FORMATION
FORMATION 1998
THEME NO.5
"The Virtue of Hope"
1. Formation Prayer
(To be recited by all present).
In the name of the Father …
Heavenly Father, as we commence this
session of the Formation Programme, help us to believe you are near to us and that you
care for each of us every day of our lives. Send the Holy Spirit to be our helper and our
guide, enlightening our minds, giving us the grace to serve you with generous hearts and
inspiring us to stand firm as Christians in your love. We ask this through Christ our
Lord. Amen.
2. Scripture Reading – Hebrews
10:19-25
(Read by the discussion leader or
member nominated by him.)
Therefore, my friends, since we have
confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he
opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), and since we have a great
priest over the house of God, let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of
faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with
pure water. Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who
has promised is faithful. And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good
deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one
another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
3. The Message
(Read by the discussion leader or the
member nominated by him.)
Hope is the theological virtue by which we
desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in
Christ’s promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace
of the Holy Spirit. In his apostolic exhortation in preparation for the jubilee of the
year 2000, Pope John Paul II, has stated that "believers should be called to a
renewed appreciation of the theological virtue of hope, which they have already heard
proclaimed "in the word of the truth, the Gospel" (Col 1/5). The basic attitude
of hope, on the one hand encourages the Christian not to lose sight of the final goal
which gives meaning and value to life, and on the other, offers solid and profound reasons
for a daily commitment to transform reality in order to make it correspond to God’s
plan. … Christians are called to prepare for the Third Millennium by renewing their
hope in the definitive coming of the Kingdom of God, preparing for it daily in their
hearts, in the Christian community to which they belong, in their particular social
context , and in world history itself" (TMA 46).
4. The Exercise
(Five minutes of reflection by all
members.)
What are signs of hope present in the last
part of this century?
What are examples in our society of people
who have lost the sense of hope in their lives?
Why is hope such an important virtue for me
at the present time?
5. The Sharing
(Members share aspects of their
personal faith and its place in their lives that have come to them through the Exercise.)
6. The Word
(The basis of meditation and reflection
for the ensuing month given by the discussion leader.)
Hope is the "sure and steadfast anchor
of the soul" (Hebrews 6:19).
7. Closing Prayer
(Recited by all members.)
Hope, o my soul, hope. You know neither the
day nor the hour. Watch carefully, for everything passes quickly, even though your
impatience makes doubtful what is certain, and turns a very short time into a long one.
Dream that the more you struggle, the more you prove the love that you bear your God, and
the more you will rejoice one day with your Beloved, in a happiness and rapture that can
never end (St Teresa of Avila).
