Hope

Question 1

Hope in its wildest acceptance

Answer 1

Hope, in its wildest acceptance, is described as the desire of something together with the expectation of obtaining it.

Question 2

The Scholastics say

Answer 2

that it is a movement of the appetite towards a future good, which though hard to attain is possible.

Question 3

Hope is the theological virtue by which

Answer 3

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.

Question 4

Christian hope unfolds

Answer 4

Christian hope unfolds from the beginning of Jesus’ preaching in the proclamation of the beatitudes.

Question 5

The beatitudes raise our hope

Answer 5

The beatitudes raise our hope toward heaven as the new Promised Land; they trace the path that leads through the trials that await the disciples of Jesus. But through the merits of Jesus Christ and of his Passion, God keeps us in the “ hope that does not disappoint.”

Question 6

Hope is the sure and

Answer 6

Hope is the “sure and steadfast anchor of the soul . . . that enters . . . where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf.”

Question 7

Hope is also a weapon

Answer 7

Hope is also a weapon that protects us in the struggle of salvation: “Let us … put on the breastplate of faith and charity, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.

Question 8

It affords us joy even under trial

Answer 8

It affords us joy even under trial: “Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation.”

Question 9

Hope is expressed and nourished in prayer

Answer 9

Hope is expressed and nourished in prayer, especially in the Our Father, the summary of everything that hope leads us to desire.

Question 10

Hope pushes us to

Answer 10

Hope pushes us to seek out the Risen Christ present in our everyday life, while directing our sight far beyond death to our risen life with the Triune God.