Abandon (you who enter) all hope..."
"Lasciate ogni speranza, voi ch'entrate."
Dante, Canto 3, Divine Comedy
This chilling inscription from Danteabout the entrance to hell in The Divine Comedyechoed in my mind as I stepped off the plane upon returning home after the years of study.
It felt as if the same grim message marks the threshold of the airport. It seemed more like an entrance to a world consumed by despair.
Hope seemed to have disappeared, replaced by a suffocating darkness that enveloped me with every step.
My friends often ask me to tell them about my experiences when I return home, but how does one begin a story based on such a bleak impression?
Prior to that, I had spent six months of pastoral work in Valencia, during which I kept a diary inspired by The diary of a rural priest by George Bernanos, which I titled The diary of a Valencian priest.
Yet now, back in Nigeria, my homeland, how can I begin my journal with this stark contrast? The world I arrived in was not simply gray (I have spoken before of the glory of gray elsewhere); it was shrouded in darkness: a pervasive sense of despair, as if every step demanded the abandonment of hope.
Everyday life underscored this reality. From incessant mosquito bites to unreliable electricity and oppressive heat, bad government, etc., every experience seemed to affirm the dismal state of affairs.
There is no need to go on with a long list of examples. However, in the midst of these challenges, I found in each case an unexpected invitation to rediscover gratitude and authentic joy. It was a tough and truly humbling school.
Lenses of hope
In spite of this despair, I found comfort in the writings of G.K. Chesterton. He once described Charles Dickens' era as plagued by hardship, but Dickens chose to see the world through the lens of hope. He found a way to infuse hope into the bleakest realities of the Victorian era. For example, he demonstrated how, even in hopelessness, greatness can emerge, though it requires courage, perseverance and encouragement. Fostering greatness in all often breeds extraordinary achievement in some. True excellence arises from an equality that recognizes the shared potential for greatness that unites us all.
True hope arises not in times of optimism, but in the face of overwhelming adversity, in a hopeless situation. For, as Chesterton writes, "as long as things are really hopeful, hope is no more than a flattery or a platitude; it is only when all is lost that hope begins to be a real strength. Like all Christian virtues, it is as irrational as it is indispensable."
This paradox of hope-its irrational but essential nature-resonated deeply in me, especially as I contemplated on the Christmas story. It was only after Joseph and Mary faced rejection, finding no room at the inn, that Hope itself was born in Bethlehem. Hope entered the world when things were really desperate.
It is when things are truly dark that hope is necessary and begins to make sense. This paradox, that hope flourishes in the face of hopelessness, became a guiding principle as I began to navigate the challenges of my return.
If the situation around me seems dark and bleak, paradoxically, it is precisely because the situation is desperate that hope becomes essential, thus creating the perfect space for it to take root and transform lives.
Just as Dickens instilled hope and confidence in his characters, enabling their transformation, I too must strive to inspire and help others to renew themselves through hope. If there is anything that must be abandoned upon entering this part of the world, it must be hopelessness.
As I conclude this reflection, I am considering an inscription to place in my office: a reminder to myself and all who enter that their situation is not without hope and that they can start anew.
This office will be a room of encouragement, where I draw strength from the stories of those who face their challenges head-on and, in turn, offer them words of hope. It will be a space where we remind each other that even in the darkest of times, the possibility of renewal remains. The inscription would read: "Abandon all despair, ye who enter here."
