"He didn't need to be hopeful in the sense of having any doubts, or not knowing what was going to happen, but he models hope for us in the way that he calmly, perseveringly, carries out his mission," he said.
In the biblical episode of Jesus' temptation in the desert, for example, the devil offers Jesus various "shortcuts" around the Father's plan. Jesus, because He knows the Father's plan, rebuffs the devil's temptations and resolutely carries out what the Father has set before Him.
"That gives us hope when we're faced with our own part of God's plan, but without the omnipotence and omniscience of the Lord," he said.
"When we're going through personal difficulties, or community difficulties, or things that are scary and violent, the question that naturally comes to mind is where is God?"
What seems like God's absence or silence is actually God working in ways that we can't yet see or perceive, he said.
"Hope brings us back to that reality that He's never absent. And although I can't see Him at the moment, I trust him enough to wait for Him to show me and to do what I can moment by moment...If we do our part, God will also do his part and carry out his plan for our lives."
In the midst of crises, it can be easy to take on the same emotional level as the voices we hear on the news, he said.
Being hopeful in the world today has a lot to do with remaining calm- not indifferent or lax, but keeping one's situation in perspective.
"I'm not called to save the whole world. I may not be able to do a lot in the grand scheme of things, but in my vocation, in my family, in my work, in my circle of friends, my job is to keep doing the task that God has given me to do and not to panic," Bochanski said.
The devil likes to emphasize our apparent powerlessness, he said, or distract us from the smaller, daily tasks and acts of love we've been given to do.
This can sometimes lead to the spiritual state of acedia- a kind of sadness about things that are spiritual goods, or a "disgust with activity."
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There's a certain amount of justice we can achieve in a fallen world, Bochanski said, but ultimate justice will not be realized until the Last Day.
"Hope keeps us focused on this step of the journey. One step at a time, one task at a time, one responsibility at a time, instead of letting us get panicked or overly anxious about having to do something huge. It helps us to keep our eyes on the small things in front of us and keep the world in perspective," he said.
Bochanski said he heard from many people feeling anxious, restless, and afraid in the first days of the coronavirus lockdown- all reasonable reactions, but hope helps Christians avoid being swayed off course by the emotions of the moment, he said.
If someone is weighed down or anxious about something, modeling hope for them not only will help remind them that the present situation is not the final word, but it also can help to keep that person's reaction in perspective, he said.
This does not mean simply telling people who are worried not to worry, but instead modeling a hopeful attitude for them.
"Our hope is always in someone or something...when our hope is in God, it's the most real thing there is. It can't be a false hope, because it's based on our understanding of who God is."