Hope is one of the of the more misunderstood virtues. Many virtues are misunderstood. Each of the virtues perfects some good in us that benefits us, but often we do not see the benefits. At times, we see virtues as obligations and burdens, when we should see them as a source of peace and joy.
Of the three theological virtues of Faith, Hope and Love, Hope gets the least attention and is the most confusing.
Part of this is due to our language. We often use hope and wish interchangeably. “I hope I get a job offer”, “I hope it won’t rain this weekend” or “I hope I will win the lottery.” These use the same four letters as the virtue of hope but have nothing to do with the virtue.
Confidence and Trust
Christian Hope is a virtue that requires confidence and trust in Christ. It is an assurance and certainty that the promises of Christ will be fulfilled. It is an abandonment of relying on our strength or merits, but instead relying completely on the merits and mercy of Jesus.
The core of Hope is confidence that we will be saved by Christ and enter into eternal life with Him. The catechism expresses this in its definition of Hope:
Hope is 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. “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” “The Holy Spirit . . . he poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life.”
It is clear from this definition that hope isn’t just desiring eternal life, but trusting in Christ that we reach eternal life. It isn’t by our actions, merits or strength that we can achieve this. It is entirely by the grace of our Savior. Hope is the confidence and trust in Christ to provide this grace.
Hope in eternal life is the core of the virtue, but Hope is broader than this.
Hope requires trust in God, no matter what is happening in our lives. This is really hard. Many of the articles on this site focus on anxiety and depression. We live in a time of darkness where few have hope. We worry about many things and we allow ourselves to be overcome with depression and despair.
This hurts our Lord. Jesus suffered and died for us so that we could be resurrected and unite with Him in heaven for eternity. He’s done all the work for us. Our lack of trust in Him exhibits doubts that He loves us. We should never doubt God’s love or His faithfulness to His promises to us.
To worry about our salvation or about anything in life is to distrust God. Hope is the counter to this. It is trust and assurance in the goodness of God and His dedication to never abandon us. We must be careful not to jump past hope into presumption and the idea that Jesus has saved us so we can coast along doing whatever we want. That’s not hope. Instead, hope is trusting that if we follow Christ, He will lead us to the best possible reward.
Hope Does Not Negate Suffering
We should have confidence that God is always with us and that He will never abandon us. This can lead to a mistaken belief that we should never suffer. In this life, we will suffer.
Jesus tells us we must take up our cross. That is a figurative statement, but He makes it on the way to Jerusalem where He will literally take up His cross. We are going to suffer. We are going to have crosses that appear far too heavy for us and cause us more pain than we think we can bear.
Hope is the virtue of trusting in Jesus during these times of trial and suffering. Hope is not wishing for suffering to end. “I hope I will be cured of this illness”. We may want the suffering to end, but we must trust that the Will of God is the best possible path for us.
This does not mean God wants us to suffer. God loves us tremendously and wants us to have joy beyond our imagining. To bring that about (for us and for others), there are times when we must suffer or others must suffer for us. I can’t explain all of God’s plan and I can’t explain the good that God will bring about through some of the evil and terrible things that some people do.
What I can do is state confidently that I trust in Christ. I trust God to always direct me towards what is good. I trust God to be merciful when I repent. I trust God to give me sufficient grace for eternal life. That is my hope. It is trust and confidence.
Now, Hope does not negate work on my part. I may trust in God to do all the heavy lifting for me, but I still need to strive for holiness and virtue.
Jesus encounters a man born blind and is asked whose sin caused him to be blind, the man’s or his parents. This was based on the common view that afflictions were punishments for specific sins. Jesus answers: “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents; but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.”
Everything that happens is designed to manifest the works of God. We have free will and can do horribly awful and sinful things, but God works to exhibit His goodness even in the darkest times.
In the case of the blind man, how many people cared for that man through the course of his life, showing generosity, empathy, compassion and charity? The love of God was manifest through the people that cared for him. Surely there were times when he suffered and people did not help him or overtly hurt him, but these were meant to be times of love missed by those who acted callously.
The pinnacle of manifesting the works of God was in Christ’s healing of the man. Jesus gave Him sight. This wasn’t so the man could have an easier time the rest of his life, but to show what awaits all of us. Whatever affliction we have, it will be healed, either in this life or the next.
Our hope is for the will of God to be manifest. Hope is trusting that the path we are on, with all the pain, suffering and hardships will lead to something far greater. Hope is the assurance that none of our trials are in vain.
How to Grow in Hope
There are three primary ways to grow in hope. The first is universal to all the virtues. We need to ask God for help.
Prayer is the most powerful thing we can do. When we pray, we are calling for God to act with His infinite power. There is nothing we can do that can approach the power of God. If we want to accomplish anything, we need God’s help and that should start with prayer.
Second, we need to practice gratefulness for everything that happens. This is really hard. Perhaps we had someone we love dearly die tragically. How can we thank God for that? Even among some of the most faith filled people I know, the initial reaction to a tragedy has been anger at God.
That reaction is understandable, but it isn’t how we should react. Instead, no matter how we feel, we should express to God hope by crying out that we may be in pain, and we may be angry and hurting, but we are thankful for all He has given us – even during terrible anguish.
Finally, we need to trust in God and tell God we trust Him. Our trust is not that God will make us happy right now or give us stuff we want. Our trust is not that God will make the world the way we want it. No, our trust is that God is preparing us for eternal life. Our trust is that God is preparing others for eternal life. Our trust is in the resurrection.
When you face hard times or when things are easy, trust in Christ. No matter what happens, pray, thank God for His love and mercy and trust that He will lead you to eternal joy.
This is not easy. Hope is an extremely difficult virtue to master. When times are good, we forget hope, but when times turn very difficult, we struggle to trust. To manifest the glory of God, trust in Christ during your greatest trials, when times are darkest, and all you feel is anger, depression or despair. There are few things you can do that are more powerful than simply saying “Jesus, I trust in You” during such dark times.
Hope vs. Distrust
St. Faustina was a mystic who was given the devotion of Divine Mercy. Her diary is a wonderful book to help understand God’s mercy. The message is a message of hope. I love her diary and strong recommend reading it.
Recently, I was reading Consoling the Heart of Jesus by Fr. Gaitley and he quotes three passages from the diary together. Let’s look at these three quotes compiled by Fr. Gaitley on Distrust. These quotes are all words recorded by St. Faustina that were spoken to her by Christ.
Distrust on the part of souls is tearing at My insides. The distrust of a chosen soul causes Me even greater pain; despite My inexhaustible love for them they do no trust Me. Even My death is not enough for them. Woe to the soul that abuses these [gifts] (50).
O, how much I am hurt by a soul’s distrust! Such a soul professes that I am Holy and Just, but does not believe that I am Mercy and does not trust in my Goodness. Event he devil glorify My Justice but do not believe in My Goodness (300).
My Heart is sorrowful, Jesus said, because even chosen souls do no understand the greatness of my mercy. Their relationship [with Me] is, in certain ways, imbued with mistrust. Oh, how much that wounds My Heart! Remember My Passion, and if you do believe My words, at least believe My wounds (379).
The quotes highlight how many people distrust God and the great sorrow it causes our Lord. We have a tendency to believe that others can be forgiven but do not believe we can be forgiven. This is a sin against the virtue of Hope. Hope is trust in our Lord, and that trust is based on His mercy.
The Lord of lords, King of kings, is merciful. We can repent and be forgiven. Hope is required. We must trust in the Lord.
Fr. Gaitley does a great job of pulling some of the best quotes from St. Faustina’s Diary into one chapter. He follows the three above with a quote about a woman who confided in St. Faustina that she didn’t believe that God had forgiven her. Jesus spoke to Faustina and gave the following message for the woman:
Tell her that her disbelief wounds My Heart more than the sins she committed (628).
This is at the heart of our hope in Christ. Any sin can be forgiven if we trust in God’s mercy. It is only distrust and a lack of hope, where we reject God’s mercy because we believe we are undeserving, that is unforgivable. This is not a limit that God places on His mercy, but instead our rejection of that mercy.
Jesus in the quote above explains that our distrust of His mercy hurts Him more than the sins that we commit. We are beloved children of God. When we distrust His mercy, we are also distrusting His love. A loving father might be hurt by an offense of a child, but that loving father will be hurt much more if the child believes the relationship is dead and cannot be restored.
Our God feels the same way. When we sin, we offend God, but God does not desire separation from us. He wants reconciliation. He wants us to come back to Him and trust in His mercy. Hope is the virtue that gives us the ability to trust in the mercy of God. Unlike a human father, our God can completely heal us, and in redeeming us, make us better than we were before our sin.
No matter how grave your sins, no matter what you have done, you can turn back to God right now and trust in His mercy!