The Holy Spirit and Hope

The Holy Spirit assists Christians in living out the virtue of hope.

Few would disagree with the bold statement that we are living in an age of anxiety and widespread discouragement.  Sadly, these new generations are searching for happiness and meaning to their lives without the support of a close and ongoing engagement with God. These people are our mission field and as Scripture urges us, for the sake of those who search in darkness, we are called to always be ready to explain to anyone who asks us for a reason for our hope (1 Peter 3:15). 

Christian hope is not optimism or wishful thinking. Hope is a theological virtue, essential to our faith, pointing us toward our ultimate meaning and end: union with God.  Another way of saying this is that we were created for eternal life and our present is oriented to our destination. 

Catechism on Hope

Hope is called a “theological virtue”.  Hope is the gift by which we learn to desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness.  Hope leads us to place our trust in Christ’s promises and to rely not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit. 

The Catechism teaches us that the virtue of hope gathers our desires and aspirations and directs them towards God.  It responds to the inner yearning we have for enduring joy, a yearning which God has placed in the heart of every human being. The great spiritual writer and theologian of the 4th century, St Augustine, expressed it most beautifully as … You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.

The Church Fathers teach us that Hope purifies our desires, ridding us of that which distracts us from God and uses them to orient our lives towards the Kingdom of heaven.  The virtue of Hope wards off the temptation to discouragement, sustains us during times of trial, and opens our hearts in expectation of eternal bliss around the throne of God.

St. Thomas Aquinas wrote of Hope in this way: Hope is the virtue by which we trust God to give us everything that we need to get us to heaven.  By this he means that Hope is what keeps our vision of life, our understanding of the meaning and purpose of life focussed in on God and the divine will… a distinguishing mark of Christians [is] the fact that they have a future: It is not that they know the details of what awaits them, but they know in general terms that their life will not end in emptiness (Pope Benedict).  

 Hope represents a destination, and living in Hope is about having the certainty that life has a purpose, that it moves towards a goal, and that, consequently, the choices and the steps I make today are of importance and not just insignificant or a matter of waiting for something to happen. 

So, to live in Hope, to walk towards Hope, is to cultivate the certainty that life has a purpose, that life makes sense, and that sense is carried by love (Bishop Erik Varden of Trondheim).

Christian Hope assures us that our journey has a destination: eternal life with God.  God's eternal nature is intricately linked to His promises, which are unchanging and trustworthy. In Isaiah 40:8, the prophet proclaims, the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever. 

This assurance of the permanence of God's word gives believers Hope that His promises will be fulfilled, regardless of temporal circumstances. Hope is the gift of discerning the hand of God at work in even the darkest of moments. Nowhere is this more evident than in the incarnation.  The eternal covenant established through Jesus Christ is the enduring testament to God's unwavering commitment to His people, offering the hope of salvation and eternal life (Hebrews 9:15).

Bishop Michael Hough May 2025