The Case For Hope

Recently I saved the following quote from Pope Francis:

 

Faith is not a light which scatters all our darkness, but a lamp which guides our steps in the night and suffices for the journey. To those who suffer, God does not provide arguments which explain everything; rather, His response is that of an accompanying presence, a history of goodness which touches every story of suffering and opens up a ray of light.

 

Upfront I will state that Pope Francis does not echo my overall thoughts about religion. But here, on the matter of God and religious faith in general, he says something that rings true to me.

 

It comforts me to imagine that life isn't a haphazard crazy quilt. Perhaps it is more like a giant jigsaw puzzle that only comes together gradually and that, with faith, we can hope in the end will present a coherent, recognizable picture.

 

Faith doesn't enable me to believe what I know ain't so, as one of Mark Twain''s characters expressed it. It does allow me to hope that my inner voice isn't wrong about life not being accidental and undesigned.

 

This hope has be lampooned and mocked. There are those who have dismissed it with logic and philosophical scientism. Though it all the hope of faith has not been extinguished. I suspect it never will be.