Caput IV. De spe
The Three That Remain
The apostle Paul names hope, faith, and charity as the soul's necessities, with charity as the greatest.
The great teacher of the nations laid down three things as necessary for our soul: hope, faith, charity—these three; but the greatest of these is charity (1 Cor.✦ 13:13).✦
Mercy for the Crushed
No one burdened by sin should despair of God's mercy, yet hope must not become license to keep sinning.
So no one, however crushed under the immense weight of sins, should despair of the goodness of God's mercy; but in the confidence of that sure mercy, they should beg forgiveness for themselves with daily tears—something they can rightly hope for, if they stop engaging in wicked conduct. We must not keep on sinning because we hope for pardon, nor must we despair of forgiveness because God justly punishes sin; rather, avoiding both dangers, let us turn away from evil and put our hope for pardon in God's mercy.
Hope Anchored in God Alone
In every trouble, hope runs to God's mercy, for all salvation rests in him alone, as the Psalmist declares.
Likewise, in every tight spot of trouble, we must run in hope toward the comfort found in God's mercy above, because all hope and salvation rests without question in him alone, as the Prophet declares: In God is my salvation and my glory; the God of my help, and my hope is in God (Ps.✦ 61:8).✦
Read the original Latin
Tria quidem proposuit animae nostrae necessaria egregius gentium doctor, dicens: Spes, fides, charitas, tria haec: major autem his est charitas (I Cor. XIII, 13). Nemo igitur, quamvis ingenti peccatorum pondere prematur, de bonitate divinae pietatis desperare debet: sed spe certae misericordiae illius indulgentiam sibi quotidianis deprecari lacrymis; quam recte sperare possunt, si ab actione pravi operis cessabunt. Ideo nec propter spem veniae perseveranter peccare debemus, neque quia Deus juste peccata punit, veniam desperare debemus: sed utroque periculo evitato, et a malo declinemus, et de pietate Dei veniam speremus. Similiter et in omni tribulationum angustia, spe ad solatium supernae pietatis currendum est, quia in illo solo omnis spes et salus sine dubio consistit, dicente Propheta: In Deo salutare meum et gloria mea: Deus auxilii mei, et spes mea in Deo est (Psal. LXI, 8).
Scripture echoes
- ↩1Cor.13.13 — And now faith, hope, and love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
- ↩1Cor.13.13 — And now faith, hope, and love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
- ↩Ps.61.8 — May he sit before God forever; steadfast love and faithfulness—who will guard him?
- ↩Ps.61.8 — May he sit before God forever; steadfast love and faithfulness—who will guard him?
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