Are We Living in an Age of Hopelessness?
What do you see when you look at the sky above you?
“In an age of hope men looked up at the night sky and saw “the heavens." In an age of hopelessness they call it simply “space.”
― Peter Kreeft
The above quote made me think more deeply about the kind of age we’re living in. Considering how people these days focus more on the exploration of space and other planets in the universe rather than dwelling on thoughts about our eternal home, have we indeed lost the true substance of hope?
Before the birth of Christianity, even pagans viewed the heavens with awe and wonder. Somehow, they have thought about life after death and of the world we cannot see with our physical eyes.
With the advent of science, men have gained much knowledge about the material world. The confidence of humanity increased together with its ability to control the corporeal things surrounding us.
But is the loss of hope the price we must pay for all the scientific advances we have made?
Will the discovery of new planets replace our soul’s unquenchable thirst for our spiritual home?
It is no wonder then why so many among us are often bored.
For what is boredom but a lack of something to look forward to? What is boredom but a symptom for our lack of hope?
New thrills and inventions can only amuse us for a while. Sooner or later, we’d fall back into boredom. And if this state is not remedied, we’d eventually fall into despair.
When will we realize that there is a hole in our hearts so huge it could never be filled by our little pleasures in life?
I pray that this world may find its way back to hope again. Not that religion need to be in competition with science. On the contrary, religion can expand our vision and help us reach further advancements in this world.
But our knowledge of temporary things should not blind our eyes to our hunger for eternal things. We are not only made of molecules that need to be studied through a microscope. We are beings made up of body and soul, and we must search for wholeness not only in things we can see, but in things beyond our physical world.
Jesus Christ gave us true hope when he rose from the dead.
He showed us that death doesn’t have to be the end. That with faith, we can look forward to unending happiness, infinite beauty and perfect life.
“Everything smaller than Heaven bores us because only Heaven is bigger than our hearts.”― Peter Kreeft
Is it possible to know that God exists?
You may want to see the book “To Love an Invisible God”.
Jocelyn Soriano is the author of the free e-books “366 Days of Compassion” and “Defending My Catholic Faith”. You can read more of her writings at “Single Catholic Writer”.