1. The hope that does not disappoint

            The IL really does not go into a thorough analysis of the situation of this changing era in which we find ourselves, but on the one hand it sufficiently emphasises the signs most urgently in need of the message of hope today for the future of the Church, of humanity and the cosmos⁶³, and, on the other hand, the emerging signs of hope, which are not all that few⁶⁴. In any way, if today the Church wants to be faithful to the mission she has received, it proposes to the Bishops that in their ministry they emphasise that because of the fact that they are witnesses and servants of the Gospel of hope they feel challenged by the risks of disillusionment, deception and desperation experienced by large numbers of individuals and peoples, as well as by the longing for happiness and the deeper aspiration for salvation that is found within every human being. For Bishops and their co-workers it is more a question of dawn than of twilight. It is perfectly normal, at a time when new hope is awakening, “the suffering and dissatisfaction with everything old” ⁶⁵ begins to make itself felt.

            In the face of economic and scientific progress and the growing interdependence in the economy, politics, culture and communications (globalisation); in the face of the throngs of poor and marginalised, in the face of the population explosion and the tragedies brought about by migratory movements, in the face of the blight of violence, drug addiction and HIV/AIDS; in the face of the increasing number of unemployed young people and street children, it is not enough to simply repeat words of hope, to “announce” horizons of hope. It is necessary to aim to set out on paths of hope. That is how we can give account of our hope (cf. 1 Pt 3:15).

            “The Church of Jesus is called to be the inspirer and promoter of history in listening to the deep-seated expectations of the men and women of this world” ⁶⁶. In truth, mankind’s surprising achievements are not alien to the plan of salvation. However, hope does not have its basis in unlimited trust in science and the growth of economic and social well-being and social, nor in psychological optimism. The “human hopes” have their value and acquire fullness when they find their support in the Absolute, when they are transcendent. For us Christians hope is not only a passion of the soul, but above all,  a theological virtue. Having been graced by the Spirit to confirm us in hope (cf. Rom 5:5;15:13),  we should live this gift with humility and gratitude. We cannot say that “Jesus is our hope” if his Spirit had not taught us that God the Father has made a commitment with humanity and it future through His Son Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit gives us serene certitude about the future because He helps us understand the enigma of the death of Jesus for us, and the new life gained with his resurrection. Jesus resurrected is the first born, the first among the dead, the pioneer who brings life, he who anticipates the new creation. Jesus, who came and made himself one like us, preached the good news to the poor and brought together those who were scattered, continues to come and will come to take us with Him. Thus, we can confess that Jesus is our hope, that in Him all the hopes of humanity and the cosmos receive meaning and consistency.  In mankind is the hope of all cosmic reality: “for the whole creation is waiting with eagerness for the children of God to be revealed.” (Rom 8:19)

            In Christian hope come together the obscurity of faith and the ardour of charity. Having serene certainty of participating in the promises of God is not to say to have rational evidence. We simply express our faith in the word of Jesus: “I live and you also will live” (Jn 14:19). We know that God saves us, that he does not abandon us in death, and that he offers us his love so as to be able to say blessed are the poor, those who mourn,  those who hunger and thirst for justice… Because of this we live our condition as sons of God and brothers and sisters of mankind in eschatological tension, in a permanent attitude critical of the offerings of so many idols or closed humanistic philosophies that end in degrading human dignity. Gathering together the yearnings and illusions of men, fighting elbow to elbow with them, without promising false paradises, we offer the testimony of the benevolence received and the arduous determination to reach full communion with God.  Hope has nothing to do with passive contemplation or the evasion of present problems, with resignation or cowardice.  Hope is presented as a transforming energy in society and the driving force of all things new, the capacity to dream the future and to leave lasting paths by creating new initiatives. ⁶⁷

Putting the emphasis on theological hope means emphasising the centrality of the person of Jesus in the Church’s life and mission. It means expressing a continuous attitude of openness and the itinerant condition in which Christian existence unfolds and helping people see that the Church thinks, speaks and acts not for herself, but to bring about the Kingdom of God in the world. It all questions the consecrated life at the beginning of this millennium that it not fall into the temptation to look at itself, and that it not forget that it  “has the prophetic task of recalling and serving the divine plan for humanity, as it is announced in Scripture and as it emerges from an attentive reading of the signs of God's providential action in history” ⁶⁸. Furthermore, that it not fail in its fervour to be within the Church an unequivocal eschatological  sign of the Kingdom and a critical authority against the powers of the anti-Kingdom.