For Father Ángel Pérez Rosa, Provincial Superior of the Passionist Cristo Rey Province in Mexico, the hope of Christians is more than just optimism, it requires prayer.
“Prayer with hope can look at the future, beyond the suffering that will always be present in our lives,” shares Father Ángel. “Pope Francis said, ‘God is love and hope.’ This is Christian hope, not hoping for material goods in the world. We need to base our hope on the love of God, manifested in Christ on the Cross.”
“Feeling loved by God fills us with hope.”
Fr. Ángel Pérez Rosa, CP
Father Ángel nurtures hope in the people he serves. Most importantly, he shares God’s love by treating each person with dignity and by acknowledging their value.
“I think one way is to proclaim Christ crucified as the greatest act of God’s love for us. Feeling loved by God fills us with hope,” Father Ángel explains.
Appreciating the gifts of each person he works with or spends time with is key. Father Ángel believes a positive environment nurtures growth in the people who work or live together, and that increases hope for each person.
“When the other person establishes a connection with me, we can work together in hope,” says Father Ángel. “In human relationships, conflict is always present, as is the presence of suffering. That is why we need hope through dialogue. In the synodality process, we can find ways to walk together. We walk together to find the will of God.”
Maintaining hope takes work and focus. We cannot and should not ignore suffering, but we accept it while we strengthen ourselves by drawing on the beauty of the world around us.“We have to look at the world, not from its chaos and anger, but from the love of God,” he explains.
“Look for the beauty rather than just seeing things that are broken. We cannot hide the suffering going on in the world. We desire a more just society that we sometimes do not achieve. We need to be patient, yet not just waiting passively, but also working and fighting. As Pope Francis said for the Jubilee Year, we need to look at the suffering faces of the world. Each suffering face is screaming and crying for the love of God. To look at the world with hope, we must look at creation with hope. Take time to submerge yourself in the beauty of creation.”
Being a pilgrim of hope requires tools to help us navigate the challenges we face, Father Ángel believes.
“We have to look at the world, not from its chaos and anger, but from the love of God.”
Fr. Ángel Pérez Rosa, CP
“We always see pilgrims carrying a backpack. The first thing we need in that backpack is to know we are loved by God the Father. God loves us, believes in us and hopes in us,” shares Father Ángel. “The second thing we need to carry in that backpack is a crucifix so we can look at Jesus and see the hope he gave us by dying on the Cross. We can now participate in the Resurrection. The third thing we should carry is the fire of the Spirit that propels us to be dynamic and keeps that hope alive in our hearts. Fourth, we could carry some accessories, to treat people well, we can carry a smile and a word of hope.”
Father Ángel nurtures hope in different ways that are reminders of God’s love for the world.
“The first is prayer, especially with the Word of God. For me to read the Word of God is to see God in his actions,” Father Ángel explains. “I look at the Gospels and I can see Jesus in history, how he acted and how he loved, especially in the Passion. Another practice I have is to be in contact with nature. I love to take nature walks in the woods. Third, we cannot forget about the people. The humblest people speak the most about love. When you talk to these people, your hope is renewed.”
