GUEST EDITORIAL: PEOPLE OF HOPE

By Sr. Frances Brady, O.L.M.
Summer 2004

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In every walk of life people are searching for ways to address challenges, meet needs and reduce suffering. Within church and religious groups, we search for new forms of religious commitment, community, ministry, and collaboration with people of different faiths. We look for ways of living that lead to life.

One constant in our contribution as Christian people to the "kindom" of God is our commitment to being hope-filled people. Hope affects everything-our attitude, our expectations and our actions. Hope allows us to recognize God's creating love in the good things that happen, and reminds us that sad and tragic events are not the whole picture or the last word. God will be with us in both good times and bad, helping us to respond in life-giving ways.

For Our Lady's Missionaries both the happy and the sad events occur often and in varied circumstances. We find joy when children who used to live on the street find a home; when farming families have land on which to live and work; when the sick are welcomed, visited and cared for. At the same time, people continue to die daily from AIDS; more and more families find themselves homeless; preventable diseases, malnutrition and violence cause countless deaths. What do events such as these, and the joy or grief they bring, tell us?

We trust that God gives us the guidance we need through the events and experiences of our lives. Sometimes they show us the "kindom" in the making. Sometimes, sadly and painfully, they point out things that need our attention. Prayer, openness of heart, and sharing happiness and pain with one another help us to understand a little more clearly our part in each story. As hope-filled people we look at each situation for signs that we know will be there, signs of how God would have us respond.

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