Oh, Pope Francis. How I love him. He speaks so profoundly and mercifully to the people, and he pays attention to lessons that the world needs to hear. Hope is so needed right now. Give this book as a gift to your family and friends.

Pope Francis, the first Jesuit Pope, uses a combination of approaches to address the subject of Hope. Foremost, he turns to the Biblical text, using exegetical analysis but accessibly in plain language. He addresses:
--Why do we have hope? [God walks beside us. He intends us to be happy. Also: Jesus' salvific mission.]
--What does Christian hope look like? [Having hope allows us to smile amid challenging times.]
--What does a lack of Christian hope look like? [The person stops smiling, laughing, and engaging in joyfulness.]

Pope Francis assures us with Scripture and his own hope, that although at this time in history, we are looking at a lot of discouragement, We must focus on hope.

It is fascinating to learn at the feet of a master of compassion and hope I must recommend this book! The only drawback: I would prefer to hear it in Pope Francis' own voice, but the preface is clear that the material comes from a number of speaking occasions.

We Are Called To Love And To Exercise Charity

ON HOPE is a short book, comprising the “General Audiences” given by Pope Francis in Rome from December 2016 through March 2017.

The short chapters stand alone, and can be read in any order. My favorite section was CHAPTER FOURTEEN, “Rejoicing in Hope.” Here, Pope Francis warns the reader again the false hope given by the world. False hope is not motivated by love for others, but rather, when we look after our own self-interest: Hypocrisy happens “When our love is motivated by self-interest and when our service to charity is carried out to draw attention to ourselves or to help us feel good.”

In Chapter Six, “The Reality of Hope,” Pope Francis gives an example of turning to the false idols of the world. He recalls a time when he passed through a park in Buenos Aires, filled with fortune-tellers. He saw lines of people gathered, but the fortune-tellers always gave the same false message. The people were attached to false idols, offering false hope. They took money and gave nonsense in return.

So all in all, I found ON HOPE to be an inspiring, sobering book. Pope Francis offers many wise observations and encouragements. You don’t have to be of the Catholic tradition to appreciate this fine little book.

I appreciated this one line that sums up this searching and grasping at false hope, and false idols: “Many times we are happier with the ephemeral hope that a false idol gives us than with the great and sure hope that the Lord gives us.


Advance Review Copy courtesy of the publisher.

Even as a Christian from outside of the Catholic tradition, I have great admiration for Pope Francis. I have appreciated his other books in the past, and this is no exception. Pope Francis focuses on the source of Christian hope, the reason for hope, the qualities of hope, and so on. In a time that often seems hopeless, this is a great reminder that our faith in Christ provides us with something foreign to a broken world.

What a lovely book. I enjoyed each chapter immensely, and was thrilled to discover that this book...though small...takes reflection. There was much to ponder over, and so much that required some meditation on my part. (Here's looking at you, Chapter 6.) I now count this book amongst my treasures, and will turn to it often.

Every time I read a book written by this Pope I find myself feeling inspired and regenerated. Even not being Catholic, he has this way of reaching everyone with his words. I always look forward to adding to my collection of his inspired words.
I voluntarily reviewed a reader copy of this book provided by NetGalley.