HOPE IN A HOPELESS WORLD? THE VIRTUE OF HOPE IN A CULTURE OF DESPAIR
- 12 hours ago
- 1 min read
What is the true meaning of Christian hope in a world filled with anxiety, despair, and uncertainty? In this episode of Good Habits, Fr John and Fr Toby draw on the wisdom of Thomas Aquinas, St Augustine and Thomas Merton, exploring how we can have hope in difficult times.
Hope in God is not just wishful thinking but a transformative theological virtue. Learn how hope differs from manifestation, self-help culture and materialism and why true happiness cannot be found in success, relationships, or possessions alone.
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."
The virtue of hope responds to the aspiration to happiness which God has placed in the heart of every person; it takes up the hopes that inspire our activities and purifies us so as to order them to the Kingdom of heaven; it keeps us from discouragement; it sustains us during times of abandonment; it opens up our hearts in expectation of eternal beatitude. Buoyed up by hope, we are preserved from selfishness and led to the happiness that flows from charity.
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