Archbishop Carlos Osoro of Valencia in Spain called on Christians in Europe to remain hopeful in the Lord, despite difficult circumstances in life. Catholics must “keep alive the hope that comes from God, especially in this time of despair and disappointment, ” he said during a Mass at the Cathedral of Valencia on Jan. 22, the feast of the archdiocese's patron St. Vincent the Martyr.
“We live in a time in which we must not allow ourselves to be disturbed by the human situations that happen to us,” the archbishop remarked. “What comes from God is much more important than what comes from man, because what comes from God is hope and God gives man a way out.”
“It is precisely in a culture of despair and of disappointment where Christians must be present,” he underscored, “because God is hope, He is love, and God’s embracing of my life is what I also must share with others.”
For this reason, he added, Christians must never react to the present-day circumstances with “hatred, separation or rupture, nor consider others to be a bother or a permanent inconvenience.”