FAUSTO GOMEZ, OP
The basic points of our reflection on Christian hope ought to include a note on the sins against hope. What is sin?
Sin is moral evil, a bad human act, a failure in human self-realization, undue attachment to things and consequent detachment from God. Sins may rule our life and make us like slaves (Rom 3:9; 7:14). Indeed, “Everyone who commits a sin is a slave of sin” (Jn 8:34). Sin, grave sin is bad use of freedom. St. Augustine tells us in his Confessions that when he was in sin – when as a young man lived a loose life – , he had “the freedom of a run-away slave.” Sin is a betrayal of love that disrupts our relationship with God, with ourselves, with others and with nature (Vatican II, GS 13). From the sin of Adam and Eve, sin presents itself as promise, but it is no more than an illusion and a lie (A. Peteiro).
The definition of sin applies formally to mortal or grave sins, that is, the sins which cut off our graceful and loving relationship with God and with one another. Venial sins do not cut us off from divine grace and love, but they are also sins that diminish the joy and fire of following Jesus, and although light sins, they are bad company on our hopeful journey of life; they may even lead us to grave sins. There are different kinds of sins regarding their distinct matter, including the sins against the virtues. What are the sins against the Christian virtue of hope?
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, when presenting the first commandment, “you shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve,” speaks briefly of the three theological virtues. Regarding hope, CCC describes briefly the definition of hope and the main possible sins against hope, namely, despair and presumption (nos. 2091-2092).
Despair is a sin against hope by defect. Itproceeds from lust and laziness (cf. STh, II-II, 20, 4). Despair is a very grave sin: “Your hurt is incurable; your wound is grievous” (Jer 30:12). It is described as anticipated failure, as inward death, as a voluntary renunciation of eternal beatitude deemed unattainable, as “the reverse of a masked pride.” It is against God’s mercy. Despair is a most dangerous sin. “To commit sin is death of the soul; but to despair is to descend to hell” (A. Royo Marin). It is not easy to commit a sin of perfect despair. It is not that hard, however, to commit sins of imperfect despair, such as, abandoning spiritual practices and prayer, discouragement, anxiety. From the part of God, all sins are forgivable; from the part of man, nevertheless, some sins may seem – but are not – unforgivable, for instance, the sin of abortion for some mothers who committed it.
Presumption is a sin against hope by excess. It is, St. Thomas observes, lack of temperance and of moderation in hoping. It is opposed to magnanimity, which moderates hope. Presumption is described as “anticipated fulfillment,” as “an excessive confidence to obtaining the salvation of the soul by means not sanctioned by God.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church avers that a person can be sinfully presumptuous if he thinks that he can be saved by his own powers, or if she misunderstands God’s mercy by “hoping to attain his forgiveness without conversion, and glory without merit (CCC, 1092). Although the sin of perfect presumption is not easy to commit, it is not hard to sin against hope by trusting excessively in our powers to do good or in God’s infinite mercy – even without repentance.
Hope is the virtue of the pilgrim. It happens that on the way to encounter God in heaven, there will be obstacles and difficulties: the path of the pilgrim of hope is at times bumpy and at times without visible light. These hazards require from the pilgrim patience. Hence, impatience is another sin against hope. The pilgrim walks with others, who are different from him and ask for respect and tolerance (J. R. Flecha). Attachment to possessions, to other things is a sign of lack or weakness of hope. Writes Thomas Merton: Hope is proportionate to detachment. To be attached much to oneself to our “fat ego” is a sign that our vision is not oriented to the future. Hope is open to the future – to God, to eternal life (cf. Benedict XVI, Spe Salvi).
Theological hope may be denied by intra-mundane utopias or the ideology of progress. Progress is ambivalent (cf. Benedict XVI, CV). Authentic human progress believes in integral progress – for one and for all – and is open to transcendence (cf. Paul VI, PP). Writes theologian José Román Flecha: Material progress needs moral progress and this demands spiritual progress (La esperanza).
What are some other sins against hope? J. Moltmann believes that the sin that threatens most the believer is not the evil he does, but the good he does not do. It is not his misdeeds, but his omissions. These accuse him of lack of hope.
Another sin against hope today is loneliness: the solitude of the Christian who is alone and lonely. In this sense, as theologian Felicisimo Martínez writes, loneliness and lack of hope are twin sisters. Absolute solitude is like hell. For his part, Segundo Galilea considers as sins some current superstitions against hope, including religious, scientific and ideological superstitions.
In his book The Virtues of the Vigilant Christian, Carlo Maria Martini, quoting Heinrich Schlier, points out some of the signs of lack of hope today. These are, among others, the following: giving in to ill humor, impatience, uneasiness, bitterness; every failure in calmness, excessive talking in empty speeches, being scattered in a multiplicity of things, lack of stability in the decisions of life. Cardinal Martini mentions others: lack of clarity, lack of objectivity, incoherence, and dishonesty ().
Another sin against hope is acedia or spiritual sadness. Acedia is a sin against hope: it is sadness, passivity (cf. STh II-II, 20, 4). Sadness was considered by some hermits and Fathers as the eighth capital sin. We may add another sin against hope: discarding the possibility of becoming holy. We are inclined to say: “Holiness is for extraordinary souls and I am not one of them.” Wrong: God calls us all to holiness, and He will never leave us, but we have to cooperate – with his grace and love – to do his will.
In closing, let us quote theologian B. Haring: “Is our world today aware of one of the most dangerous sins against hope? It is the over commitment to activity, to success, to progress and development, while cutting off the fountains of hope: contemplation, prayer, repose before God. Those who will not bother to keep the wellspring of creative liberty and fidelity clean and strong are sinning against their own hope and the hope of the world” (Free and Faithful in Christ, II).
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