Summa Theologiae Moralis, vol. I: De Principiis

S. Th. II-II, q. 22.

838. From natural-divine law there is given the precept of hope, obliging under grave obligation, as is clear both from reason: for it being supposed that God has destined and promised us supernatural beatitude, reverence toward him demands that we hope for it from him and with firm confidence adhere to him; and from Scripture, requiring the act of hope as a means of justification or perseverance, or a condition of merit, as was said above n. 808 and 809. Cfr. Rom. VIII, 24; Heb. III, 6; I Jn. III, 3.

Which precept is both negative, by which we are forbidden to cast away hope by despair or by presumption, and this obliges always; and affirmative, by which we are obliged to elicit the act of hope sometimes, and this does not oblige always.

839. The obligation to elicit the act of hope arises from multiple grounds:

A. The virtue itself and the precept of hope oblige per se, i.e. in the circumstances common to the condition of all men, when the precept of turning oneself to God urges (n. 790):

1) at the beginning of the use of reason, or when eternal beatitude is sufficiently proposed as the end to which everyone must tend, which he could not do unless he hoped for beatitude and the means thereto from God;

2) at the moment of death (i.e. toward the end of life) when he is about to attain the end;

3) several times in life (cfr. prop. 1 damn. by Alex. VII¹), which some determine by saying: under grave obligation, at least once a year, others every month or every week, others probably: more often, at least three or four times a year.

B. The virtue itself and the precept of hope oblige per accidens, i.e. on the occasion of some special circumstance:

1) when a temptation against hope arises, which is hoped to be overcome only by the act of this virtue; which however does not suit the scrupulous who torment themselves by repeating this act, whence they themselves despise such temptations by diverting to other things;

2) when hope has been lost, which is done by the sin directly contrary, and by infidelity;

3) when we manifest hope outwardly, otherwise the manifestation would be pretense.

C. Other virtues and precepts also oblige us sometimes to elicit the act of hope at least implicitly:

1) when against other virtues, e.g. religion or chastity, temptations arise which are hoped to be overcome only by an act of hope;

2) when one must or intends to receive the sacraments;

3) when one must or intends to exercise an act of another virtue which cannot be exercised without the act of hope, e.g. prayer, hearing Mass, contrition for sins, etc.

But in these cases the obligation does not arise from the precept of hope itself; whence, omitting that act, we do not sin against hope itself but only against the other precept by which it was required.

840. In the positive divine law itself there was no need to put an explicit precept of hope. — Which S. Thomas shows, a. 1:

"Of precepts... some are of the substance of the law, some however are preambles to the law. Now preambles to the law are those things, without which, the law cannot have place. Of this kind however are the precepts of the act of faith, and of the act of hope; because by the act of faith the mind of man is inclined, so as to recognize such an author of the law, to whom it must subject itself; by hope indeed of a reward man is led to the observance of the precepts. The precepts indeed of the substance of the law are those which are imposed on man already subjected and prepared for obedience, pertaining to the rectitude of life. And therefore such precepts are proposed immediately in the legislation itself in the manner of precepts. The precepts of hope indeed and of faith were not to be proposed in the manner of precepts, because unless a man already believed and hoped, the law would be proposed to him in vain. But:

a) Just as the precept of faith was to be proposed, in the manner of a denouncing or a calling to mind,... so also the precept of hope in the first legislation was to be proposed in the manner of a promise. For he who promises rewards to the obedient, by this very fact incites to hope. Whence all the promises which are contained in the law are excitements of hope.

b) But because the law already imposed pertains to wise men, that they may not only induce men to the observance of the precepts, but also much more to preserving the foundation of the law; therefore after the first legislation in sacred Scripture men are in many ways induced to hope, also in the manner of admonition or precept, and not only in the manner of promise, as in the law; as is clear in Ps. LXI, 9: Hope in him, all congregation of the people, and in many other places of Scripture (Ps. IV, Eccli. II, Osee XII, etc.).

The same holds of servile fear; of filial fear however there is a precept in the law, as of love, as of the principle of the whole law (a. 2).

841. Practical admonition. — The faithful are to be exhorted as much as possible to exercise hope; nevertheless penitents are not interrogated about the fulfillment of this precept, because by the observance of the precepts or acts of the Christian life it is necessarily implied: for it is not required that, hope being had, it itself be explicitly exercised, but it suffices generally that this be done implicitly, by doing a work which without it cannot be fulfilled.