Thomas Aquinas defined hope as "...a future good, difficult but possible to attain... by means of the Divine Assistance... on Whose help it leans". Hope is always concerned with something in the future. Like the theological virtues of faith and charity, hope finds its "origin, motive, and object" in God. In
Hebrews 10:23,
Paul the Apostle says, "Let us hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope, for he who made the promise is trustworthy." The
Catholic Encyclopedia defines hope as "the desire of something together with the expectation of obtaining it." Specifically, in the Christian context, this is the hope that God will extend His help to you to "elevate and strengthen [your] will[]" as you strive to "reach eternal felicity." Like the other theological virtues, hope is an infused virtue (defined as one that is implanted in you by God, as opposed to one that you develop yourself through habit). It is not, like good habits in general, the outcome of repeated acts or the product of our own industry. Hope is bestowed by God at baptism. In the Christian tradition,
hope in Christ and faith in Christ are closely linked, with hope having a connotation that means the one with hope has a firm assurance, through the witness of the Holy Spirit, that Christ has promised a better world to those who are His. The Christian sees death not just as the end of a passing life, but as the gateway to a future life without limitation and in all fullness. Pope
Benedict XVI states: "Whoever believes in Christ has a future. For God has no desire for what is withered, dead, artificial, and finally discarded: he wants what is fruitful and alive, he wants life in its fullness and he gives us life in its fullness" Hope can thus sustain one through trials of faith, human tragedies, or difficulties that may otherwise seem overwhelming. Hope is "an anchor of the soul" as referenced in the
Epistle to the Hebrews of the
New Testament. also describes the "better hope" of the
New Covenant in
Christ rather than the
Old Covenant of the
Jewish law. Hope is opposed to the sins of
despair and presumption; refraining from them is adhering to the
negative precept of hope. The
positive precept is required when exercising some duties, as in
prayer or penance. Some forms of
Quietism denied that a human being should desire anything whatsoever, to such an extent that they denied that hope was a virtue. Quietism was condemned as heresy by
Pope Innocent XI in 1687 in the papal bull
Coelestis Pastor. ==Quotes==