Learning hope through action and suffering 

All serious and upright human conduct is hope in action.

We strive to realize our lesser and greater hopes, to complete this or that task which is important for our onward journey, or we work toward a brighter and more humane world so as to open doors into the future. Yet, our daily efforts in pursuing our own lives and in working for the world’s future either tire us or turn into fanaticism—unless we are enlightened by the radiance of the great hope that cannot be destroyed even by failures.

If we cannot hope for more than is effectively attainable at any given time, or more than is promised by political or economic authorities, our lives will soon be without hope. It is important to know that one can always continue to hope even if in your own life, or the historical period in which you are living, there seems to be nothing left to hope for. Only the great certitude of hope that your own life and history in general, despite all failures, are held firm by the indestructible power of love, and that this gives them their meaning and importance. Only this kind of hope can then give the courage to act and to persevere. Certainly we cannot “build” the Kingdom of God by our own efforts—what we build will always be the kingdom of man with all the limitations proper to our human nature.

The Kingdom of God is a gift, and precisely because of this, it is great and beautiful, and constitutes the response to our hope. We cannot “merit” Heaven through our works. Heaven is always more than we could merit, just as being loved is never something “merited,” but always a gift. However, even when we are fully aware that Heaven far exceeds what we can merit, it will always be true that our behavior is not indifferent before God and, therefore, is not indifferent for the unfolding of history. We can open ourselves and the world and allow God to enter: we can open ourselves to truth, to love, to what is good. This is what the saints did.

We can free our life and the world from the poisons and contaminations that could destroy the present and the future. We can uncover the sources of creation and keep them unsullied, and in this way we can make a right use of creation. This makes sense even if outwardly we achieve nothing or seem powerless in the face of overwhelming hostile forces. So, on the one hand, our actions engender hope for us and for others; but, at the same time, it is the great hope based upon God’s promises that gives us courage and directs our action in good times and bad.

Like action, suffering is a part of our human existence. Suffering stems partly from our finitude, and partly from the mass of sin which has accumulated over the course of history and continues to grow unabated today.

Certainly we must do whatever we can to reduce suffering: to avoid as far as possible the suffering of the innocent, to soothe pain, to give assistance in overcoming mental suffering. These are obligations both in justice and in love, and they are included among the fundamental requirements of the Christian life and every truly human life.

Great progress has been made in the battle against physical pain; yet the sufferings of the innocent and mental suffering have increased in recent decades. Indeed, we must do all we can to overcome suffering, but to banish it from the world altogether is not in our power. This is simply because we are unable to shake off our finitude and because none of us is capable of eliminating the power of evil of sin which, as we plainly see, is a constant source of suffering. Only God is able to do this: only a God who personally enters history by making himself man and suffering within history. We know that this God exists, and hence that this power to “take away the sin of the world” (John 1:29) is present in the world. Through faith in the existence of this power, hope for the world’s healing has emerged in history. It is, however, hope—not yet fulfillment; hope that gives us the courage to place ourselves on the side of good even in seemingly hopeless situations, aware that, as far as the external course of history is concerned, the power of sin will continue to be a terrible presence. 

(To be continued next week) 

Spe Salvi Encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI to all “On Christian Hope”

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Servant Leader: ‘Spe Salvi’–Part XIV

All serious and upright human conduct is hope in action.

We strive to realize our lesser and greater hopes, to complete this or that task which is important for our onward journey, or we work toward a brighter and more humane world so as to open doors into the future.