Dr. Peter Wolf, a member of the Secular Institute of Schoenstatt Diocesan Priests, recently published a book in German with reflections by Fr. Joseph Kentenich on the topic of hope.

There are 27 short texts in total (none longer than 6 pages). The topics covered include, for example, the origin of hope, hope in glory, in heaven, hope in the life of the Blessed Mother, the mission to become pilgrims of hope, the Schoenstatt Shrine as a place of hope, and much more.

The book “Pilger der Hoffnung” (Pilgrims of Hope) has not yet been translated into other languages. However, Dr. Wolf provides us with a summary of the materials he has gathered on this topic in an interview:

You recently studied and compiled texts by Father Joseph Kentenich on hope. What is our founder’s vision on this topic? In other words, how does he view hope?

Yes, I had the joy of researching texts by our founder, Father Kentenich, on hope because of the Holy Year, and to deepen my understanding of it.

For him, hope is not just a topic of Christian theology. He repeatedly refers to the myth of Pandora’s box, which describes how all suffering and evil, everything that is burdensome and bad, comes down to earth, but he also speaks of hope as a power to deal with all of this. Based on this image, he expresses the biblical message of paradise, and the promise made to human beings when they were expelled from a life in communion with God in paradise. Human beings are left with hope. According to him, it is a great power, accessible to all human beings. In addition, the people of God are left with hope in the Savior, announced by the prophets and patriarchs. That is what the protoevangelium (Gen 3:15) represents.

According to Fr. Kentenich, where does hope come from and how can we cultivate it?

For Father Kentenich, hope is a divine gift and not just an inner (psychic) force. Hope helps human beings overcome difficulties and always directs them toward God, toward his promises and thus toward the ultimate goal: heavenly glory. For him, it is a “divine virtue” that is granted to Christians at baptism. That is why Father Kentenich also calls hope, in line with Christian theology, an “infused virtue.” To cultivate it, he recommends that we always pray for this divine gift, for example, at the beginning of the rosary or in the prayer to the Holy Spirit, and especially in veneration of the Blessed Mother as “exemplary model” and “Mother of Hope.” His advice is to always contemplate the image of the Mother of God as Mother of Hope.

What moments in the life of our Founder give us clear examples of how to live hope?

When I look at Father Kentenich’s life, I discover many situations that could only be accomplished and surmounted thanks to extraordinary hope. The founding of Schoenstatt in 1914 with the young men of the Marian Congregation was a great risk. He himself says that it was truly an “act of hope” and calls it “the most difficult leap of faith” he dared to take in his life. His decision on January 20, 1942, can only be understood in light of this hope. And how he endured the three periods of captivity in Koblenz, Dachau, and Milwaukee is, for me, inconceivable without “hope,” without “remaining in divine trust.” In fact, that is the word he uses for hope during that period in Dachau.

You tell us that the founder of Schoenstatt repeatedly invites us to develop a “pilgrim consciousness” and a ‘sense of home’.” What does that mean?

Anyone who reflects on our founder’s many statements about hope in this new book will undoubtedly notice that hope directs us toward the promise, the heavenly goal, and the eternal homeland with God. For him, pilgrimage is strongly marked by this orientation. He wants us not to lose sight of this goal, but rather to remain on the path throughout our lives and truly understand ourselves as pilgrims who do not settle here nor become sedentary. He wants to awaken in us an awareness that allows us to feel that we are at home with God, yes, in his heart as the promised home, yes, that we have found our home. For him, hope is not a dream of heaven, but an orientation lived in the midst of the world through the promises of the Gospel and a living relationship with those who belong to the supernatural world.

I wish for myself and for everyone in the Movement that the Holy Year will awaken in us this awareness: to become “pilgrims of hope,” together with our founder.

Translation: Maribel Acaron