Cultivating Hearts of Hope

 

In “The Letter”, the most recent film release from Pope Francis on the topic of Laudato Si and Care for the Earth, there is a moment where he pauses during his remarks about climate change, apologizes and acknowledges that he has been speaking in Spanish without meaning to.  Why?  He says its because “I’ve spoken from the heart.  My heart is in Spanish.”

Our FCJ community house in Quezon City (Metro Manila) hosts monthly Taize prayer services.  The Scriptures are read in Tagalog (the most common spoken language in the Philippines, also known as Filipino) and the Christian chants that we repeat are sung in Tagalog, Indonesian and English.  However, it is when individuals share their prayers of intercession that I am moved most deeply.  Voices are soft and hushed.  Each person speaks for one, two, three minutes.  They pour out the cares and concerns they want to bring before God.  The gathered community listens without interruption, a sacred space of invitation for all who feel the need to connect to God here.  With my limited knowledge of Filipino, I can understand only the occasional word, and yet I find myself touched by these intimate and sincere supplications.  They are spoken from the heart.

When we share from the heart, we talk about things that we care about.  We acknowledge the difficult circumstances that are hurting us or those we love.  We are vulnerable.  We know our weakness and need.  We communicate about the things that matter.  We are profoundly aware of our helplessness before God.   When we speak with our heart, we connect with others in ways that go beyond the spoken word; at some level, we can be understood by anyone with a willing and open spirit.

I learned recently from my Tagalog teacher that there is no word in Filipino for ‘hopeless.’ She tells me, Filipinos can only encourage someone not to be without hope.  I believe, that when we speak from the heart, hope is inherently present: in ways that go beyond human understanding, both God and our community can hear and understand us. 

As I listen to Pope Francis plead again for the plight of the Earth and as I hear Taize participants offer their prayers to God, I cannot be without hope, for any time that people have the courage to speak with their hearts, hope burns brightly.   Let us continue to pray that more people will dare to do the same.

Michelle Langlois, fcJ