Our brothers and sisters in the Middle East “are true Christians”. Pope Francis said this off the cuff as he focused on the price of hope, a hope for which “sometimes the disciples will pay dearly”. “Let us think of so many Christians who have not abandoned their people at a time of persecution”, Pope Francis remarked: “They stayed there, where there was uncertainty about the future, where one could not make any plans of any kind; they stayed, trusting in God”. “And let us think of our brothers and sisters in the Middle East – he continued off the cuff – who bear witness to hope, and also offer their lives for this witness”. “They are true Christians, they carry heaven in their hearts, they look beyond, always beyond!”, the Pope stressed, adding that “those who had the grace to embrace the resurrection of Jesus can still hope beyond all hope”. “The martyrs of all times, with their fidelity to Christ, tell us that injustice does not have the final word in life”, Pope Francis stated. “We can continue to hope in the Risen Christ”. “Men and women who have a ‘why’ to live can endure more than others in times of misfortune”, the Pope explained: “But those who do have Christ at their side are not afraid of anything”.