"But that was still not enough. To bear fruit, Jesus lived love all the way, letting himself be broken by death like a seed under the earth. Precisely there, at that extreme point of his lowering himself, which is also the highest point of love, hope germinated," sprouting forth because of the power of love, he said.

That is why with his death and resurrection, God made everything new, transforming "our sin into forgiveness, our death into resurrection, our fear into faith. That's why, there on the cross, our hope was born and is always reborn."

That is why Jesus is the one who can always turn every single dark moment into light, "every defeat into victory, every disappointment into hope," he said. "Hope overcomes everything because it is born from the love of Jesus who made himself be like a grain of wheat on earth and died to give life" -- a life full of the love that comes from hope.

When people begin to choose God's way, they soon discover the victorious path in life is the life of a seed and humble love, he said. "There is no other way to defeat evil and give hope to the world."

Real love must follow the cross and sacrifice, not as its goal, but as the necessary path to true glory and new life, the pope said.

"This is what mothers do, they give another life, they suffer (with labor and birth), but then they are joyful and happy because they have given birth to another life."

"Love is the engine that drives our hope forward," and people need to learn to love more and more each day.

One can see how a life built on having and possessing, rather than giving and serving, leads nowhere, the pope said. Voracious greed is never satisfied -- the more one has, the more one wants and "that is a terrible thirst."

Instead, "it's wonderful to help others, serve others," he said, because though it may be tiring, "the heart fills with joy and hope."

The pope asked people to contemplate the crucifix every day and tell Christ, "With you, nothing is lost. With you, I can always have hope. You are my hope."

"Bit by bit, we will realize that hoping with Jesus is learning to already see the plant inside the seed, Easter in the cross, life in death."

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Follow Glatz on Twitter: @CarolGlatz.