The object of our hope

We all expect something, so we have hope. Often however, we disappoint, our hope has become in vain. What he hopes for
Christian not to be disappointed? Apostles who joined to Jesus of Nazareth, they hoped to live to see the day in which the kingdom of Israel will be restored. This is evidenced by two disciples going to Emmaus (cf. Lk 24:13). They lost hope by the death of Christ, so they were extremely pleased 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 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 seed. The ideal becomes a foggy vision at the moment we will stop hoping for its feasibility. This 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, no there is nothing less than his being himself. Therefore own and the main 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, it 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 and opportunities to earn these merits. Saint Thomas thus distinguishes between the primary and the main object of hope,
which is eternal bliss, and a secondary object, that 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 his followers. However, it would be wrong to consider the cross for misfortune. God is happiness. If his image grows in us, it increases, as St. Gregor of Nazian, and our bliss. It is a happiness that the world cannot give. 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, on which our trust is based. This, too, is an important psychological element in life. Founder”Jocism”, the Catholic workers’ movement, was tried once explain the difference between a poor person and the so-called proletarians. Not every lord is a proletarian and not everyone the proletarian is poor at this very moment. “Proletarian ism” 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 not lose his job, his apartment, his insurance.” Proletarianize the masses” means, according to Cardin, to give them security for the future. However, this is a sociological question, necessary but difficult. The religious problem is going on much more in depth. It’s about how confident we can be in life have at all. From this more penetrating point of view, it seems to us shaky 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 and anything in the world, there is still 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 weak and unstable, 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. It does not lead to some unsightly disbelief to a neighbor with an inappropriate verse quote? “Don’t trust anyone in the wider world.” The answer is suggested in a humorous way 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 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 we are more personally convinced of that. 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 rock (pores. Z 26, 6; 39, 3; 60, 3, etc.). The more person personally this faith penetrates, the firmer and more confident he feels. Of the many texts of Scripture, it is sufficient to mention Job (13, 15): If he goes wild me, I won’t even shake, just let me say in front of him your. This will then be my salvation, for the villain does not have access to it.