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The joy of a good conscience is always accompanied by
that blessed hope of which the Apostle speaks when he
tells us to rejoice in hope and to be patient in
tribulation. (Cf. Rom. 12:12). This is the rich
inheritance of the children of God, their general
refuge in tribulation, and their most efficacious
remedy against all the miseries of life.
Before entering upon this subject we must bear in
mind that as there are two kinds of faith, one barren
and dead, the other living and strengthened by
charity, fruitful in good works; so there are two
kinds of hope � one barren, which gives the soul no
light in darkness, no strength in weakness, no
consolation in tribulation; the other "lively" (Cf.
1Pet. 1:3), which consoles us in sorrow, strengthens
us in labor, and sustains us in all the dangers and
trials of this world. This living hope works in
the soul many marvelous effects, which increase
according as the charity which accompanies it becomes
more ardent. The first of these effects is the
strength which supports man under the labors of life
by holding before his eyes the eternal reward
reserved for him; for, in the opinion of the saints,
the stronger this hope of reward the greater is man's
courage in overcoming obstacles in the path of
virtue. "Hope," says St. Gregory, "fixes our
hearts so steadfastly upon the joys of Heaven that we
are insensible to the miseries of this life." "The
hope of future glory," Origen tells us, "sustains the
just under the trials of life, as the hope of victory
supports the soldier during battle." "If the furious
tempests of the sea," says St. Chrysostom, "cannot
daunt the sailor; if hard frosts and withering blight
cannot discourage the farmer; if neither wounds nor
death itself affright the soldier; if neither falls
nor blows dishearten the wrestler, because of the
fleeting recompense they hope from their labors, how
much greater should be the courage of a Christian,
who is toiling for an eternal reward! Therefore,
consider not the roughness of the path of virtue, but
rather the end to which it leads; look not upon the
pleasures which strew the path of vice, but rather
upon the precipice to which it is hurrying you."
Who is so foolish as willingly to pursue a path,
though strewn with flowers, if it lead to
destruction? Who, conversely, would not choose a
rugged and difficult path if it lead to life and
happiness? Holy Scripture is full of commendations
of this blessed hope. "The eyes of the Lord," the
prophet Hanani tells King Asa, "behold all the earth,
and give strength to them that with a perfect heart
trust in him." (2Par. 16:9). "The Lord is good to
them that hope in him, and to the soul that seeketh
him." (Lam. 3:25). "The Lord is good, and giveth
strength in the day of trouble, and knoweth them that
hope in him." (Nahum 1:7). "If you return and be
quiet, you shall be saved; in silence and in hope
shall your strength be." (Is. 30:15) By silence the
prophet here signifies that interior calm and sweet
peace experienced by the soul amid all her troubles,
and which is the result of that hope in God's mercy
which expels all fear. "Ye that fear the Lord, hope
in him, and mercy shall come to you for your delight.
My children, behold the generations of men, and know
ye that no one ma hath hoped in the Lord and hath
been confounded." (Ecclus. 2:9,11). "Mercy shall
encompass him that hopeth in the Lord."(Ps. 31:10).
Mark the strength of this word encompass, by son
which the prophet teaches us that a virtuous man is
shielded by God's protection, as a king surrounded by
his guards. Read the Psalms, and you will see how
beautifully David speaks of the power and merit of
divine hope. In one of his sermons, St. Bernard
dwells at some length on this virtue, and concludes
by saying, "Faith teaches us that God has inestimable
rewards reserved for His faithful servants. Hope
answers, 'It is for me that they are prepared'; and
charity, inspired by hope, cries out, 'I will hasten
to possess them.'"Behold, then, the happy fruits of
hope! It is a port of refuge from the storms of life;
it is a buckler against the attacks of the world; it
is a storehouse to supply us in the time of famine;
it is the shade and tent of which Isaias spoke, to
protect us from the heat of summer and the frosts of
winter; in fine, it is a remedy for all our evils,
for there is no doubt that all we confidently and
justly hope from God will be granted to us, if for
our welfare. Hence St. Cyprian says that God's mercy
is a healing fountain, hope a vessel into which its
waters flow. Therefore, the larger the vessel the
more abundantly will we receive of these waters. God
told the children of Israel that every place upon
which they set their feet should be theirs. So every
salutary blessing upon which man fixes his hope will
be granted to him. Hope, then, for all blessings, and
you will obtain them. Thus we see that this virtue
is an imitation of the divine power; for, says St.
Bernard, nothing so manifests the power of God as the
omnipotence with which He invests those who hope in
Him. Witness Josue, at whose command the sun stood
still; or Ezechiel, who bade King Ezechias choose
whether he would have the sun advance or go backward
in its course, as a sign from God. In studying the
inestimable treasures of hope, you have some idea of
one of the blessings of which the wicked are
deprived. Whatever hope remains to them is dead;
destroyed by sin, it can produce none of the glorious
fruits we have been considering. Distrust and fear as
inevitably accompany a bad conscience as the shadow
does the body. Hence the happiness of the sinner is
the measure of his hope. He sets his heart upon the
vanities and follies of the world; he rejoices in
them; he glories in them; and in them he hopes in the
time of affliction. It is of such hope that God
speaks when He says, "The hope of the wicked is as
dust, which is blown away with the winds, and as a
thin froth which is dispersed by the storm; and a
smoke which is scattered abroad by the wind." (Wis.
5:15). Can you imagine a weaker or a vainer
confidence than this? But it is not only vain, it is
deceptive and injurious. "Woe to them that go down to
Egypt for help, trusting in horses, and putting their
confidence in chariots, because they are many; and in
horsemen, because they are very strong; and have not
trusted in the Holy One of Israel, and have not
sought after the Lord. Egypt is man, and not God; and
their horses flesh, and not spirit; and the Lord
shall put down his hand, and the helper shall fall,
and he that is helped shall fall, and they shall all
be confounded together." (Is. 31:1,3). Behold,
dear Christian, the difference between the hope of
the just and the hope of the wicked. One is of the
flesh, the other of the spirit; one is centered in
man, the other in God. And even as God exceeds man,
so does the hope of the just exceed that of the
sinner. Therefore, the prophet exhorts us, "Put
not your trust in princes; in the children of men, in
whom there is no salvation. Blessed is he who hath
the God of Jacob for his helper, whose hope is in the
Lord his God; who made heaven and earth, the sea, and
all things that are in them." (Ps. 114:3,5-6).
"Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we
will call upon the name of the Lord our God. They are
bound, and have fallen; but we are risen, and are set
upright." (Ps. 19:8-9). Thus we see that our hopes
are realized according to that upon which they rest �
in ruin and destruction, or in honor and victory.
Therefore, he whose hope is fixed upon the things of
this world is rightly compared to the man in the
Gospel who built his house upon the sand and beheld
it beaten down by the rain and winds; while he whose
hope is fixed upon the things of Heaven is like the
man whose house was built upon a rock, and which
stood unshaken amidst the storms. (Cf. Matt. 7:25).
"Cursed be he," cries out the prophet, "that trusteth
in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart
departeth from the Lord. For he shall be like tamaric
[a barren shrub] in the desert, and he shall not see
when good shall come; but he shall dwell in dryness
in the desert, in a salt land and not inhabited. But
blessed be the man that trusteth in the Lord, and the
Lord shall be his confidence; and he shall be as a
tree that is planted by the waters, that spreadeth
out its roots towards moisture; and it shall not fear
when the heat cometh. And the leaf thereof shall be
green, and in the time of drought it shall not be
solicitous, neither shall it cease at any time to
bring forth fruit." (Jer. 17:5-9). Can there be
any misery compared to life without hope? To live
without hope is to live without God. If this support
be taken from man, what remains for him? There is no
nation, however barbarous, that has not some
knowledge of a god whom they worship and in whom they
hope. When Moses was absent for a short time from the
children of Israel, they imagined themselves without
God; and in their ignorance they besought Aaron to
give them a god, for they feared to continue without
one. Thus we see that human nature, though ignorant
of the true God, instinctively acknowledges the
necessity of a Supreme Being, and, recognizing its
own weakness, turns to God for assistance and
support. As the ivy clings to a tree, and as woman
naturally depends on man, so human nature in its
weakness and poverty seeks the protection and
assistance of God. How deplorable, then, is the
condition of those who deprive themselves of His
support! Whither can they turn for comfort in trials,
for relief in sickness? Of whom will they seek
protection in dangers, counsel in difficulties? If
the body cannot live without the soul, how can the
soul live without God? If hope, as we have said, be
the anchor of life, how can we trust ourselves
without it on the stormy sea of the world? If hope be
our buckler, how can we go without it into the midst
of our foes? What we have said must sufficiently
show us that an infinite distance separates the hope
of the just from that of the wicked. The hope of the
just man is in God, and that of the wicked is in the
staff of Egypt, which breaks and wounds the hand
which sought its support. For when man leans upon
such a reed, God wishes to make him sensible of his
error by the sorrow and shame of his fall. We have an
example of this in God's treatment of Moab: "Because
thou hast trusted in thy bulwarks, and in thy
treasures, thou also shalt be taken: and Chamos [the
god of the Moabites] shall go into captivity, his
priests, and his princes together." (Jer. 48:7).
Consider what a support that is which brings ruin
upon those who invoke it. Behold, then, dear
Christian, how great is this privilege of hope,
which, though it appears one with the special
providence of which we have been treating, differs
from it, nevertheless, as the effect differs from the
cause. For though the hope of the just proceeds from
several causes, such as the goodness of God, the
truth of His promises, the merits of Christ, yet its
principal foundation is this paternal providence. It
is this which excites our hope; for who could fail in
confidence, knowing the fatherly care that God has
for us all?
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