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A Feeling of Hope

Recently, I was talking with Sister Joni Luna and commenting to her how practical Saint Mother Theodore’s quotes are. Oftentimes, it seems like she is talking directly to me.

Do you ever feel like that?

Here are a few that have especially spoken to me:

“Never speak when you are over-excited but wait for the impulse of nature to pass away and that of grace to succeed it.”

“Do not meddle with what does not concern you.”

“Try, my daughter, never to perform your actions with crooked intentions.”

“You must also accustom yourselves my dear children, to bear in mind that if the faults of others displease us, ours also torment them.”

Ouch! Some of these (all of them!) hit the mark for me. I like to think that I’m a good person and a good Christian, but I know I oftentimes fall short of the mark. It made me think of the song “Man in the Mirror” recorded by Michael Jackson in 1987. The lyrics go:

I’m starting with the man in the mirror

I’m asking him to change his ways

And no message could have been any clearer

If you wanna make the world a better place

Take a look at yourself and then make a change

I decided to watch the music video Michael Jackson made with this song. Surprisingly, Michael Jackson wasn’t featured in the video. It was filled with stark and sometimes disturbing images: Starving children, homeless people, civil rights marches with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Ku Klux Klan, Hitler, the assassinations of JFK and RFK, the Iranian hostages, the atomic bomb, signs proclaiming, ‘Save the Whales,” and ‘Make Love, Not War.’

What is so striking to me is that not much has changed in the almost 40 years since this video was made. We are still dealing with war, famine, racism, threats to the environment.

No Sadness, No Despair

But after listening to the song and watching the video, I wasn’t left with a feeling of sadness or despair. I was left with a feeling of hope.

The video also contained pictures of Mother Teresa and Gandhi, and Farm Aid and presidents Carter and Reagan meeting with foreign heads of state and shaking hands. There were pictures of babies and children hugging each other.

God has made us people of hope and this is the year of the Jubilee of Hope. As I look at the “man (woman) in the mirror,” I know that I have a part to play in making the world a better place.

I’m blessed that as a Providence Associate, I have partners in relationship that help me to bring love, mercy and justice to the world.

Mother Theodore gently prods us and encourages us across the years to grow in holiness and virtue. She assures us that “You may yet be a great saint even though you have been a sinner,” and “Have confidence in the Providence that so far has never failed us.”

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Eileen Horan

Eileen Horan

Eileen and her husband Joe are both Providence Associates. They are members of the St. Jude Parish in Indianapolis. Eileen and Joe have been married for more than 35 years and have five children: Stephanie Newton (husband Joey), Sister Tracey Horan, Matt Horan (wife Jay), Rachel Horan and Mike Horan. They have also three grandchildren.

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7 Comments

  1. I love this, Eileen! you filled me with hope this morning. I’m also chuckling a bit about both Mother Thedore and Michael Jackson being sources of inspiration. The Spirit speaks to us in wonderful and surprising ways. Thank you.

  2. “God has made us people of hope!”

    Thank you Eileen for this inspiring reminder that even when things in our world seem hopeless we need to look with in to find a source of strength and resilience.

    Loved this reminder this morning and love you!

  3. “ God has made us people of Hope”

    Thank you, Eileen for this timely in much needed reminder to look with it ourselves to find whatever it is we need to live out of a place of Hope in a time when so much of our lives are spent hearing about such despair in our world.

    I loved this reminder this morning and love you!!!

  4. Thank you, Eileen! Beautiful and timely reflection. I have not thought of Michael Jackson’s song in years. I’m quite sure it made it into a youth retreat or two in the late 80s…
    Thanks for MTG, MJ and Your inspiration today!

  5. Thank you, Eileen! I, too, recognize in myself many of the behaviors MTG referenced in those quotes. But ‘God has made us people of hope’, and that is the reminder we all need these days. Your reflection is so timely! Thank you!

  6. Eileen, when I read your reflection in the Associate Newsletter on Tuesday, I thought “Wow!” I am so glad that what you shared there is being made available to the wider Providence community. The Twelve Step program stresses over and again that the only person we can change is ourselves. At age 84, I am still understanding what that means. The full comprehension of it is a gift I am certain and one for which I keep asking. We are so blessed to have you and our associates to live out the charism of Providence. Thank you!

  7. Eileen, your reflections are popping up in numerous places lately and I am also grateful! I love connecting the arts to spirituality. Your reference to a Michael Jackson song, the photo used in this reflection, fills out your words of hope and inspiration. And yes, indeed, a faith community like the Sisters and Associates, make it possible to live the gospel message in many ways, even small everyday ‘practices’. Thanks for sharing your talent with all of us!

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