“ Faith, Hope, and Love— the greatest virtues and forces in our lives— seem to suffer special assault in this war.”
Earlier this year I became aware of a cynical reaction to hope rising up from somewhere within me. I’ d be in a conversation with a friend and they would express something they were excited about or looking forward to: a vacation, a promise from God. Part of me would silently respond, Yeah, sure. Whatever.
It concerned me, and I paid attention.
We suffered several significant losses in 2023, and I was aware of something hurt and angry inside. It was“ located” in the“ function” of Hope within me. I’ m choosing these words carefully, because they will help you understand how to move into restoration when it is needed in a particular place in your heart and soul. Sometimes it is the function of Love that needs restoration in us; other times it might be the function of Joy. As you pay attention to your inner world, as you go into those rooms Teresa of Avila described in her book The Interior Castle, you are much better situated to invite Christ into these places and experience his healing.
Faith, Hope, and Love— the greatest virtues and forces in our lives— seem to suffer special assault in this war. I think most of us try to carry on, with Faith, Hope, and Love limping with us— flagging, failing; but it would be far better to get the healing presence of Christ into those places within us.
Faith, Hope, and Love have a location within your soul, a locus. You can find them rather easily simply by looking, for example, for your longing for love. Tune into your longing for love, and you will find where Love“ lives” within you; then move toward it. From that place, it is far easier to open the inner door to allow Christ in.
I had a quiet evening to myself, so I began to pay attention to Hope within me. You can locate the function and locus of Hope in your soul by simply thinking about hope, wondering what you are hoping for, or heading straight toward the loss of hope within. You can even move straight toward despair, for it is trying to overcome hope within you.
“ Faith, Hope, and Love— the greatest virtues and forces in our lives— seem to suffer special assault in this war.”
I could feel the damage there, in the locus of Hope in me. It wasn’ t in Love; Love was doing well. It wasn’ t in the place of Faith, either; the heartache and damage were clearly resident in Hope in me. I intentionally moved toward the pain and cynicism within me; I paid attention to the function of Hope within my heart and moved toward it. And here is what I prayed:
Jesus— come into the place of Hope in me.
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