Part — Wouters, Manual of Moral Theology
Part II. On Sins Against Hope
Besides omission of the act of hope prescribed by reason of the virtue of hope itself, sins against hope are despair by defect and presumption by excess.
I. Despair. 1. Notion. Despair is an act by which someone casts away expectation of eternal beatitude or of the means to it. It does not consist in an act of judgment by which someone judges eternal beatitude to be impossible, but in the fact that he refuses to pursue or expect it. Yet despair commonly is founded on a heretical judgment that beatitude is impossible; sometimes, however, on hatred of abomination, by which one does not wish to place his beatitude in God (St. Alphonsus, II, 20, 4). He too is guilty of despair who would prefer present goods to future ones and would wish to remain forever in this world; for indeed he truly casts away expectation of eternal beatitude (St. Alphonsus, II, 20, 1). Yet commonly a certain velleity rather than a true will of remaining in this world is had.
Division. Despair is distinguished into heretical and simple, according as despair proceeds from a heretical judgment or from another motive, for example from a sense of one's own weakness (St. Thomas, II-II, q. 20, a. 2).
Morality. Despair is a grave sin from its whole genus, since he inflicts grave injury on God who does not expect to possess Him and the helps necessary for attaining that end. Yet infidelity and hatred of God are graver; but "despair is more dangerous: because through hope we are called back from evils and are induced to pursue goods; and therefore when hope has been removed, men slide without restraint into vices, and are withdrawn from good labors" (St. Thomas, II-II, q. 20, a. 3).
The causes of despair are: 1. lust, by which someone becomes disgusted with spiritual goods; 2. sloth, which is a certain dejecting sadness of spirit, by which it happens that man flees the arduous good of beatitude; 3. defect of faith, by which someone does not acknowledge supernatural goods (St. Thomas, II-II, q. 20, a. 4).
The principal remedies are: 1. consideration of the mercy of God, of the greatest sinners reconciled with God, as were St. Paul, St. Augustine, and St. Mary Magdalene, and of the parables of the Gospel, for example of the prodigal son, the lost sheep, etc.; 2. prayer, especially devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and to the Blessed Virgin Mary, salvation of the despairing (St. Alphonsus, Praxis Confessarii, nn. 240-244).
II. Presumption. 1. Notion. Presumption is the inordinate expectation either of eternal beatitude or of the means to it, or at least of divine help. Now the disorder can have place in five ways: 1. if someone, relying on his own powers alone, expects beatitude; this is the presumption of the Pelagians; 2. if someone, relying on divine aid alone, hopes, for example, if he expects remission of sins without penance, glory without merits; this is the presumption of Protestants (St. Thomas, II-II, q. 21, a. 4; St. Alphonsus, II, 21); 3. if someone expects supernatural goods apart from the order of divine Providence, for example if someone hopes for as much glory as the Blessed Virgin Mary enjoys, or expects divine help in grave danger without prayer; 4. if someone turns the motive of hope into a motive for sinning, in other words, if he sins or remains in sin because God is merciful; or increases sins because God will remit many sins just as easily as fewer in number. Otherwise it must be said if someone sins, remains in sin, or multiplies sins while concomitantly hoping that the sins will afterward be remitted; or because many sins are declared in confession just as easily as fewer in number. In this last case the ease of confessing, but not hope of pardon, is the motive for sinning (St. Alphonsus, II, 21; St. Thomas, II-II, q. 21, a. 2, ad 3). One who sins because God is merciful is said to sin from hope of pardon; the other with hope of pardon. Now sinning from hope of pardon occurs very rarely. 5. If someone expects the help of God for illicit things.
- Morality. a) Presumption committed in the first and second ways is a grave sin from its whole genus. The reason is that they inflict grave injury: the former mode against God as helper, whom it wholly neglects; the latter mode against the justice of God (St. Alphonsus, II, 20, 3).
b) Presumption perpetrated in the third way will commonly be only venial, because it does not inflict grave injury on God.
c) Presumption committed in the fourth way is grave from its genus, or is grave or light according as someone perpetrates a grave or light sin from hope of pardon. The reason is that he inflicts grave or light injury on God, according as he sins gravely or lightly from hope of pardon.
d) Presumption perpetrated in the fifth way is grave from its whole genus, since it inflicts grave injury on God as helper.
Finally note that presumption very often is joined with heresy, sometimes with blasphemy, as if someone hopes for the help of God for illicit things. Besides, "presumption is a sin, yet less than despair: since it is more proper to God to have mercy and to spare than to punish, on account of His infinite goodness: for the former belongs to God according to Himself; the latter according to our sins" (St. Thomas, II-II, q. 21, a. 2).
The causes of presumption are especially pride and vainglory. "There is a twofold presumption. One, indeed, which relies on one's own power, attempting namely something as possible to oneself which exceeds one's own power; and such presumption manifestly proceeds from vainglory: for from the fact that someone greatly desires glory, it follows that he attempts something beyond his powers; and things of this sort especially are new things, which have greater admiration: and therefore Gregory pointedly placed presumption of novelties as a daughter of vainglory. But the other is presumption which relies inordinately on divine mercy or power, through which someone hopes that he will obtain glory without merits or pardon without penance; and such presumption seems to arise directly from pride, as if he so esteems himself that God would not punish him even when sinning, or exclude him from glory" (St. Thomas, II-II, q. 21, a. 4).
The remedies of presumption are humility and meditation on the inscrutable judgments of God.
Presumption, if it is perpetrated in the first or second way, destroys the habit of hope; but not if it is committed in the third, fourth, or fifth way. The reason is that, perpetrated in the first and second way, it indirectly destroys the formal object of hope by destroying its foundation; perpetrated in the other ways, it does not destroy the formal object of hope (De virtutibus, n. 361).