Question — Merkelbach, Summa Theologiae Moralis
Question Two: On the Subject of Hope
S. Th. II-II, q. 18; de Virt., q. 4, aa. 2 and 4.
816. The proximate subject of theological hope is the will. - It is proved: a habit resides where the act is; but the act of hope is a movement of the appetitive power; since, however, theological hope as object has not indeed a sensible good, but a divine good, it is not in the irascible appetite but in the will. Therefore also the habit of theological hope is in the will.
From this it follows that the act of hope is free, because it is an act of the will. Nor say: man necessarily wills his beatitude; therefore he necessarily hopes. For although man necessarily wills his beatitude considered in the abstract, nevertheless he freely chooses this or that, in this case God, as the object in which he constitutes his beatitude in the concrete.
817. The remote subject of hope can be known from the fact that the object of hope is a good, future, arduous, possible of attainment. Hence:
- hope does not remain in the blessed, because beatitude is not future for them. Nor can they hope for the future glory of the body, because it does not have the aspect of the arduous;
- in Christ there was not the virtue of hope, because beatitude was never future to him; nevertheless he could hope for the glory of the body, which was arduous for him, as to be merited by the Passion. But he did not hope for that by theological hope, whose object, future beatitude, was lacking; but when the primary object has been removed, the habit does not remain; - on the contrary, hope was in the Blessed Virgin;
- in the souls of purgatory hope remains because beatitude is future and arduous for them, as to be obtained through punishments as means. Nor does it stand in the way that beatitude is certain for them, for certitude is not against the nature of hope;
- in the damned hope does not remain, because beatitude is impossible for them.
818. Hope is infused together with grace making one pleasing, faith, and charity; it is lost: a) directly through sins directly contrary, namely, through despair and through that presumption which removes the motive of hope; b) indirectly it is lost when its foundation, faith, has been destroyed, which happens through the sin of infidelity.
819. The hope of wayfarers is certain. - For although certitude essentially belongs only to an act of the intellect, nevertheless acts of other powers can participate in it insofar as they are infallibly moved by the intellect toward something. Therefore the act of hope is certain with a certitude derived from the certitude of faith. Hence:
a) Hope is absolutely certain and infallible as to itself, that is, on the part of the motive, for by faith it is certain that the omnipotence of God does not fail in aiding; whence faith moves the will so that it be without any fear, diffidence, or hesitation that something necessary to us for salvation should fail on God's part, but that it firmly adhere to God giving aid.
b) Nevertheless as to us, that is, on the part of the subject hoping, hope is not certain, because although God will not be lacking to us, nevertheless our free will can fail, place the obstacle of sin, and thus be lacking to God.
Therefore on our part hope has only a conditioned certitude, by which we are certain that we will obtain eternal life if we employ the means of salvation and persevere unto the end. Hence hope stands together with fear that something will fail on our part, on account of our fragility and instability. Wherefore the Apostle says, I Cor. X, 12: "He who thinks himself to stand, let him see lest he fall," and Phil. II, 12: "With fear and trembling work out your salvation."
Yet this is per accidens in relation to the nature of hope, for it does not come from its object or motive, but from the conditions of the subject in whom hope inheres. Hence simply speaking hope is certain. This the Scriptures teach: Ps. XXX, 2; Eccli. II, 6, 12-13; Rom. V, 2; Heb. VI, 18, 19; II Tim. I, 12.