Rivista DMA
Beyond Optimism
Beyond Optimism
Among the presentations at the
Chapter most significant was that of Bishop
José Rodriguez Carballo, Secretary of the
Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated
Life and Societies of Apostolic life. “If you
were to ask me”, he said during the homily
at Mass, “if I am optimistic about the future
of Consecrated Life I would say no. But if
you were to ask me if I have hope for its
future, I would certainly say yes”. Optimism,
he noted, is a dimension that is based on
human consideration, while hope is rooted
in faith and gives us the certainty that for
God “nothing is impossible”, and because of
this we should not fear.
Hope is a choice in favor of God, not of
ourselves. It is about changing the focus of
leadership. Our strength does not lie in
“chariots and horses”, as expressed in the
Bible, but in the strength of Him who is Love
and who has guaranteed that “He will be
with us forever”. This view of a deep, wide
faith sustains and accompanies our steps
on a journey of faith and complete
entrustment. This is why we continue to
commit energy, resources, and our very life
to carry out responsibly what God wants
from us. Despite the many challenges and
inevitable failures.
The times in which we live cause us to enter
into this perspective, which in many ways
goes against the tide and puts us in an
alternative that is not easily understood by
many, even believers. Then, perhaps we,
too, have hidden doubts!
Of Don Bosco, and Mother Mazzarello, it
was said that they knew how to “hope
against all hope”. They were not
disappointed. They looked for ways to educate young people to hope and with
hope, sustaining that this was a
fundamental gift for those who lived with
them.
Educating to hope means acting in such a
way that the young person has broad
horizons, that they may lean on the
confidence in life and in others, with a
positive attitude when meeting reality.
Educating to hope is also training the new
generations to acquire a very necessary
characteristic for today: resilience, “the art
of getting back in the boat”, the capacity to
face adversity and obstacles without
succumbing to them.
Pope Francis indicates to us a few
fundamental pillars to educate to hope: Do
not lose the memory of the past, the
discernment of the present, the
management of dreams. The journey is not
easy. Paul VI spoke of hope as the
“crossroad, the point of encounter between
the cross and joy”. We are called to be
women of hope, more than of optimism,
making the conscious choice each day,
even though we know that as Mother
Angela Vallese reminds us, “we are not
angels, and though we have made
promises, we will still fall”.”What is important
is to rise and begin again, like from the
beginning.”
Always in the certainty that “walking and
hoping are synonymous”, as the Holy
Father reminds us.
gteruggi@cgfma.org