The object of our hope

We all expect something, so we have hope. Often, however, we are disappointed; our hopes are not fulfilled. What he hopes for
Christian, not to be disappointed? The apostles who joined Jesus of Nazareth hoped to live to see the day when God would restore the kingdom of Israel. This sentiment is shown by two disciples going to Emmaus (cf. Lk 24:13). They lost hope after Christ’s death, so they were deeply pleased by the revelation of the risen Christ. To strengthen hope, all the other disciples heard the voices of the angels at the ascension of the Lord on the Mount of Olives: This Jesus, who was taken from you to heaven, will come as you saw him go to heaven (Acts 1:11). The hope of the first Christians thus manifested itself in a short prayer: Maran Atha, Come, Lord Jesus! (Rev 22:20). On that day, as we believe, the kingdom of God will take place. The message of the gospel it will no longer be a program, a promise of the next age, but a living, real presence. Theology, therefore, expresses the subject of Christian hope in a concise formula that has a profound meaning: the whole of Christ. So Jesus comes into the world again, with him everything what is connected with his arrival, t. j. holiness and celebration of the Church, victory of the truth, realization of all the true human ideals, God’s creative and redemptive plans. Hope therefore strengthens faith as a young man’s seed. The ideal becomes a foggy vision the moment we stop hoping it is feasible. This scenario would be Christianity without the virtue of hope. St. Thomas Aquinas speaks more abstractly when he claims that the only true object of our hope is eternal bliss in God. “So we should not hope for anything less than him on my own. His goodness, which gives good things to creation—there is nothing less than his being himself. Therefore, the only true object of hope is eternal bliss. This statement is supported by St. Tomas for two reasons.
1. Each donor gives what corresponds to his characteristics.
We expect only eternal happiness from an eternally blissful God.
2. The requirements of our will are unlimited; therefore
permanent with another gift she could not even satisfy. Eternal happiness, however, is not just a gift from God. It is also the fruit of human merit. So I must also hope that I will have enough opportunities to earn these merits. Saint Thomas thus distinguishes between the primary and the main object of hope.
The primary object is eternal bliss, and the secondary object is all that is needed in life for us to be saved. Can we hope to be happy here on earth? Following Christ warns: “Do not promise what Christ does not promise you!” The Savior’s whole life was a cross, so must life be for his followers? However, it is wrong to consider the cross a misfortune. God is happiness. As St. Gregory of Nazianzus said, if his image grows in us, it increases our bliss. It is a happiness that the world cannot provide. However, during our life on earth, the vision of God will remain unclear, as if in a mirror (1 Cor 13:12).
A motive of hope
Theologians distinguish not only the subject but also the motive of hope, that is, the basis of our trust. This distinction, too, is an important psychological element in life. The founder of “Jocism,” the Catholic workers’ movement, tried once to explain the difference between a poor person and the so-called proletarians. Not every lord is a proletarian, and not every proletarian is poor at this very moment. “Proletarianism” is a lack of life security. The father of the family: “It is not enough to make enough money; he is much more troubled by uncertainty about what will happen tomorrow, whether he will lose his job, his apartment, or his insurance.” “Proletarianize the masses,” according to Cardin, means giving them future security. However, the issue is a sociological question, necessary but difficult. The religious problem goes much deeper. It’s about how confident we can be in life at all. From this more penetrating point of view, it seems to us that all security—social, family, state
, and church. Ascetic authors like to refer to Jeremiah’s pessimistic statement: Cursed is a man who trusts in man (17,5). However, Christians are not so afraid of this pessimism. If we cannot rely on anyone or anything in the world, we still have one we can and must rely on: God. “We hope for the good that is from God,” writes St. Thomas Aquinas, “so only with God can it be achieved.” So we do not rely on others or on ourselves. Therefore, they can hope both weakly and unstably, and sinners. Therefore, again, they cannot bring out virtues and must remember the warning of St. Paul (1 Cor 10:12; 2 Cor 1:9): Who thinks that he stands, be careful not to fall. Doesn’t that lead to some unsightly disbelief among a neighbor with an inappropriate verse quote? “Don’t trust anyone in the wider world.” The answer is suggested humorously: a popular proverb, “To whom the Lord God is holy.” “We must not trust in man and in any other creature,” writes St. Thomas Aquinas, “as if they were the first cause, as if they could make the soul happy. Perhaps, however, trust people when we look at them as a secondary cause, as an instrument by which the soul helps itself in achieving the good that belongs to the ultimate goal. »Hope is as if in a wide field between certainty and impossibility. Therefore, it allows many degrees. The closer to certainty, the stronger the motive on which it is based, and the more personally convinced we are. Christian hope it is based on the promises of God, who cannot be wrong or deceive others. In the Psalms, it is therefore compared to a rock (pores, Z 26, 6; 39, 3; 60, 3, etc.). The more personally this faith penetrates, the firmer and more confident he feels. Of the many Scripture texts, it suffices to mention Job (13, 15): If he goes wild with me, I won’t even shake; let me just say in front of him, “You.” This will then be my salvation, for the villain has no access to it.