In this Jubilee Year of Hope, it may be helpful to view Lent through the prism of this virtue. How could this Lent be a time of greater hope for us? In his Bull for the Jubilee Year, Spes Non ConfunditThe Holy Father quotes Sacred Scripture with these words: "you gave your children a good hope, for you grant repentance to sinners...so that...when we are judged we may hope for mercy." (Wisdom 12, 19-22). And in today's second reading we hear St. Paul quoting the prophet Isaiah: "In the favorable time I heard you, in the day of salvation I helped you.". And Paul insists: "now is the favorable time, now is the day of salvation.".
The very reality of Lent with its call to conversion speaks to us of hope because it tells us that God continues to call us and that conversion is possible. No one would be called if there were no hope that he or she could respond effectively. We are called to conversion because God truly offers us salvation and conversion is possible.
In the Gospel, Jesus points out various ostentatious forms of piety practiced by the "hypocrites". We must not give alms or pray or fast to be seen, "as hypocrites do". And Our Lord concludes: "verily I say unto you, they have received their reward.".
Seeking earthly praise shows a lack of hope. We seek the brief murmur of human praise because we do not trust God to give us an eternal reward. We cling to an immediate reward because we do not hope for a long-term one. In each case-in almsgiving, in prayer and in fasting-Jesus insists that if we do things with discretion, without seeking human adulation, "Your Father, who sees in secret, will repay you.". We must believe and hope in this reward, even if we do not see it on earth. This is why the Church invites us to intensify our works of mercy, our prayer and our voluntary sacrifice in this holy season, in view of an eternal reward. Thinking of this reward can spur us to live these practices. It is worthwhile to dedicate more time to prayer and works of charity; it is worthwhile to deny ourselves, because whatever we give on earth will be returned to us with infinite generosity in heaven. As St. Josemaría Escrivá says: "It is good for you to serve God as a son, without pay, generously... -But don't worry if you ever think about the prize." (Road 669).
