What does hope in God do for humanity?

Hope shines brightest when the hour is darkest.

Hope motivates when discouragement comes.

Hope energizes when the body is tired.

Hope sweetens while bitterness bites.

Hope sings when all melodies are gone.

Dear Friend,

Several years ago, an elderly Religious Sister lay dying in convent in Rome, I called on her to say farewell. “I have just had three other visitors,” said the dying Nun, “and with two of them I parted; but the third I shall keep with me forever.” “Who are they?” “the first was Faith, and I said, ‘Goodbye, Faith! I thank God for your company ever since I first trusted Christ; but now I am going where faith is lost in sight.’

Dear Friend,

In 1 Samuel 17, we have the thrilling story of David, the modest shepherd boy who slew Goliath, the arrogant giant of Gath. The drama of that event so occupies our attention that the spiritual lessons contained in the more minute details may escape our notice. Today, therefore, I'd like to consider the importance of the expression "five smooth stones." Why more than one stone? Wasn't David a man of faith? Did he doubt that God would give him perfect timing and aim as he used his trusty sling to take on the enemy of the Lord? (Certainly, he needed only a single small pebble to accomplish his mission. But wait, there were at least four other giants (see 2 Sam. 21:15-22).

Dear Friend,

Saint Theresa of Avila once said, "A growing Christian must have at his or her roots the life-giving waters of penitence. The cultivation of a penitential spirit is absolutely essential to spiritual progress. The lives of great saints teach us that self-distrust is vital to godliness.

Dear Friend,

Let me give you some simple thoughts to reflect upon on "All Souls Day."

Early in his career, someone said that Vince Lombardi, the Hall of Fame Football Coach of the Green Bay Packers, knew very little about the game of Football.

Thomas Edison’s teachers gave up on him and said that “He was too stupid to accomplish anything.”

Dear Friend,

Sin demands to have a person be alone. It withdraws the individual from the community. The more isolated a person is, the more destructive will be the power of sin over him or her, and the more deeply the person becomes involved in it, the more disastrous is the isolation. Sin wants to remain unknown. It shuns the light. In the darkness of the unexpressed, it poisons the whole being of a person.

Dear Friend,

All blame is a waste of time. No matter how much fault you find with another, and regardless of how much you blame another, it will not change you. The only thing blame does is to keep the focus off you when you are looking for external reasons to explain your unhappiness or frustration.

Dear Friend,

One day, two Irish monks, James and Patrick, were walking through the countryside. They were on their way to another village to help bring in the crops. As they walked, they spied an old woman sitting at the edge of a river. She was upset because there was no bridge, and she could not get across on her own.

Dear Friend,

The great inventor Charles Kettering suggested that we must learn to fail intelligently. He said, "Once you've failed analyze the problem and find out why, because each failure is one more step leading up to the cathedral of success. The only time you don't want to fail is the last time you try." Here are three suggestions for turning failure into success:

Dear Friend,

At a recent gathering of university professors, one teacher reported that at his school the most damaging charge one student can lodge against another is that the person is being "judgmental." He found this pattern very upsetting. "You can't get a good argument going in class anymore," he said. "As soon as somebody takes a stand on any important issue, someone else says that the person is being judgmental. And that's it. End of discussion. Everyone is intimidated!" Many of the other professors nodded knowingly. There seemed to be a consensus that the fear of being judgmental has taken on epidemic proportions.

Dear Friend,

Some years ago, a Tennis Star was at the very top of the tennis world -- yet he was on the brink of suicide. He said, "I had won Wimbledon twice before, once as the youngest player. I was rich. I had all the material possessions I needed ... It's the old song of movie stars and pop stars who commit suicide. They have everything, and yet they are so unhappy. I had no inner peace. I was a puppet on a string."

Jesus calls us to be people who live in present-tense. An average person’s anxiety is focused on:

40% -- things that will never happen

30% -- things about the past that can’t be changed

12% -- things about criticism by others, mostly untrue

Dear Friend,

Jesus calls us to be people who live in present-tense.

An average person’s anxiety is focused on:

• 40% -- things that will never happen
• 30% -- things about the past that can’t be changed
• 12% -- things about criticism by others, mostly untrue
• 10% -- about health, which gets worse with stress
• 8% -- about real problems that will be faced.

Stop trying to grapple with the what "ifs" and let God take care of it. You simply make that long term investment in God’s kingdom day by day.