The Theological Virtue of Hope

Enables one to desire God above all things and to trust Him for personal salvation

O Lord God, I hope by Your grace for the pardon of all my sins and after life here to gain eternal happiness, because You have promised it. In this hope I intend to live and die. Amen.

• It's a supernatural gift of God infused at baptism
• It's the virtue of the wayfarer, keeping one fixed on eternal beatitude (heaven)
• It gives youthful freedom because one lives in expectation of eternal beatitude (heaven)
• It inspires and orders one’s actions to God
• It keeps one from discouragement
• It preserves one from selfishness
• It anchors the soul in God and enables one to be joyful under trial
• It is expressed and nourished in prayer

• Knows heaven is our true home
• Strives to live the Beatitudes
• Accepts sufferings and trials with patience, perseverance, and joy
• Nourishes and expresses it in prayer
• Finds comfort in the recollection of God’s love, shown to us to by Christ’s death on the Cross
• Looks to the saints as friends, intercessors, and guides

Read more in the Educator's Guide on pages:35-46