Hope is a theological virtue by which we desire and wait for God’s eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ ‘s promises and relying on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit to merit and to persevere to the end of our earthly life. (CCC-1817- 1821)
The Christian virtue is hoping specifically for Divine union and also eternal happiness. While faith is a function of the intellect, hope is an act of the will. Hope allows the possibility for Christians to trust in God, especially with things that seem difficult or impossible to receive, such as salvation. Hope is the supernatural virtue by which we firmly commit ourselves in our hearts to fulfill God’s covenant and plan for our lives while firmly trusting that He, who is all-powerful and faithful to His promises, will, in His mercy, give us eternal happiness and the means to obtain it, if we keep this commitment. These promises are given to us through the merits of the sufferings and works of Jesus Christ.
Besides, it is hope as Christians which makes us commit ourselves to obtaining eternal life. Hope gives one the confidence that he/ she will receive the grace necessary to reach Heaven, and the will to do whatever it takes to achieve it. Hope is what keeps many people going irrespective of what they are going through. Remember the adage that says:” When there is life, there is hope” Therefore, many believe that they will achieve whatever they set their minds to achieve in hope, as long as there is life. When you think about what is happening globally today and see how people are reacting to the confusion, war, hunger, instability, unemployment and what have you, one cannot but wonder why the world has not collapsed yet. It is simply because people are hopeful.
Using Nigeria as a case study, it is pertinent to state that even in the midst of all the hardships, lack of money, unsteady power supply, traffic problems, lack of good road network, lack of jobs, poverty, numerous increases of things here and there and to cap it up, hunger, many Nigerians are still very hopeful, that it shall be well. This explains why someone who has not had any meal for the whole day will confidently say that “it is well” when asked how he/she is doing.
In addition, hope sustains us from trial. It keeps us from discouragement and fills us with some kind of courage and joy. In fact, the virtue of hope leads us to persevere in prayer. Hope is what keeps us going when we feel deserted or feel that our ambition is slipping away from us. We saw hope play out in the Bible, for example, in Genesis,17:4-8, and Romans, 4:18, where God promised Abraham that he will be the father of all nations yet, having approached a very old age, Abraham was still hopeful that God will fulfill His promise irrespective of the fact that both him and his wife Sarah, were very advanced in age. Nonetheless, God fulfilled His promise to Abraham.
In conclusion, let us not be mistaken and think that it is easy to attain the virtue of hope, No, that is not the case. It is just that, hope gives us the belief that by the grace of God, everything is possible.
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