Vatican City : Pope Francis on Wednesday continued his reflections on Christian hope, talking this week about the attitude of ‘attentive waiting’. His words came during his weekly General Audience in St Peter’s Square.

Pope Francis said just as Jesus tells his disciples to be like those who await the return of their master, with lamps alight, Christians must always be attentive, awaiting the Lord’s return.
Attentiveness requires patience
Every day is a new opportunity to be attentive to God, the pope continued, to welcome the day as his gift, and to live that day by offering our good works to him. Such attentiveness requires patience, he said, yet no night is so long, as to make us forget the joy that comes with dawn.
Future guided by God’s providence
As Christians, the pope concluded, we know that that no matter what we may suffer, life has its purpose and the merciful Lord will greet us at its end.Thus we can look upon history and our own lives with confidence and hope, he added, knowing that the future is not guided solely by the work of our hands, but by God’s providence.