyone else and simply give up.  Christ, however, wants us to focus on how merciful and loving he can be and how we can believe in that mercy and love and get up when there are hundreds of reasons not to.

However, despair is comfortable despite its pain. It fits our secular and self model of martyrdom in self.  Look at my pain and sorrow, feel my stress and emptiness, and taste my hopeless situation. It is all about me and my pain and suffering.  Despair is convenient. Once we despair, we have a ready and willing excuse for drowning in self-pity and doubt. Loving God and following Christ, however, is not about feeling this world’s comforts.  If anything, this world makes such love and service very hard. Therein, however, lies the value of rejecting the comfort of despair.      We see and feel the ready-made excuse of hopelessness that the devil gleefully offers to us and push away from it in favor of reaching out to a God this world ignores, mocks, patronizes, and disrespects regularly.

The Discomfort of Hope

Again, here we see an ironic reversal of the expected.  How can hope be uncomfortable?  Is not hope synonymous with comfort, convenience, satisfaction, and relief?  Would we not rather have hope than be without it?  The true answer is yes and no.  If we buy into Christ’s message of trust, love, service, and mercy, then hope is everything. However, if we subconsciously or consciously buy into this world’s message of self, excuses, and taking the easy way out,  hope is a heavy burden to bear.  With hope comes accountability, responsibility, expectation, and even demands.  How?  Which team is expected to fight hardest to win a game, the one down by one point or the one down by twenty points? Nobody expects anything from a team down by too many points to have a chance and many, if not most, would not be too critical of that team mailing it in the rest of the game and giving up.

Compare this, however, with a team down by one single point giving up a game and one can see how the reaction would be so much harsher.  Giving up when there is still hope is considered cowardice. Giving up when there is no hope is considered surrender.  Refusing to give up even when there is little or not hope is considered noble and even heroic. Hope is indeed a cross to bear for anyone embracing it. The difference is that those whose hope lies in trusting Christ believe that their hope is both justified and practically assured of fulfillment.  By contrast, those whose hope lies in trusting self are prone to the doubts and weakness of the human condition.  In both cases, there are potentially crushing expectations.  For those hopeful in Christ, however, that heavy cross is borne with the support and inspiration of Our Lord’s example.  Those hopeful only in themselves, others, or this world will bear the heavy burden of expectations alone.

True Hope in Christ is Surrender to Love and Mercy

The Via may be Dolorosa, but the ultimate reward is so great that any pain on the way is more than justified.  Lent and Calvary call on each of us to push away the easy excuses, the ready-made rationales, and the convenient surrenders to human nature and the values of this world. We each have the opportunity to pick up the cross of  hope in Christ and turn it into the final resting place of our despair.  We can nail that despair and hopelessness to the hope that Our Lord offers to each of us.  Divine Mercy is the transcendent assurance that no sin or sinner is beyond the hope of Christ.  The devil is the pathetic purveyor of the lie that reaching for Christ is an exercise in hopeless futility.

It is truly ironic that the devil, the prince of self, happily offers each of us the easy excuse that we have no hope in saving ourselves. Lifting ourselves in the hope of Christ’s Divine Mercy should be an easy fulfillment of our loving trust in Our Lord.  This world, however, paints that hope as a burden too heavy for our defective and weak shoulders to bear. Once we surrender to this world’s distorted sense of hope, despair is the ready substitute. The second irony lies in the fact that despair only brings more despair as it pushes us further into the slippery slope of sin.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus asked those arresting him “Whom are you seeking?” ( Jn 18:7).  That is a question which each of us must answer for ourselves. If we surrender to and embrace Christ’s example of love and mercy, we will find a true hope in Christ on which we may nail our despair forever.  However, if we are merely seeking ourselves, we will be enslaved by that despair forever as well.

2019  Gabriel Garnica

Read all posts by Gabe Garnica Filed Under: Catholic Spirituality, Columnists, Evangelization, Featured, Scripture, Spiritual Warfare, Theology, Values Tagged With: Gabriel Garnica, John 18:7, Mark 14:66-72, Matthew 27:4-5

Dorian Speed

By Dorian Speed

Dorian Speed has been a classroom educator and catechist for several years. She has worked in classical Catholic education as well as traditional school settings, and writes about culture and faith at Scrutinies.

Read all posts by Dorian Speed Filed Under: Columnists

Jeannie Ewing

By Jeannie Ewing

Jeannie Ewing is a Catholic spirituality writer who focuses on the topics of grief, redemptive suffering, and waiting. Her four books include a meditation journal, a devotional, and two books on the topic of discovering joy in the midst of grief and waiting with expectation. She is a frequent guest on Catholic radio and contributes to several online and print Catholic periodicals. For more information, please visit her website lovealonecreates.com.

Read all posts by Jeannie Ewing Filed Under: Columnists, Speakers

Amanda Woodiel

By Amanda Woodiel

Amanda Woodiel is a Catholic convert, a mother to five children aged 9 to 1, a slipshod housekeeper, an enamored wife, and a “good enough” homeschooler who happens to believe that the circumstances of her life–both good and bad–are pregnant with grace. Read more thoughts on faith and parenthood at www.inaplaceofgrace.com.

Read all posts by Amanda Woodiel Filed Under: Columnists

Rocco Fortunato

By Rocco Fortunato

Rocco Fortunato grew up Roman Catholic, but God had little part in his life. Television, movies, and disordered music attracted his heart to the life of sin they promoted. After years of living in mortal sin and believing he was beyond hope, Rocco was set free by the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ in sacramental Confession, experiencing the unfathomable love and mercy of Almighty God in a very PROFOUND way!!!
(Listen to Rocco’s interview–Partial Testimony–on Encounter Radio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-XicIvlYTs)
Through Sacred Scripture, the Most Holy Rosary, daily Mass, and Eucharistic Adoration, he experienced a RADICAL CONVERSION!!! He’s been teaching, preaching, and/or writing on the fullness of the truth of the Catholic Faith since 1993. In 1995, Rocco founded Spread the Blaze (https://spreadtheblaze.com/), an apostolate dedicated to the conversion and sanctification of souls. He’s organized, led, and been the main speaker for Confirmation programs, Youth Groups, a Young Adult Group, a Men’s Group, Conferences, Retreats, a Street Apostolate, First Saturday Rosary Rallies, and served as Director of Evangelization. He’s also been on Catholic radio and had several television interviews.
Rocco runs a very unique Youth Group (Knights of Mary Immaculate) made up of middle-school and high-school youth including multi-cultural, homeschooled, inner-city, and special needs youth; he also runs a Young Adult Group (Crusaders of Mary Immaculate). In both groups, all souls are being challenged to become Saints through radical Marian devotion! These apostolates are leading souls into Holy Mother Church and helping those already there to grow in holiness.
His audio CD “God is Love” (https://spreadtheblaze.com/god-is-love/) and YouTube talks (https://www.youtube.com/spreadtheblaze) give ample testimony to his zeal for souls! To invite Rocco to share his love for Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and ALL things Catholic, please contact him at Spread the Blaze (https://spreadtheblaze.com/).

Read all posts by Rocco Fortunato Filed Under: Columnists, Speakers

Gabriel Garnica

By Gabe Garnica

Gabriel Garnica is crazy enough to believe that we can all be saints, and he refuses to buy the lie that we cannot. He is a college professor with degrees in law and mental health counseling. He was born in Colombia and came to the U.S. as a young child. While Gabe continues to enjoy teaching law, his greatest fulfillment as an educator has come from his ten years as a catechist at two local parishes.  Gabe is passionate about sharing his faith through writing and speaking; and he has enjoyed giving numerous talks to children on such topics as Divine Mercy, David and Goliath, The Ten Commandments, and prioritizing one’s faith. While he enjoys talking to children, it is in writing and speaking to adults that Gabe truly feels he has found his calling.  His goal is to continue developing his Catholic speaking and write several books on his topics of interest, which include meditations on the Ten Commandments, Divine Mercy, the saints, parable stories, general Scripture, Pro-Life, and The Virgin Mary. He enjoys writing for his blog Deus solus https://wordpress.com/posts/deussolus9.wordpress.com and as a columnist at Catholic Stand  ww.catholicstand.com/author/gabriel-garnica/  

Gabe’s favorite saints are  Tarcisius,  Therese “The Little Flower”, and Alphonsus  de Liguori, whom he describes as giving us a powerful glimpse of the loving challenge which God has given each of us.  As mentioned above, Gabe believes that we are all called to be saints, but we spend more time convincing ourselves why we cannot become one than trying to fulfill our true purpose in becoming precisely that. Gabe also speaks about Catholic marriage as being the true “Love Triangle”, with each partner and God.

Read all posts by Gabe Garnica Filed Under: Bible Stories, Catechetics, Catechism, Columnists, Evangelization, General, New Age, Prayer, Sacraments, Scripture, Speakers, Spiritual Warfare

Maureen Smith

By Maureen Smith

Read all posts by Maureen Smith Filed Under: Columnists

Father Juan Velez

By Father Juan Velez

Fr. Juan R. Vélez is a Catholic priest of the Prelature of Opus Dei, presently working in San Francisco and Berkeley. He was born in Venezuela and raised in Colombia, England and the United States. He holds a doctorate in dogmatic theology from the University of Navarre. Fr. Juan has a medical degree, also from the University of Navarre, and was previously board certified in internal medicine. He is author of Passion for Truth, the Life of John Henry Newman (TAN, 2012) and co-author of Take Five, Meditations with John Henry Newman (Our Sunday Visitor, 2010). He has also published a number of journal articles on theology and on medical ethics. He posts short reflections on Cardinal Newman’s writings at: www.cardinaljohnhenrynewman.com

Read all posts by Father Juan Velez Filed Under: Columnists

Deanna Bartalini

By Deanna Bartalini

Deanna G. Bartalini, M.Ed.; M.P.A, is a Catholic writer, speaker, presenter, and educator. Married to Deacon John they have two married children. Deanna loves teaching about Catholicism and how it fits into our daily lives. She has served in the diocese of Palm Beach since 1985 in both paid and volunteer positions in the areas of religious education, youth ministry and stewardship. Prior to working in full-time ministry, Deanna worked in the field of English as a Second Language as a teacher, consultant, teacher trainer, curriculum developer and publishing sales manager. Deanna writes at DeannaBartalini.com, and contributes to CatholicMom, Amazing Catechists, and New Evangelizers.  She contributed to A Catholic Mom’s Prayer Companion published by Ave Maria Press and has written “Invite the Holy Spirit into Your Life: Growing in Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control”” one book in the series of the Stay Connected Journals for Catholic Women.

Deanna is available to lead retreats and speak at catechist and ministry events. Learn more about her on her website, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and Pinterest.

Read all posts by Deanna Bartalini Filed Under: Columnists, Speakers

Msgr. Charles Pope

By Monsignor Charles Pope

Msgr. Charles Pope is the pastor of Holy Comforter-St. Cyprian, a vibrant parish community in Washington, D.C. A native of Chicago with a bachelor’s degree in computer science, his interest in the priesthood stemmed from his experience as a church musician. He attended Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary and was ordained in 1989. A pastor since 2000, he also has led Bible studies in the U.S. Congress and at the White House in past years. Monsignor Pope is often featured in New Advent and Our Sunday Visitor and is the primary author for the Archdiocese of Washington’s blog, and we are honored that he will be sharing some of his best blogs on theology, art, music, and culture here at Amazing Catechists.

Read all posts by Monsignor Charles Pope Filed Under: Columnists

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