The hope-gap is real. But it’s also where the Church shines best. Commit to walking alongside the single parent, the foster youth, the recovering addict, and the returning citizen. Be the steady presence that programs can’t provide. Because when the Church steps in, hope doesn’t just survive—it thrives.

All human beings are subjected to the thinking of the world. How can we help it? After all, the earth is our current residence, and everything we do is done in the presence of the world. We are constantly forming into the person we will become based on a combination of social conditioning and spiritual formation, with one or the other being more prominent or even being the exclusive developmental influence.

The point to this is that if we are not careful, we can become dissatisfied and accustomed to the experience of injustice. Not real injustice, but perceived injustice. We very easily fall into a rut where we find appreciation in everything that goes our way, and we lash out when things do not go OUR way.  When things do not go OUR way, we feel powerless which causes us to become angry and rebellious toward authority.