Last week I said that there is good doubt and bad doubt, but the same cannot be said for despair. There is nothing good about despair. To fall into despair is a life draining Hell of hopelessness. “Where there is despair, let me sow hope,” St Francis invites us to pray, for hope is the very opposite of despair. Hope gives strength, and courage, and the power to go on. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Rom 15:13)