SUNLIT UPLANDS: Theological Virtue of Hope

Vatican, Nov. 30, 2007 (CWNews.com) - Spe Salvi, the 2nd encyclical letter of Pope Benedict XVI (bio - news), is a profound, tightly reasoned, but surprisingly accessible meditation on the theological virtue of hope.

Following the usual practice, the encyclical takes its title from the first words of the document, a quotation from the 8th chapter of St. Paul's epistle to the Romans: Spe salvi facti sumus-- "For in this hope we were saved." The 76-page document, presented in 8 chapters, explains the Christian understanding of hope, and contrasts it with the hope that modern secularists place in ideological systems.

Pope Benedict opens the encyclical with the observation that "according to the Christian faith, 'redemption'-- salvation-- is not simply a given." But the promise of salvation provides "trustworthy hope, by virtue of which we can face our present."

Christians have confidence in their eternal fate, the Pope said. "The dark door of time, of the future, has been thrown open. The one who has hope lives differently; the one who hopes has been granted the gift of a new life."

This sort of hope is not possible, the Pope argues, "without God in the world." But for the believer, hope is enough to changes one's approach to life, one's essential attitude. Thus, the Pope says, the virtue is "not just 'informative' but 'performative.'"

In the early days of Christianity, many people lived in slavery and servitude of various kinds. But Jesus was not a political liberator like Spartacus or Barabbas, Spe Salvi points out. Christ offered hope of a different sort of freedom -- a hope that transformed the way his followers looked upon life.

Christians also experienced a new sort of hope with the realization that their salvation lay in a loving personal God, and that through all the difficulties of life they remained children of this loving Father. The faithful no longer saw themselves as helpless in the face of inexorable physical forces or unseen cosmic powers. The Pope writes, "it is not the laws of matter and of evolution that have the final say, but reason, will, love-- a Person."

In modern times, however, men have come to place their trust on different powers, the Pope says. Relying more and more heavily on scientific reason, men have pursued a cult of progress, in the belief that reason can ultimately bring about a "kingdom of man," a "new and perfect human community."

This secular faith is at odds with Christian belief, the Pope says. It is also a distorted reflection of the Christian confidence in God. He says: "The present-day crisis of faith is essentially a crisis of Christian hope."

First in the French Revolution and again in Marxist ideology, political thinkers sought to establish a system of society based on reason, thinking that it would ensure the ultimate in human freedom. In fact, the Pope observes, the result was a "trail of appalling destruction."

The problem of these ideological systems, the Pope argues, is their failure to address the innate spiritual dimension of human nature. Refusing to place their trust in God, ideologues ended by leaving men with no hope at all. "Let us put it very simply: man needs God, otherwise he remains without hope."

Pope Benedict encourages Christians to cultivate the virtue of hope in several different ways. The first is prayer. "When no one listens to me any more," the Pope writes, "God still listens to me." This is a source of hope, and prayer strengthens the virtue.

"Hope in a Christian sense is always hope for others as well," the Pope continues. Therefore a Christian both shows and strengthens his hope through apostolic work. And when life brings setbacks and suffering-- as it inevitably will-- these too can be "settings" for learning hope, the Pontiff writes. While we do our best to ease suffering, he writes, we grow "by our capacity for accepting it, maturing through it, and finding meaning through union with Christ, Who suffered with infinite love."

Christian hope points toward the future, the afterlife, and the Final Judgment, Pope Benedict reminds us. "There is justice. There is an 'undoing' of past suffering, a reparation that sets things aright." So the thought of a final reckoning is another "setting" for hope, Spe Salvi teaches.

Pope Benedict concludes his encyclical with a chapter entitled "Mary, Star of Hope." The Blessed Virgin, he writes, is an inspiration and a guide for the faithful in learning the virtue of hope. He ends Spe Salvi with a prayer for her intercession, as the ultimate remedy for the current "crisis of Christian hope."

Spe Salvi: Full English Text of Papal Encyclical (Vatican)