The next setting for learning hope that Pope Benedict proposes is action. He explains how we strive endlessly (implying action) to realize our lesser and greater hopes in life. We have something that we want to achieve, such as training for a race. In order to realize our hope of participating in and completing that event, we put in the necessary practice to reach that goal. Those who have the hope of becoming doctors one day need to put in a lot of work studying, which though daunting at times, is sustained by the hope of completing the requirements to become a doctor.
As good as those various hopes for this life are, we can never lose sight of the great hope of eternal life, which is ultimately the object of the Christian virtue of hope. By keeping that hope always before us, we will not be discouraged when we encounter failures or setbacks in achieving our earthly hopes. How sad it is when somebody puts all their hope in some earthly achievement or goal, and when they do not accomplish it, they say in despair: “My life is over!” But when we are rooted in that hope which does not disappoint, no earthly disappointment can stop our forward progress or rob us of meaning in our lives.
Beyond our own personal hopes, we can also get caught up in hope for better circumstances in which we live more broadly, such as those promised by political leaders or other voices which promise something better than what we currently have. On this point, the Holy Father writes:
If we cannot hope for more than is effectively attainable at any given time, or more than is promised by political or economic authorities, our lives will soon be without hope. It is important to know that I can always continue to hope, even if in my own life, or the historical period in which I am living, there seems to be nothing left to hope for. Only the great certitude of hope that my own life and history in general, despite all failures, are held firm by the indestructible power of Love, and that this gives them their meaning and importance, only this kind of hope can then give the courage to act and to persevere. (SS 35)
He then notes that as we continue to persevere in our actions of doing good, we often fail to see any tangible difference being made in the world around us. Nevertheless, hope helps us to believe that by opening ourselves to God through these actions, we are making a contribution to the salvation of the world that is not insignificant. Such was the attitude of the saints, and such should be our attitude as well.
In this regard, I like to think about the story of the multiplication of loaves in John’s Gospel. When confronted with the seemingly impossible task of feeding the large crowd, St. Andrew said the following to Jesus: “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?” (John 6:9) Using normal calculations, he was correct. But by adding God to the equation, what seemed so little and insufficient was multiplied so that the entire crowd was fed. The next time we consider a small, good deed and wonder: “what good is this for such a big problem?”, present it to the Lord in faith that He will apply His multiplying grace to do far more than we ask or imagine, serving to strengthen our hope and that of those around us.