On the morning of Wednesday, May 8, in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis presided over a general audience attended by several thousand pilgrims from many countries. Continuing the cycle of catechesis on virtues, the Holy Father explained the meaning of the virtue of hope. We publish the full text of the catechesis.
Silvija Krivteža – Vatican
Dear brothers and sisters!
In the last catechesis, we began to reflect on the theological virtues. They are three: faith, hope and love. Last time we reflected on faith, today it is the turn of hope. “Hope is the divine virtue by which we desire for ourselves the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, relying on the promises of Christ and seeking support not in our own strength, but in the grace of the Holy Spirit” (1817). These words express that hope is the answer to the questions that arise in our hearts: “What will become of me? What is the purpose of my life? What is the fate of the world?”
We all know that a negative answer to these questions leads to sadness. If life has little meaning, if there is nothing at the beginning and at the end, then we wonder why we have to go forward at all: and despair sets in, a sense of meaninglessness takes over. Many say with anger and regret, “I tried to be honest, prudent, just, courageous, and self-disciplined. I was a man of faith….so what good was my effort?” If we lack hope, all other virtues can crumble to dust. Without a certain tomorrow, a clear perspective, one might conclude that virtue is a futile effort. “Only when the future is certain as a positive reality can we live in the present” (Benedict XVI, encyclical Spe salve2).
The Christian has received the gift of hope not because of his own merits. If we believe in eternal life, it is because Christ died, rose again, and gave us his Spirit. In the encyclical Spe Salvi Pope Benedict XVI affirms: “Salvation is given to us in the sense that we are given a hope that does not disappoint, with the strength of which we can face our present” (1). Therefore, we affirm that hope is a theological virtue. Hope does not come from ourselves, nor is it our perseverance that we want to convince ourselves of, but rather a gift that comes directly from God.
For many doubting Christians who have not been fully reborn in hope, the apostle Paul offers a new logic to the Christian experience: “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is in vain, because you are still in your sins. Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ are also lost. If we we hope for Christ only in this life, then we are the most miserable of all people” (1 Cor 15, 17-19). It is as if he said: if you believe in the mystery of Christ’s resurrection, then you know for sure that neither suffering nor sorrow is eternal. But if you do not believe in the mystery of Christ’s resurrection, everything becomes empty, even the teaching of the apostles.
Hope is a virtue that we often sin against, thinking that the moments of happiness experienced in the past are buried forever. We sin against hope when we become depressed because of our sins, forgetting that God is merciful and is bigger than our hearts. We sin against hope when we allow autumn to destroy the spring in us; when God’s love ceases to be an eternal fire and we do not have the courage to make decisions about our lives.
This divine virtue is much needed in today’s world! It also needs patience, a virtue that goes hand in hand with hope. Patient people create good. They stubbornly want peace, and although some are in a hurry and want everything to happen immediately, patience knows how to wait. Even if many around us are disappointed, a person who lives with hope is patient and can overcome even the darkest nights.
Hope is the virtue of those whose hearts are always young, but age does not matter. Indeed, there are so many elderly people with bright and radiant eyes looking to the sky. Let’s think about the two great elderly people mentioned in the Gospel – Simeon and Anna, who waited patiently and experienced that the last stage of their life was blessed by meeting the Messiah, whom they recognized in the Child Jesus, who was brought to the Jerusalem sanctuary by his parents. May each of us be able to receive such grace! That after our long journey, after we have laid down our traveling bags and walking sticks, our hearts may be filled with such joy as we have never felt before, and that we may also cry out, “Now, Lord, according to Your word, release my servants in peace, because my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared for all nations: Light for the illumination of the Gentiles and the honor of Your people Israel” (Lk 2, 29-32).
