TWO ORIGINS OF MY HOPE

My blog began with the intention to present all of the hopeful messages and contributions that come from Italy and its civilization and culture but now two years later and after a few challenges and sufferings in my life, I find myself talking more about my greatest hope which comes from Christ and my Catholic faith. I also now realize that my Catholic faith and my Italian cultural upbringing are often times inextricably linked. For example, the Eucharistic banquet of bread and wine ( the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass) which is the true body,blood, soul and divinity of Christ which was instituted at the Last Supper can be tied to my daily family suppers which always included bread and wine at the table when I was a child growing up in an Italian home of first generation Italian immigrants. The Eucharist  at mass was my spiritual sustenance as bread and wine at home for supper was part of my corporeal sustenance. Both the earthly and more importantly, the heavenly food fed me like a queen with the best quality of spiritual and bodily nourishment I could ever receive! When I was born my dear Papa wrote a rhyme on a cake which he brought to the hospital which said: "E nata la Regina e la chiameremo Dorina."  (A queen has been born to us and we will call her Dorina.)
Dorina means "little golden one" in Italian but from its Greek and Latin origins, it means  "gift of God". I feel so humble knowing that, but the greatest gift of God to me was sending His only Son, Jesus Christ to give me the greatest hope, that of bringing me eternal life. If we choose Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we can be saved and  receive His true presence  when we receive communion at daily or Sunday Mass or when we go to adore Him at Eucharistic Adoration. If people only knew what the sacrifice of the Mass and Eucharistic Adoration really are......as Heaven on this Earth, we would all fall to our knees in Thanksgiving to God for these most precious gifts. Eucharist means"Thanksgiving". Mass which is the highest form of prayer for Catholics is where I can humbly thank God for sending His only Son to atone for all of my sins.

In future posts I will be talking about other subjects that reflect a spiritual and cultural tie that came to me through grace,experience, wisdom, and knowledge of my Italian and Catholic heritage. The topics are endless and I am excited to continue to talk to you about the two topics of my Italian and Catholic heritages that are now converging to be present in this blog of mine under the overriding theme of HOPE/LA SPERANZA.

Hope Through Difficulties

We want to be self-reliant but we need to take an introspective look and ask for help if we are suffering. Jesus offers us hope so that we can be free. We need to be able to feel and express what we feel whether it is pain,failure or anxiety. We need to look at ourselves and not repeat the same thing or be defensive. When we are suffering, it is a sign to let God in. Be at peace with your self-evaluation and then get help. We are made to work with others. Our crosses draw us near to God so God allows difficulties so that we can get closer to Him. Jesus wants us to come in to our place of wounding and when we are filled with Him then we can  be healed and resolve our problems with strength, hope, determination,drive, and perseverance.
We cannot fix things on our own. We need to be resourceful and use strategies and get help from others as we help others when they need us.
We cannot deny our difficulties. We have to work through them and we need to persevere. We need to be humble and be at peace. In this way, the virtues of the Holy Spirit will be with us with more joy, peace, trust, hope, and courage. We need to have a growth mindset not a fixed mindset in order to succeed or to overcome our obstacles, to never give up! When we fall down in our difficulties and suffering, we need to use it as a process of healing and grace and try again in moving forward little by little.
Galatians 5:22
We need to process our difficulties and sufferings and we can begin to discover and heal them.
Others  can make it through others who have experienced what you have experienced so they can help you better because they have been there where you are at. That  holy person can be a contagion to you.  You can be a Eucharist to others and they can be a Eucharist to you. To doubt is OK to fear is OK. God is always working in us .Life is a process of healing and God's plan will provide continual hope and healing through His grace. To lose hope is a sin. But God does hear the cry of the poor and we must stay strong.
We need to go forward with joy and hope through our challenges of life.

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You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.

1 Thessalonians 1-5

Prayer Font of Hope

Prayer is the basis of Hope! Turning to my Catholic faith through the Blessed Mother,devotions and novenas, the communion of Saints,the Bible, Eucharistic Adoration, the Sacraments with the Eucharist as the summit of Catholicism helps me to focus on the promise of Heaven as I go through the joys but especially the trials and tribulations of life. Being Ill is not a punishment or our fault. God  can use it for His glory. By God's power we are made strong from our weakness. God can use our sufferings for His glory. My prayer life  guides everything I do and sustains my faith with  courage, perseverance and most importantly,with  HOPE. My personal relationship with Christ is an ongoing journey that continues to grow especially through the greatest prayer of all...the blessed sacrifice of the mass.  The everlasting love that God has for me and for all of humanity is what sustains me and gives me inexhaustible hope.The Blessed Mother is my intercessor to Jesus through the praying of the rosary daily.  So, the theological virtue of Hope which inspires my every thought and deed springs forth first and foremost from God through unceasing prayer.

 1 Thessalonians 5:17, St. Paul “Pray without ceasing”.  

O Jesus,

through the Immaculate Heart of Mary,

I offer You my prayers, works,

joys and sufferings

of this day for all the intentions

of Your Sacred Heart,

in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass

throughout the world,

in thanksgiving for your favors,

in reparation for my sins,

for the intentions of all my relatives and friends,

and in particular

for the intentions of the Holy Father. Amen.

Prayer found in Catholic Exchange .com