Hope
Hope is with you when you believe
The earth is not a dream but living flesh,
That sight, touch, and hearing do not lie,
That all things you have ever seen here
Are like a garden looked at from a gate.You cannot enter.
But you’re sure it’s there.
Could we but look more clearly and wisely
We might discover somewhere in the garden
A strange new flower and an unnamed star.Some people say we should not trust our eyes,
That there is nothing, just a seeming,
These are the ones who have no hope.
They think that the moment we turn away,
The world, behind our backs, ceases to exist,
As if snatched up by the hands of thieves.– Czeslaw Milosz
Thanks to the Dominican Sisters of Amityville, I just discovered this wonderful quote, which was translated from the Italian by Suzanne Noffke, OP, a Dominican Sister of Racine. The door grating is in Siena, Italy.
Start being brave about everything. Drive out darkness and spread light. Don’t look at your weaknesses. Realize instead that in Christ . . . you can do everything.
– Catherine of Siena, Letter T200/G112/DT9 Frate Bartolomeo Dominici, in Asciano, written in late March 1372