Giving and Receiving Hope

By Brian T. Smith
Director of Communications and Development for CSS.

The Problem: When Hope Feels Lost

In Rapid City, many face seemingly insurmountable challenges—addiction, homelessness, broken families, and crushing despair. Behind each statistic is a human face, someone created in God’s image. Many feel invisible, forgotten by society, carrying burdens that seem too heavy to bear.

Two ideas: Receive Hope or Give Hope

Hope isn’t just wishful thinking; it’s confident trust in God’s providence, knowing He works all things for good even when we can’t see His plan. Two interconnected paths to receiving and giving this hope are 1) receiving it by offering forgiveness, and 2) giving it by serving those who may be forgotten.

Path #1 – Receive Hope By Offering Forgiveness

Sometimes the path to hope begins with the hardest step of all—forgiveness. Fr. Jacques Philippe, in his reflection on reconciliation, offers profound insight into how healing opens the door to renewed hope:

“There is a very deep connection, emphasized in Scripture, between one’s relationship with God and one’s relationship with others. Closing one’s heart to a brother means automatically closing one’s heart to God and his grace, while opening one’s heart to another is a sure way of opening one’s heart to God and his abundant blessings. The divine blessing will be measured out to me according to my attitude toward my neighbor. The good I do another will return to me as blessing; the bad—acted out, spoken, or even merely thought—will sooner or later come back to me. To curse someone is to curse one’s self. To detest or hate someone is to destroy one’s self. We shall always be the victims of the bad we do to others…. It resembles the law of gravity: if we respect it, we can put satellites in orbit, but if we don’t, we crash to the ground. I can testify that any time I’ve judged someone else, I’ve soon enough been repaid by some sorrowful experience of my own misery. This hasn’t entirely cured me, but I hope that will come….”

“Nothing draws God’s grace into our lives more than the humble, patient charity we practice toward others. Forgiveness is one of the highest forms of mercy and also one of the hardest. But it is worth the effort to extend it more widely. Forgiveness is difficult, sometimes heroic, but it is indispensable. Without forgiveness, evil multiplies ceaselessly. Only the courage to forgive puts an end to evil’s growth. Moreover, the pain someone else has caused me can only be completely cured by my forgiving that person.”

“We see victims all around us these days. And we work hard to understand them, embrace them, encourage them to express their suffering, their anger, and their sense of injustice; we strive to help them obtain recognition and recompense for the wrong they’ve suffered.”

“And all this is very good. But sometimes we overlook helping them to understand that, unless they forgive the people who have hurt them, they will never fully recover from the pain. God’s love is powerful enough to heal everything, but you must find the courage to decide to pass through the ‘narrow gate’ of forgiveness. This choice is more demanding than the spontaneous reaction of resentment and accusation, but it is a decision in favor of true life.”

When we choose the difficult path of forgiveness—whether forgiving others or accepting God’s forgiveness for ourselves—we open our hearts to renewed hope. This choice to forgive, especially when it feels impossible, becomes a doorway to healing. And once our own hearts begin to heal, we’re preparing to offer that same hope to others.

Path #2 – Give Hope to the Forgotten: Serving Our Elderly

A second path to hope involves reaching out to those who may feel forgotten. In Rapid City, one of the most overlooked populations is our elderly. The sobering statistics reveal an urgent need:

The Crisis of Forgotten Seniors:

63,133 seniors live alone in South Dakota (28.6% of total population)
41% of seniors age 65+ lack income to pay for basic living needs
South Dakota ranks 12th in the U.S. for risk of social isolation among seniors 65+
One day in a nursing home costs $290, while many seniors struggle with basic expenses
An estimated 1 in 4 seniors experience social isolation

Simple Ways to Start: Reach out to someone who may feel forgotten today, especially an elderly person. See how they are doing. Have a conversation. Offer a helping hand.

The Prayer: Hope for Our Community

Heavenly Father, thank You for being our anchor of hope when life overwhelms us. Help us trust in Your providence even when we cannot see Your plan. Give us courage to forgive those who have hurt us and to accept Your forgiveness for our own failures.

Open our eyes to the forgotten in Rapid City—the elderly, the isolated, the broken-hearted. Show us how to be bearers of faith, hope, and love. Bless the work of Love INC and Catholic Social Services as they extend hope to our most vulnerable neighbors.

In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.

Next Steps: How You Can Receive Hope and Offer Hope

Immediate Actions for TODAY:

Think of one relationship that needs healing and offer forgiveness, even mentally.
Reach out to and pray for/with anyone who may be forgotten, especially an elderly person.

If volunteering to support the elderly interests you, Catholic Social Services has volunteer opportunities at HERE. Visit loveinconline.com to learn more about Love INC’s vital work.

Hope isn’t just something we receive—it’s something we give. In serving the forgotten, we often find that we ourselves are transformed. In bringing hope to others, our own hope is renewed and multiplied. (Luke 6:38 “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”) Organizations like Love INC and Catholic Social Services serve as vehicles of hope in western South Dakota. Please pray for these organizations.

“For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” Jeremiah 29:11

Giving and Receiving Hope