Living by Hope in a Time of Crisis (Malta)
30 October, 2025
On Wednesday, 29 October 2025, Erik Varden OCSO, Bishop of Trondheim, Norway, delivered a public talk at the SDC General House Auditorium in Blata l-Bajda.
The talk, titled Living by Hope in a Time of Crisis, explored how Christians can rediscover genuine hope amid modern fears and civilizational decline. Bishop Varden began by contrasting today’s fascination with apocalyptic imagery with the Christian understanding of hope as a dynamic pilgrimage toward God. He argued that our age is marked by fear, boredom, and loss of purpose, leading to a fragile civilization detached from faith and meaning.
Drawing on figures like Origen, Kenneth Clark, and St. Benedict, he explained that every person is a microcosm of creation and that death and crisis must be seen through the lens of resurrection. Civilizations, he noted, fall when they lose their spiritual center, but renewal often arises from faith, seen in the monastic, mendicant, and mystical movements of history. St. Benedict, for instance, built not monuments but communities grounded in Christ’s promises and the pursuit of holiness.
The talk called for Christians today to rekindle desire, purpose, and creativity through fidelity to the Gospel, reverent worship, and acts of charity. True hope, he insisted, is not naïve optimism but trust in God’s transforming power. Crisis, from its Greek root krisis, is a moment of judgment and decision, inviting believers to act with discernment and courage. The Christian vocation, therefore, is to embody holiness visibly, to let sanctity speak where words no longer convince. In a world tired of ideology and despair, living sanctity becomes the most credible witness.
The talk concluded that each person, as a bearer of Christ’s light, is called to turn dusk into dawn by becoming a living sign of hope, peace, and renewal.
