Growing in the Theological Virtues: Hope and the Bus Stop

READ LATER - GET THIS POST AS PDF >> CLICK HERE <<
Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

The fruits of spiritual growth from the theological virtues, including the virtue of hope, are lived in this life. But the true object of our hope lies at the other end of death.

Saint Paul tells us, “In the end, three things remain: faith, hope and love.” Saint Thomas Aquinas teaches that of the theological virtues, faith and hope will no longer be necessary in Heaven. Now, before we jump to the conclusion that Saint Paul and Saint Thomas are at odds with each other, we have to look carefully at what each saint meant by the word hope.

When Saint Paul tells us that hope will remain, he is talking about the relationship with God. Heaven is an eternal relationship with God. Trust is always part of a human relationship. So as trust in God, hope will remain for all eternity. This is true for all of the theological virtues.

When Saint Thomas Aquinas speaks of hope not being necessary in heaven, he was talking about hope as the desire for what we do not yet possess – heaven, an eternal relationship with God. Remember that the primary object of hope is union with God in heaven. Once we have that eternal good, we will no longer desire it.

The child of a friend of mine explained it this way. While she is out in the cold winter weather waiting for the school bus to pick her up, she has “hope” that it will come. Her hope is based on the sure knowledge that it will come. She just doesn’t know when it will be there. Her hope isn’t some empty, “I hope it comes.” It is a strong desire for it to get there. Then the bus comes around the corner and her hope turns into joy at its presence. The hope disappears because it is no longer necessary. This is the sense that Saint Thomas Aquinas says that hope will not be necessary in Heaven.

We’ll end our discussion on hope with this question. How do you view the end of your life or the end of the world? Does it fill you with dread? Or are you like the school kid at the bus stop waiting eagerly? No, we don’t look forward to death. Death is an evil that saddened even Jesus. But we look forward to the promised eternal relationship with God that awaits us at the other end of death. Do you?

Don't Miss a Thing! Follow "From the Abbey" on Social Media!

Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedinrssyoutubeinstagram



Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

Leave a Comment





For security, use of Google's reCAPTCHA service is required which is subject to the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

If you agree to these terms, please click here.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.