Catechism
The Catechism of the Catholic Church contains the teaching of the Catholic Church. The draft was approved by Pope John Paul II in definitive form with the apostolic letter Laetamur Magnopere.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church is the source for the knowledge of the teachings of the Catholic Church; and it is a sure indication for the teaching of the faith and therefore an instrument for ecclesial communion".
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Catechism of the Catholic Church
1817 Hope is the theological virtue for which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in the promises of Christ and relying not on our strength but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit. "Let us keep the profession of our hope without wavering, because He who has promised is faithful".
(Heb 10,23).
The Spirit has been "poured out of him abundantly by us through Jesus Christ, our Savior, because, justified by his grace, we should become heirs, according to the hope, of eternal life".
(Tt 3,6-7).
1818 The virtue of hope responds to the aspiration of happiness, which God has placed in the heart of every man; it assumes the expectations that inspire the activities of men; he purifies them to take them to the kingdom of heaven; safeguards from discouragement; supports in all moments of abandonment; expands the heart in the expectation of eternal bliss. The momentum of hope preserves from selfishness and leads to the joy of charity.
1819 Christian hope resumes and brings to fullness the hope of the chosen people, who find their origin and their model in the hope of Abraham, filled in Isaac with the promises of God and purified by the trial of sacrifice. "He had faith hoping against all hope and thus became the father of many peoples".
(Rom 4,18).
1820 Christian hope develops, from the beginning of the preaching of Jesus, in the proclamation of the Beatitudes. The beatitudes elevate our hope towards heaven as towards the new promised land; they trace the way through the trials awaiting the disciples of Jesus. But for the merits of Jesus Christ and his passion, God guards us in the hope that "he does not disappoint".
(Rm 5,5).
Hope is the "anchor of our life, sure and steadfast, which penetrates [...]" there "where Jesus entered for us as a precursor" (Heb 6, 19-20). It is also a weapon that protects us in the fight of salvation: "We must be [...] clothed with the armor of faith and charity, having as the helmet the hope of salvation".
(1 Thess 5,8).
It also gives us joy in the trial: "Happy in hope, strong in tribulation" (Rom 12.12). It is expressed and nurtured in prayer, especially in the prayer of the Lord, a synthesis of all that hope makes us desire.
1821 We can therefore hope for the glory of heaven promised by God to those who love him and do his will. In every circumstance everyone must hope, with the grace of God, to persevere till the end and obtain the joy of heaven, as God's eternal reward for the good works accomplished with the grace of Christ. In hope, the Church prays that "all men be saved".
(1 Tm 2,4).
She yearns to be united to Christ, her Spouse, in the glory of heaven: "Hope, my soul, hope. You do not know the day or the hour. Watch carefully, everything passes in a whisper, though your impatience can make uncertain what is certain, and for a very short time. Think that the more you fight, the more you will feel the love you have for your God and the more you will one day enjoy with your Beloved, in a happiness and an ecstasy that will never have an end".
