Hey there! Let's continue on with our investigation of the virtues of the Rosary! Head hereif you would like beautiful coloring pages with the virtues of the Rosary and right hereif you would like to grab a Rosary Booklet of your very own. Today's podcast is all about hope, but not hope in the sense that we use the word every day. In common usage, hope is like optimism. We might say, "I hope I'm not late." Now, it is perfectly fine to be optimistic, but optimism is not a virtue. Hope as a virtue means places all of our trust in God. Hope is also what connects us to heaven. When we hope in Jesus Christ we acknowledge that we are not God, that or God loves us and wants what is best for us, and that this world is not our home. Our home is heaven and we should keep our eyes fixed on heaven. Hope is attached to the second Glorious Mystery because when Jesus ascended into heaven the disciples stood looking up at heaven, with their eyes fixed on heaven. And we should do the same. If hope is the virtue, then there are two vices that we can choose to embrace instead of hope: pride and despair. Pride believes that lie that I am everything and I have no need for God. Despair believes the equally destructive lie that I am worthless and horrible and God has no need for me. Hope acknowledges that there is a God (and it isn't me), I am His beloved creature and I was created to be with Him in paradice when this life is over. In the episode I spend time reflecting on an area where I struggle to let go of pride and despair and instead fully place my hope in God: Motherhood. I feel like the older my kids get the worse this gets. Listen and let me know if you can relate. Thanks for being here! Your sister in the small things, Nancy When you join the Catholic Sprouts community, you not only will be part of a thriving community of over 11,000 Catholic Parents, but you also will get instant access to the Catholic Family Digital Resource Library.  Simply head here to sign up! https://catholicsprouts.com/catholic-family-resource-library-signup/