There is a saying, “laugh and the whole world laughs at you. Cry and you cry alone”. In talking about crying, why is it when life brings us crisis, challenges, sickness, pain and suffering, we feel alone? When we deal with fear, anxiety, worry, restlessness, depression and suicidal thoughts, we feel all alone.

In the Gospel, the good news is to always live with hope. There was a man who had a speech impediment and was deaf, but it did not end there. He was healed by God. In other words, whatever crisis, challenges, sickness, pain, or suffering we are experiencing, always be hopeful.

How do we apply this hope in our lives?

1. After Night Comes Day. This is the law of nature and this is also true for everything in this world: There are good times and there are bad times; Nothing lasts forever, not even darkness; Hence, when we experience darkness, always be hopeful by praying, by fasting, by almsgiving, by continuing to be faithful to your vocation. We are human so cry if you have to but then pick up yourself and hold on to hope.
2. Become a Wounded Healer. Henry Nouwen reminds us that all of us experience hurt, all of us are wounded but we can be an instrument of healing to others. When we do that, we too heal ourselves. We are never alone. I always remember the story of a mother who experiences the most painful thing any human being can experience, she lost her daughter in a house fire. When she was relating the story, she thought she would never snap out of depression. Until she met a group of mothers who lost their children. She then realized that she was not alone; she then realized that her situation was not as bad as others. She reached out to them and in the process got healed as well. 
3. God has a Plan. Often, we are taught to figure out life on our own. But this should not be the case. We have a God who has a plan and he is in control. When this plan is executed, we can be disoriented. Why this crisis, challenge, sickness, pain, and suffering? How beautiful are the words of Padre Pio: “Pray, Hope, and Don’t worry.” Worry is useless. God is merciful and will hear our prayer.

These are difficult times. There is so much uncertainty in the world. Don’t look at what is happening only because of politics or because of economics. Also, remember there is the world of the unseen and the devil is working overtime to bring us down. Hence our hope is in God. He will never fail us.