The year 2025 has been proclaimed by Pope Francis, of blessed memory, as a Jubilee Year, and the theme guiding the faithful throughout this Jubilee Year is hope, one of the theological virtues. In this article, we propose to reflect on hope as the driving force of consecrated life and the mission in service to others. We will begin by shedding light on the virtue of hope and its link with the other two theological virtues, faith and charity, before showing how it can drive consecrated life and the mission of consecrated persons.
Hope and the other theological virtues
Hope is the second theological virtue after faith. The theological virtues are three in number: faith, hope, and charity. We affirm the virtue of hope in the act of hope we recite in our prayers:
My God, I hope with firm confidence
that you will give me, by the merits
of Jesus Christ, your grace in this world and
eternal happiness in the next, because
you have promised it and you always keep
your promises.
Amen.
Hope is therefore a disposition of the believer consisting in trusting the fulfillment of God’s promises in this present life and the life of the world to come. Hope contains expectation, trust, and patience. The realization of the promises is not clearly known by the believer, neither the time nor the manner. But the believer relies on trust in God with firm conviction about the attainment of the promise’s object. One may not always have clarity on the fulfillment of these promises, and that is why it is more a question of surrendering to God, relying solely on the relationship He wishes to establish between the believer and Himself. When we speak of expectation, it is therefore not necessarily temporal but more eschatological. Christ teaches us to live in expectation and hope for the manifestation of the glory God reserves for each of us in this present life but especially in the consummation of the times. Hope makes us desire and await eternal life in God. It strengthens our trust in God’s promises by relying only on Our Lord Jesus Christ and the grace of the Holy Spirit¹. To maintain hope constantly, one must arm oneself with the virtue of perseverance in waiting. It consolidates and supports patience.
What characterizes Christian hope is that life does not end in nothingness. The Christian life is a journey that needs strong moments to feed on hope. “Setting out is the characteristic of one who goes in search of the meaning of life.”²
It should be said, however, that waiting is not passivity or idleness. Let us speak about the relationship between hope and Christian faith on the one hand, and hope and charity on the other, before seeing how we, as consecrated persons, should live and spread this virtue of hope.
1.1. Hope and Christian faith
Christian life is a pilgrimage in faith guided by hope. Hope is neither optimism nor positivism, but the fruit of a firm belief nourished by the Word of God, which affects our attitude towards daily events, duties of charity, and tolerance rooted in the transformation of our humanity according to God’s plan. Our faith is always a journey, a pilgrimage toward the consummation of the times, that is, the Parousia or the return of Christ for the final judgment. The Epistle to the Hebrews describes faith as “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb 11:1). The epistle goes on to show how hope was the engine of the faith and mission lived by our ancestors in faith: Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Samson, Jephthah… (Heb 11:1–40). They endured great trials and triumphed thanks to the virtue of hope. They did not themselves see the fulfillment of the object of their hope in their lifetime, but trust in that fulfillment was the goal of their perseverance in waiting. Hope is the weapon that helps the believer overcome fear and endure painful trials. It allows confronting the hardships of present life, however painful they may be. Saint Paul encourages the faithful of Thessalonica in these terms: “You should not grieve as others do who have no hope” (1 Th 4:13). If hope were to fail, faith and Christian life would lose their meaning. Christians could neither be the salt of the earth nor the yeast in the dough. They would be caught in the mesh of ideologies, reeds bending with the wind (Ps 1:4). In this sense, hope leads and vivifies faith.
Our Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed is Trinitarian, that is to say, it confesses the three persons in one God and can be divided into three parts: the question of God (creation and transcendence), the Christological question (incarnation and redemption), the question of the Holy Spirit who vivifies the Church and believers. This last part ends with the formulation of Christian hope: “I await the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.” This life of the world to come is not known in detail by the believer, but he has the assurance that the future does not lead to emptiness or nothingness. This assurance helps him to give meaning to the present life because it opens up to the future. Growing in faith and in our missionary vocation in the present world helps to face the vicissitudes in the daily grind and to justify our efforts in this journey that leads us to this future horizon we hope for. This faith in future life helped the Christians of the early Church to endure persecutions, tribulations, and even death. Thus, hope motivates other virtues such as courage, strength, and temperance which in turn enable the believer to always surpass himself in his present situation to project himself into the future and eschatology.
Furthermore, hope is part of the nature of beings created in the image and likeness of God (Eph 1:3–5); Saint Thomas Aquinas describes faith as the substance of the things hoped for, the stable disposition of the spirit through which eternal life takes root in us. Faith contains the things we hope for; it helps us realize what is still invisible, and hope leads us to the certainty that, by the grace of God, it will be accomplished. Hope leads us to see the triumph at the end of our pains and mobilizes us to make more effort for the realization of what we pursue.
Faith necessarily leads to hope. Hope is the expectation of the fulfillment of God’s promises. To believe is to surrender like Abraham to God in an adventure without security, relying only on trust in His Word. It is hope for our definitive salvation, guarantee of the goods we hope for, proof of the realities we do not see (Heb 11:1). The extraordinary commitment of the first Christians was sustained by faith in the imminent coming of Christ (1 Th 5:2). It stimulated vigilance and determination in them to face difficult situations (Rom 13:11–14). This assurance constitutes a stimulant for us to put ourselves at service and a sure and solid anchor that keeps us firm in commitment. When the faithful lose or move away from faith or hope in the fulfillment of God’s promises, they will no longer engage in transforming the world or, better, they will no longer commit themselves to evangelization. We could therefore say that hope is a force that energizes the faith and commitment of the believer.
1.2 Hope and charity
The Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et spes says in its preamble: “The joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the men of this age, especially those who are poor or afflicted in any way, are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ as well. Nothing genuinely human fails to find an echo in their hearts. Indeed, in their community, men are brought together in Christ, led by the Holy Spirit on their way to the Father’s Kingdom, and entrusted with a message of salvation that must be proclaimed to all. The community of Christians therefore recognizes itself to be truly and intimately linked with mankind and its history.”³ Hope supports the Christian commitment to love more and do good while enduring suffering and adversity, and to work with determination for one’s own salvation and that of one’s brothers and sisters. Hope thus mobilizes energies for the transformation of the world through the fruitful use of talents or charisms that the Holy Spirit has placed in us. Regarding the parable of the talents, the third servant did not make his talent grow because he had no hope, unlike the first two who hoped first that the talent could produce, and also that the fruits could benefit their master (Mt 25:24–25). Hope frees from fear but also from egocentrism and opens to generosity towards God and neighbor. In this sense, Saint Paul addresses the Christians of Rome: “I urge you, therefore, brothers, by the mercy of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God: this is your true worship. Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good, pleasing, and perfect.” (Rom 12:1–2). Hope opens the way to building a better future. Indeed, the Christian message is not only informative but also performative. It calls to produce deeds in everyday life. It calls Christians to anticipate the reign of God.
2. Hope at the heart of consecrated life
Our religious congregations are the realization of the utopia of their founders. The ideal of the foundations is driven by a desire to be closer to God, to love Him and serve Him more. The ideal is a tension toward perfection, the beatific life. Consecrated life often arises from crises in the Church or society, and the founders of orders, by developing a spirituality or an ideal of life, want to open a breach to overcome the crisis. They are then like bearers of hope for the Church and society of their time. Since its origins, consecrated life is a call to live evangelical radicality to awaken men’s consciences to work to get closer to God. It is always a quest for perfection or holiness which is there but not yet fully realized. When we review the foundation of our orders, we discover that the founders were all adventurers who sometimes navigated blindly; they were at times tempted to abandon the project or fall into weariness, but it was necessary to have the virtue of hope so that they continued to pursue their ideal. As an exercise, each one can look back on the foundation of his order and identify moments of discouragement and wavering, and also how our founders grasped hope anew to cling to it and continue their works.
Their disciples, who we are, by adhering to their ideals, are also seeking holiness of life. Holiness of life is in the order of hope. It is pursued through the permanent conversion of life. Hope draws the strength for personal renewal and the renewal of the Church. If we also look at the history of our vocations—and we must always look at it—we will realize that the moments when we weakened most were moments of crisis of hope.
Hope is the fruit of a strong belief nourished by the Word of God in the Bible, implemented in our attitudes in daily events, acts of charity, tolerance toward others. It is the motivation that keeps us attached to our mission of being creative in responses to difficulties and challenges and continuing to discover the path despite the fog that darkens the future. It is the light that illuminates our dark moments and keeps us firm in our march towards the ultimate goal while also making us lights for those entrusted to our mission; showing them the path to their salvation.
We religious men and women have the mission to forge the destiny of peoples living in desperate situations. In fact, it is to reproduce the mission of Christ that we read in the gospel which consists in making this gospel credible by living it and freeing men and women from different captivities. How do we deploy ourselves in this mission of giving hope to desperate peoples?
3. Mission of hope in proclamation and witness
Religious, like every Christian, are called to be salt, light, and yeast wherever they find themselves. Witnessing their faith demands that they not be a burden to themselves or society, but rather sowers of hope aware of their mission to give taste to the world, to illuminate it with the light of the gospel, and to transform it into a receptacle of virtues.
Like our founders, we are called to scrutinize the signs of the times offered by the Lord to respond appropriately to challenges in our Church and societies. Our charisms and spiritualities are varied and perhaps today’s context is different from that of our founders, but we must always seek to renew them so that by living them, we become bearers of hope to our contemporaries. We have congregations founded on a specific work to meet a need of society or the Church, but today the need no longer exists. Will the work die? No, because the charism or spirituality always requires reinterpretation and adaptation to the times. The work of Mercy, founded in the 12th century for the ransom of slaves, has survived even though classical slavery has almost ended. The order today reflects on modern slavery and seeks how to free or relieve those who are victims. Members now work for refugees, not only to provide them with means or solutions to their basic problems (food, clothing, housing) but also for their integration into the host society, helping them regularize their situation, find decent work without many hassles. By doing so, the Brothers and Fathers are missionaries of hope among refugees. On this subject, Saint John Paul II exhorts us in Vita consecrata: “You must not only remember and recount a glorious history, but you must build a great history! Look to the future, where the Spirit sends you to do great things.”⁴
A dimension of consecrated life that can help religious men and women maintain the hope of the people is the prophetic dimension. Religious, by their way of life and preaching, fight against what dehumanizes to give courage to men and women without hope. They are called to follow Christ to deliver men and women from different captivities of idols (wealth, sex, power). We are invited to imitate Christ in living this prophetic dimension by appropriating His mission. Jesus is the prophet par excellence. At the start of his public ministry, he appropriates Isaiah 61:1–2 in the synagogue of Nazareth: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18–19). Without being against wealth, since he even had rich friends like Joseph of Arimathea and frequented Zacchaeus with his dubious acquisitions of riches, he desacralizes it. He rises against the dictatorship of goods which enslaves men, reduces relationships between men, peoples, and nations to matters of interest, creates dependencies, hinders friendship and love. The accumulation of wealth hinders sharing and charity (the rich man and Lazarus, Luke 16:19–31), exposes to greed (Judas, Mt 6:47), pride, arrogance, crushing of the poor, and the temptation to take God’s place (the rich fool, Ps 53:2; Lk 12:15–20), corruption (soldiers bought to lie about Christ’s resurrection, Mt 28:15). Greatness with Christ is not in power and possessions but in service (Jn 13:1–20). Whoever wants to be great must take the place of the one who serves (Lk 22:27). While everyone struggles to dominate, to win, to serve themselves, the religious will fight to rid his heart of these solicitations, will declutter it of these desires as legitimate as they may be, and find joy only in the service rendered to brothers and sisters. Christ came to serve and not to be served (Mk 10:45). From divine conditions He was, He became man. Not content with the human condition only, He took the place of the last man, the slave executed without regard for his dignity, all to serve humanity and exalt it (Phil 2:6–8). Religious must be an exalting presence of human dignity in the world.
Prophetic poverty is liberating. It consists in giving, gratuity, availability to serve, stimuli for societal transformations. Religious men and women defend against all that dehumanizes, by work that does not necessarily seek promotion or goods at all costs.
4. Fertile grounds for the seed of hope
- Educational environment. The wise Confucius said: “If your plan is for one year, plant rice. If your plan is for ten years, plant trees. But if your plan is for a hundred years, educate children.” Religious are educators of conscience and education is a factor of hope. Through it, they help peoples face their present and future situations. We are invited to invent pedagogies bearing hope in our schools, convents, and apostolates. Our young people, though trained, fail to take charge of themselves. We cannot just blame the situation and not question whether our training really gives hope. Certainly, efforts are made to form quality in our schools, but like religious figures such as Angela of Medici, Don Bosco, we must invent preventive and curative pedagogies to help our youth and peoples learn to be inventive and creative. Hence the Pope invites us to work in the world of youth. He writes: “It is sad to see young people without hope. When the future is uncertain and impermeable to dreams, when studies offer no prospects and lack of work or sufficiently stable employment threatens to annihilate desires; it is inevitable that the present is lived in melancholy and boredom. The illusion of drugs, the risk of transgression, and the search for the ephemeral create, more in them than in others, confusions and hide the beauty and meaning of life, pushing them into dark abysses and leading them to self-destructive acts. That is why the Jubilee must be an opportunity in the Church for a renewed impetus toward them. With renewed passion, let us care for youth, students, the engaged, the young generations! Proximity to the young, joy and hope of the Church and the world!”⁵
- Dialogue. Religious must open the way for dialogue among peoples of different cultures, religions, ages, and social conditions. Dialogue promotes unity in diversity and gives credibility to their witness. In dialogue, religious not only bring to others but also receive from others and value what they receive. Monks have long been agents of agricultural development and even secular sciences. At the fall of the Roman Empire, they saved the artistic-literary heritage of the ancient world from barbaric destructions and conquered forests to bring peoples to learn, train, and take charge by developing the lands. They did not just keep the heritage of antiquity but also developed and enhanced it to give hope to youth and men thirsty for knowledge. Religious must not flee or fall behind in mastering computer tools that are fashionable today. They are called to humanize Artificial Intelligence and even be at the forefront of other new communication means.
- Religious people have the mission to keep alive the flame of hope in the Church and in the world through their way of life, their courage, their devotion. Their communal life and the resulting fraternity provide the testimony that it is possible to live in peace and harmony with people different in language, culture, tastes, ages, social conditions… Their communal life fosters vocations, in other words, it attracts young people who are searching for a future. A lack of vocations is a sign that religious individuals no longer create hope individually or communally for the youth.
Conclusion
We must believe that our lives always carry the mission of hope toward others, even without our knowing it. I conclude with a story I followed in a video on social media; I summarize it as follows: The best days of our lives are sometimes those we believed were the worst or the days when reasons to hope were lacking.
One Sunday evening, a priest arrives at the church to celebrate Mass as usual. At the usual Mass time, no one is there. He waits, and about 15 minutes later, three small children enter and take their seats in the church. After another 10 minutes, two teenagers enter in turn. He decides to start Mass with the five people. During the Mass, a couple enters and takes their place at the back of the church. During the homily, a dirty man enters the church holding ropes. The priest does not understand why the local people have become so disengaged but does not let his disappointment affect him. He preaches with zeal and devotion. On his way home, he is beaten by two bandits who take everything he had, including his sacristy box. Returning home, he bandages his wounds, reviews his day, and declares: “This is the worst day of my life, the day I experienced the failure of my ministry, the fruitless day of my career — but no matter! I tried everything for the Lord.”
Seven years later, the priest, preaching in the same church, recalls that sad day. When he finishes his homily, a couple stops him and says: “Father, the couple who entered when Mass started was us. We were on the verge of divorce due to many misunderstandings and problems in our home. We said, before separating, let’s go one last time to church as we used to. But your homily stirred us deeply to the point that we believed you were preaching only for us. After returning home that night, we found ourselves minimizing our problems and disagreements, and today we are a family still united.”
After the couple’s intervention, a famous entrepreneur who helped many poor people locally and contributed greatly to the church’s renovation asks to speak. “Father,” he says, “I am the dirty man who entered with the ropes. I had gone bankrupt and turned to alcohol and drugs. My wife and children abandoned me because of my behavior. That day, I had bought a rope to commit suicide, and when I put it around my neck and tried to hang myself, it broke. I went to buy stronger ones. But passing by here, I saw the church open and thought I’d distract myself a bit by entering. Your homily pierced my heart, and upon returning home, I changed my mind and began working to leave alcohol and drugs behind. I started investing myself in work, and today my wife and children have joined me at home, and we form a happy family. I am now one of the major entrepreneurs of the city.”
At the sacristy door, the deacon declares: “My Father, I am one of the bandits who brutalized you and took everything you had that evening. My companion was killed when we were planning the next robbery after you. When I broke your sacristy box, I saw your Bible and began to read it from time to time. I took pleasure in listening to the word of God and started attending this church. That is how I discovered my vocation and went to the seminary.”
At the end, the priest began to cry, and his faithful followed him in tears — tears of joy resulting from the discovery that the days we believe to be the worst in our lives are sometimes the days when God performs the most miracles. And from there, we must never lose hope in any circumstance, no matter how painful. The Lord is always with us.
This means never to get discouraged, even when we suffer martyrdom, to believe that we are always on a mission and bearers of hope, instruments of God’s designs to save humanity that sometimes lacks hope.
