Finding Hope

Participants in "Building Bridges"

Barbara Anne Radtke

I had another topic planned for this week’s blog entry, but it seemed to pale in comparison to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. The war dominates the news and haunts my thoughts. It seems impossible that a country’s sovereignty can be so quickly overrun because of the obsession of a bully and his cronies. And, it does not seem to matter that the whole world is watching in horror.

Some of my friends have begun their Lenten fast early. They are abstaining from news shows because they cannot bear the images of men, women and children fleeing their homes and homeland; huddling in train and subway stations turned bomb shelters; mourning the destruction of their neighborhoods; and dazed by the possible loss of their country’s independence. My friends are caring people, but, In the face of this disaster, they feel helpless – and maybe they feel the situation is hopeless.

Where do we find hope? Surely, there is a glimmer in the thousands of people, including Russians, who have gathered in the world’s great cities, including Moscow, to protest in support of Ukrainians. Surely, it is there in the resistance of the Ukrainian citizens themselves. These forms of bravery give voice to hope.

Surely, hope can be found in the people waiting in train stations in Poland with all sorts of aid, hospitality, and places of respite for Ukrainians who have fled there by train. Surely, it is in the camp so quickly assembled by the tiny entity of Moldova. A considerable number of Ukrainians have already taken refuge there. Like Mr. Rogers told us long ago, when overcome with the magnitude of a disaster, look for the helpers.

My particular hope, though, came through an online event this week in which I was more satisfying my curiosity than looking for hope. A project developed by college and university students and their advisors from Canada, the U.S. and Latin America came to a culmination in “Building Bridges,” a listening and dialogue endeavor connected with the world-wide synodal process in the Catholic Church. Pope Francis agreed to be online, listen, and respond. Coincidentally, on a day when the news focused on the plight of Ukraine and the displacement of many of its citizens, the students had planned to report on their months-long dialogues regarding immigration because of political, economic, and cultural reasons.

It was a conversation among generations on a grand scale. Pope Francis, often called Brother Francis by the presenters, listened, and took notes. He responded at the end of each reporting session by calling each student who had reported by name and telling them what stood out to him in their comments. Embedded in the various student reports was a spirit of bridge building, of non-violence, and of partnering to problem solve. Their concrete projects proposed a praxis to change structures that cause such displacement as well as the accompaniment of those who were already displaced. I felt hopeful that the world would soon be in the hands of this generation.

What stood out to me in Francis’s remarks were his questions of how we could be guided by hope; how we could grow hope. The young people inspired me to change my question from “Where do we find the hope?” to “How can we grow hope?” Readers, have you got any ideas?

Response from Kathy Hendricks

The events of the past few days have certainly sidelined many of us. Like you, Barbara, I am trying to seek and find sources of hope in the midst of such abject cruelty. One glimmer comes from extension of care and concern that countries around the world are showing, along with individual efforts. My hope is that we don’t allow this situation to slide off the front page when we grow weary of hearing about it. The people of Ukraine have no such luxury and neither should we.

My granddaughter turned four last week. I write her and her little brother letters each month on the monthly date of their birthdays. In my birthday message, I told her about the events in the world and noted that she would study it one day in history class. What will the lesson entail, I wonder? Will the pressure on the invading force be strong enough to cause them to withdraw? Or will the people of Ukraine be subject to the rule of a cruel and heartless tyrant? I, too, look forward to the response from our readers. Let’s share whatever hope we can with one another.