The Virtue of Hope

Although our eyes are fixed on God, we cannot have certainty about our futures, we cannot say ‘I am saved’. If we could, then we would not need to hope for heaven: we would have the expectation of it, a very different thing. As it is, we can be certain Jesus Christ saved the Universe long ago, but we cannot be certain that any particular one of us will choose salvation in the end. Sadly, for all of us, Hell remains a real possibility.

People who lack hope may develop the vices of despair (inability to believe one can move on) or presumption (belief I already ‘have it made’). These are characteristic modern vices from which we struggle hard to save our young people. Because hope expresses the uncertainty with which we stand before God & our futures, it may well be the most relevant virtue for our age. This age despises certainty (dogmatism, know-alls etc.) & needs better expressions of its uncertainty. Hope is living with uncertainty but with eyes fixed on a goal - a realistic & attractive moral position with which to confront secular modernity.