| ON
HOPE
 At
the core of this story is hope. We may not understand
what sustains Mathilde’s hope, but we do see that the hope
is what sustains her. She is willing to give all she has to find
her lover. That hope rides a roller coaster as things look promising
or dire, but Mathilde is never ready to get off the coaster. Even
after finding his grave, she continues on her quest in hope that
even that grave is wrong.
The
film’s ending, which I found to be a bit too easy and contrived,
is also grounded in hope. We are not sure what will become of Mathilde
after the final scene, but we know that there is promise of something
wonderful happening. We know that there is hope that the love she
has shared will live again.
--Darrel Manson
Everything
is hopeless that hope begins to be a strength. Like all the Christian
virtues, it is as unreasonable as it is indispensable.
--G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936)
Behind
the cloud the starlight lurks,
Through showers the sunbeams fall;
For God, who loveth all his works
Has left his hope with all!
--John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–1892)
Blessed
is he who expects nothing for he shall never be disappointed.
--Alexander Pope (1688–1744)
Dark
things reach out toward brightness.
--Eugenio Montale (1896–1981)
Do
not look forward to the changes and chances of this life in fear;
rather look to them with full hope that, as they arise, God, whose
you are, will deliver you out of them. He is your Keeper. He has
kept you hitherto. Hold fast to his dear hand, and he will lead
you safely through all things; and, when you cannot stand, he will
bear you in his arms. Do not look forward to what may happen tomorrow.
Our Father will either shield you from suffering, or he will give
you strength to bear it.
--Saint Francis of Sales (1567–1622)
God’s
gifts put man’s best dreams to shame.
--Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806–1861)
He
that lives in hope dances without a fiddle.
He who has health has hope; and he who has hope has everything.
--Arabian Proverb
Hope
for the best; get ready for the worst; then take what God chooses
to send.
Hope has a thick skin and will endure many a blow; it will put on
patience as a vestment, it will wade through a sea of blood, it
will endure all things if it be of the right kind, for the joy that
is set before it. Hence patience is called “patience of hope,”
because it is hope that makes the soul exercise patience and long-suffering
under the cross, until the time comes to enjoy the crown.
--John Bunyan (1628–1688)
Hope
humbly then; with trembling pinions soar;
Wait the great teacher death, and God adore.
What future bliss he gives not thee to know,
But gives that hope to be thy blessing now,
Hope springs eternal in the human breast;
Man never is, but always to be blessed.
--Alexander Pope (1688–1744)
Hope
in the Lord, but exert yourself. |
