#HopeForPeace via #USA | 03.06.2025
- Yona Tukuser
- Jun 3
- 4 min read
I desperately need hope in these chaotic times which are tempting me towards despair. Our president’s policies anger me daily, and in my anger I’m tempted to tune him out, give up, and separate myself from what’s he’s doing to our country.
As I’ve been reflecting on hope during these days, however, I realize that my near-despair evidences my commitment to something more. Trump’s deportation policies awaken my care for others. His economic policies awaken my commitment to economic justice. His health and climate policies remind me of our need to protect the wellbeing of our bodies and earth. His nastiness reminds me of my commitment to kindness and gentleness. His actions generally have reminded me of deeper values within myself. This reflection has renewed my spirit.
Hope is not an easy virtue, particularly in difficult times. Hope takes perseverance. Our longing for something more in the face of these trials requires courage. And effort.
A longing lies deep in our hearts. It’s God’s love. We can’t forget it; we can’t neglect it; we can’t let it remain within us. We need to act on it.
Hope is an extension of our past faith into the future. We’ve experienced God’s love and have come to trust that love. It will continue. We confidently hope because of past experience. We simply need to continue to trust in God’s graciousness, steadfast love, and faithfulness. God is for us.
We needn’t worry. Trump and his policies will not last. But, to ensure that this statement will prove to be true, we need to act with hope rooted in faith, a faith propelled by love. Love is eternal. It won’t be defeated. Life overcomes death. Light dispels darkness.
The present is filled with possibilities. The potential to help reveal God’s reign in our present simply needs to be acted on. Trump’s policies can’t be allowed to define us as a people. We care more for others than his narcissism allows. We love more than his wounded ego permits. We need to counter his vision with a vision rooted in the Gospel.
If Trump’s “Christian” sycophants think he is leading us to the fullness of God’s promises, they’re mistaken. Jesus calls us to live lives modelled on his own. As he embodied the Father’s tender mercy, so we need to do the same. As Jesus identified himself with the poor and marginalized, so we need to do the same. Love for others is at the root of the Gospel.
I find hope in Pope Leo XIV. He was elected to continue the pastoral direction set by Pope Francis. Thus far he seems to be doing that. His first words as pope renewed my hope.
Peace be with you! Dearest brothers and sisters, this was the first greeting of the risen Christ, the good shepherd who gave His life for the flock of God. I, too, would like this greeting of peace to enter your hearts, to reach your families and all people, wherever they are; and all the peoples, and all the earth: Peace be with you.
Pope Leo’s spiritual father, St. Augustine, defined peace as the “tranquility of order.” “Order” in this expression is a synonym for “justice.” Everyone, and everything, must be given their due if we are to have peace. Basic rights must be respected; otherwise the disrespected will remain unsettled. Only with justice will peace follow.
Pope Leo’s motto in illo uno unum (In the one Christ we are one) expresses his desire for unity and communion. His motto in essence expresses a desire for social justice: i.e., for a people living as one in harmony with one another.
The motto focuses our challenge. To achieve social justice we must overcome our deep rooted individualism. Our “us against them” mentality needs to fade into the background and be replaced by a mutual commitment to one another. We need to moderate our polarities. We need to see ourselves as sharing a common heritage and common cause.
I think this will happen in the Catholic Church if we embrace synodality. Synodality hopes to engage lay persons in the church community by seeking their help in discerning solutions to the needs of the community. Specifically, spiritual conversations are facilitated around questions facing the community. Participants pray about the questions in advance of gathering, and each person is asked to listen attentively and speak intentionally about the issue being discussed. With God’s grace a direction is discerned. An unintended consequence of the process is that a stronger community is formed. People feel heard and respected.
I end with the Jubilee Prayer.
Father in heaven,
may the faith you have given us
in your son, Jesus Christ, our brother,
and the flame of charity enkindled
in our hearts by the Holy Spirit,
reawaken in us the blessed hope
for the coming of your Kingdom.
May your grace transform us
into tireless cultivators of the seeds of the Gospel.
May those seeds transform from within both humanity and the whole cosmos
in the sure expectation
of a new heaven and a new earth,
when, with the powers of Evil vanquished,
your glory will shine eternally.
May the grace of the Jubilee
reawaken in us, Pilgrims of Hope,
a yearning for the treasures of heaven.
May that same grace spread
the joy and peace of our Redeemer
throughout the earth.
To you our God, eternally blessed,
be glory and praise for ever.
Amen
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