In preparation to the upcoming Papal Visit, the Holy See has released a video greeting from Pope Benedict XVI to the American people. In it we see the quiet, unassuming character of this pontiff.
The theme of the visit is “Christ our Hope”. It is consonant with his most recent encyclical, Spe Salve, which is on Christian hope. Of course hope is one of the three theological virtues, along with faith and charity.
Hope is a salient topic for the American people. Americans are fighting a war for freedom in Iraq that is now in its fifth year. We are in the middle of a global credit crisis that is very likely the overture to recession. Last year, Enfield saw a net loss of 1,400 jobs, a trend which would be aggravated by a recession. Energy-based inflation has eroded the buying power of the dollar, stretching household budgets to the breaking point. In the context of these conditions, it is fair to say that we are a people in need of hope.
We live in an age in which the prophets of false hope are attempting to capitalize on American despair. Most prominent of these is Senator Barack Obama (D-IL). Obama-mania has reached such a fevered pitch, that we now see graphic art that pictures the senator in messianic tones. As the liberals deify Barack Obama, I watch with great apprehension about what forms of socialism this mania will wreak on our country.
In this time of despair, the Pope reminds us that our hope is in the Lord. In fact, hope is the virtue that helps us to see through the trials and tribulations of this fallen world to the glory of the next.
