Exactly...communion - intimate union - with Jesus.  Redemptive suffering.  Suffering raised to the supernatural level.  Well said Holy Father.

and yes hope isn't a sentiment.  It comes about because of union with God. 

From Dorronsoro, Time to Believe:
“…When any one of us realizes he is sad, he must think: ‘It is because I am not close enough to Christ...’ When one of us becomes aware, for instance, of an inclination towards ill-humour, towards bad temper, he must similarly remind himself If he throws the blame on things around him, he will be wide of the mark; he will be looking in the wrong direction …When somebody says: ‘I appear to be incorrigibly lazy. I am not tenacious; I don’t seem to be able to finish the things I start', today he ought to think ‘I am not close enough to Christ' "