Hope That Doesn’t Disappoint
This discussion about the virtue of hope is not about hope expressed in statements like, “I hope Coach Payton can work a miracle with the Denver Broncos next season.” Or, “I hope the homily doesn’t bore me to death!”
No, the hope to which this article refers is, according to the Catechism, the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ’s promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit. (cf. CCC 1817)
The virtue of hope responds to that hankering for happiness that God has placed in each of our hearts. And it opens up our hearts in expectation of our final, eternal union with Him. (cf. CCC 1818) Through the merits of Jesus and His Passion, God keeps us in the “hope that does not disappoint,” and protects us in the spiritual battle for our salvation.
Hope—the Virtue of the “Not Yet”
“For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city which is to come.” (Heb 13:14)
In his book, Faith, Hope, Love, the Catholic German philosopher, Josef Pieper, tells us that, “The virtue of hope is preeminently the virtue …of the ‘not yet.’” It’s the virtue whereby we look to our future—the “not yet”—“the city that is to come.” And we’re looking to that future, with confidence in God. We’re on the way to a future of union with God.
In hope, Pieper tells us, we are reaching “‘with restless heart’, with confidence and patient expectation, toward the …arduous ‘not yet’ of fulfillment…”—the fulfillment of all our desires—total union with God Himself.
The Arduous “Not Yet”
Consider a couple of key points Pieper makes. First, note well his characterization of this journey as “arduous”.
To that point, Cardinal Robert Sarah, in The Day Is Now Far Spent, tells us,
“Hope is a constant combat. In this combat, the only weapons we wield are prayer, silence, the Word of God, and faith…This virtue strengthens our trust. We have no doubt—Jesus told us: ‘I have conquered the world.’ He is the victor.”
Our Lord said that in this world we’d have difficulties. Life is a battle; hope is a battle, we must fight continually with prayer, solitude, the Word and faith. Yet, in this combat, we can have confidence in Christ.
Hoping for Fulfillment of All Our Desires
Second, Pieper speaks of fulfillment at the end of our “not yet”, referring to the fulfillment of all our desires—which is union with God. On this subject, Cardinal Sarah encourages us:
“The object of our desire is God himself! Our heart is too large for this limited world! We must adopt as our own the exclamation of St. Augustine: ‘You have made us for yourself, Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you’ (Confessions, I, i).”
Let that sink in— “Our heart is too large for this limited world!” Do we realize that? Do we really understand that in our intellect, in our heart and soul—do we embrace it as “heart knowledge?”
Presumption and Despair Block Prayer
As is the case with any other virtue, hope can continually increase. And we’ll address that in a moment. To begin, though, consider what we need to avoid—a couple of obstacles to hope—presumption and despair. Be aware that both of these can block your approach to prayer, inasmuch as, Pieper tells us, a prayer of petition is itself the voicing of hope.
Presumption
Presumption comes in a couple of broad forms:
- We might presume upon our own capabilities, hoping to save ourselves without God’s help; or
- We might presume upon God’s power and mercy, hoping to receive His forgiveness without repentance and conversion (cf. CCC 2092).
Fr. Jordan Aumann suggests that to avoid presumption of the first type, we should consider that, without God’s grace, we can do absolutely nothing. Jesus tells us as much when He reminds us that He is the vine and we are the branches, doesn’t He? (cf. Jn 15:5)
To counter the second type of presumption, we need to remember that God is infinitely merciful, and infinitely just. There’s no mercy without justice; we need to cooperate with His grace. (cf. Gal 6:7 and 1 Cor 15:10)
Despair and Discouragement
Despair in the sense used here is not a mood. Nor is it the negative movement of the heart that St. Ignatius of Loyola describes in his rules for discernment. Much has occurred, and is occurring, that can lead us to feel discouraged about what’s going on in the Church, in our country, our families—you name it.
For persons trying to live a life of sanctification and to grow in relationship with the Lord, that discouragement or feeling of despair is from the devil. The enemy is trying to distract us from staying focused on God, and from the unique, unrepeatable mission God has for us. We need to reject, rebuke and renounce these spirits of despair, discouragement and anxiety when they try to divert us from God’s path for us.
Despair and Its Roots
The despair we refer to here as an obstacle to the virtue of hope is not a mood or one of those movements of the heart. It’s a decision of the will—a decision against Christ and His redemption of us. St. John Chrysostom went so far as to say that it’s not so much sin that casts us into hell as it is despair. It closes the door to grace, denying the way to forgiveness of sin.
To avoid despair and discouragement, Fr. Aumann points out that we need to realize that God’s mercy, “…is untiring in pardoning the repentant sinner; and if it is certain that of ourselves, we can do nothing, it is likewise certain that with God’s grace, we can do all things” (Phil. 4:13).
Discontent is Not the Same as Discouragement
A word of caution, though: discontent with one’s self is not the same as discouragement. Fr. James McElhone, explains, in Rooting Out Hidden Faults, “Discontent with self and discouragement are not the same. To be dissatisfied with self is a grace that is part of sorrow; it makes us want to do better, urging us to serve God more faithfully…Onward and upward…goodness more attractive, new hopes and new ideas…blessed fruits of discontent with self.”
Don’t Give Up Hope
At times, we might struggle with myriad issues related to hope. Maybe, for example, there’s a pattern of sin in our life that just seems unbeatable. “Will I ever achieve sanctification? Can I make it to and through the pearly gates?”
Or, it could be that the sufferings of this life—ageing, infirmity, illness, losses of loved ones, and more, seem to be a heavier and heavier burden to bear. The Lord allows these in our life, and at the same time, allows the grace sufficient for us to deal with them, if we but lean on Him. (cf. 2 Cor 12:9) Jesus exhorts us to give Him our burden, for His yoke is easy and His burden is light (cf. Mt. 11:28-30). St. Peter tells us to cast our anxieties on Him, for He cares about us (cf. 1 Peter 5:7) Are we listening?
And, recall that Jesus told us, in this life we’ll face tribulation, but we need to be of good cheer—He’s already won the battle for us. (cf. Jn 16:33). So never, never, never, never give up. And do consider taking action. With His grace, there are some specific things we can do to foster hope in our lives.
Fr. Aumann’s Tips to Foster Hope
- Raise your thoughts to heavenly matters–do this to develop a dislike for earthly things; to be encouraged to be good in trials, and consoled in suffering.
- Never become anxious about tomorrow. Ponder Our Lord’s advice in Matt 6:26-30.
- Grow in detachment from all earthly things; fight the triple concupiscence of 1 Jn 2:16.
- Move with confidence toward union with God. “With good reason did St. John of the Cross say that hope is that which especially makes the soul pleasing to the beloved, and that by it the soul will attain all that it desires.”
As well, the Catechism tells us that hope is expressed and nourished in prayer, especially in the Our Father, the summary of everything that hope leads us to desire. (Cf. CCC 1820) Thus, praying the Lord’s Prayer thoughtfully, meditating on it, and contemplating its meaning for your life, can be helpful in building up your hope.
The Gift of Fear of the Lord
The undergirding gift of the Holy Spirit for the virtue of hope is fear of the Lord. Presumption, with its false certainty of salvation, will tend to extinguish the gift of fear of the Lord. Because we need this gift to perfect our practice of the virtue of hope, then, we need to avoid the presumption that will diminish it.
Fr. Aumann tells us that, the gift of fear is a supernatural habit by which the soul, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, acquires a special docility for subjecting itself completely to the divine will out of reverence for the excellency and majesty of God. According to Fr. Aumann, “St. Thomas harmonizes fear and hope by saying that in God there are justice and mercy, the first of which arouses fear in us, the second, hope.” This gift not only supports the virtue of hope in us, but it also perfects the virtue of humility, which we need to be able to see how much we depend on God and acknowledge the punishment we deserve for offending God’s infinite majesty.
Nourish Fear of the Lord
Father Aumann suggests that, to nourish the gift of the fear of the Lord, we:
- Meditate frequently on the infinite grandeur and majesty of God
- Get into a habit of talking with God with filial confidence, filled with reverence
- Meditate frequently on the infinite malice of sin to arouse a great horror of sin.
- Practice meekness and humility with others
- Beg the Holy Spirit frequently for a reverential fear of God
Four of his five recommendations directly involve prayer. Spending time, talking with, listening to, Our Lord can be such a great aid. How can we ever expect to grow in our virtues and gifts without it?
Cooperate with God’s Grace
The gifts of the Holy Spirit help us overcome the limitations in our human nature and reason. In so doing, they help us to grow in the infused supernatural virtues. The gift of fear undergirds and perfects the virtue of hope in us. Although God created us without us, he wants us to cooperate with Him in our sanctification and salvation.
That includes our daily efforts to grow in the virtues and gifts, including hope and fear of the Lord. Consider how following Fr. Aumann’s tips and your spiritual director’s guidance might help you grow spiritually. There’s no time like the present to get started.
“Pray, hope and don’t worry. Worry is useless. God is merciful and will hear your prayer.” – St. Padre Pio
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