Hope

Ok, so I'm not much of a fan of American Idol. (I mean, Catholics and the whole "idol" thing don't have a friendly history, and shouldn't.) But these two stories caught my eye.
(Yeah, they're kind of long....but bear with me, these are definitely worth it.)

Chris Medina:


Paris Tassin:


Hollywood being, well...Hollywood and all, I admit I'm more than a little skeptical.
Yet when you hear stories like these, a bit of real hope kindles in your heart. Not just the hopeful kind of hope either. You start to think that, maybe the entire world isn't as messed up as you thought. There are still people like Chris and Paris who, even if they may not be Christians, still have good hearts and are willing to do the right thing despite what it costs them.
Recently my Hawaii community has had several happenings that, as a Catholic Christian, I know do not bode well for us physically and morally. It's times like these when you want to pack everything, set sail, say "adios", and leave everyone with the huge mess that they're making. But then you attend something like a pro-life rally and see hundreds, if not thousands, of young people stand up for something that most of their friends would condemn.
Chris, Paris, and all those young people...it reminds you that there's still some good in this world. And that good is always worth fighting for.

Update 2/1:
Guess what Father said in his homily today? "As long as there is life, there is always hope."