Bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God. He saved us and called us to a holy life, not according to our works but according to his own design and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time began, but now made manifest through the appearance of our savior Christ Jesus, who destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
– 2 Tm 1:8b-10

[O]bedience is not always easy. As a result of that mysterious original sin, committed at the prompting of Satan, the one who is “a liar and the father of lies” (Jn 8:44), man is constantly tempted to turn his gaze away from living and true God in order to direct it towards idols (cf. 1 Thes 1:9), exchanging the “truth about God for a lie.” (Rom 1:25) Man’s capacity to know the truth is also darkened, and his will to submit to it is weakened. Thus, giving himself over to relativism and skepticism (cf. Jn 18:38), he goes off in search of an illusory freedom apart from truth itself.
– Blessed Pope John Paul II (Ency. Veritatis Splendor n. 1)

Even if there is something terribly wrong in the world – all is not lost. We may have lost Paradise, but we have not lost our free will. We have not lost the possibility of doing penance and straightening out our lives – or rather allowing Divine grace to do so for us, with our cooperation. Above all, as baptized Christians, we have a most precious inheritance of supernatural life, including that most precious light along the way – Hope. In this valley of tears and struggles, we learn little by little to appreciate this incomparable source of Hope which is Divine Mercy.
– br. Philip Anderson, abbot

HOPE IS A GOLDEN CORD connecting you to heaven. This cord helps you hold your head up high, even when multiple trials are buffeting you. I never leave your side, and I never let go of your hand. But without the cord of hope, your head may slump and your feet may shuffle as you journey uphill with Me. Hope lifts your perspective from your weary feet to the glorious view you can see from the high road. You are reminded that the road we’re on traveling together is ultimately a highway to heaven. When you consider the radiant destination, the roughness or smoothness of the road ahead becomes much less significant. I am training you to hold in your heart a dual focus: My continual Presence and the hope of heaven.