Yes, hope is meaningful both to theists and atheists alike.
Marxist philosopher Ernst Bloch defines hope as “an urge to happiness, freedom, non-alienation, the golden age, the land of milk and honey, a perpetual ‘elsewhere’, the ‘new heaven and new earth’, the ‘homeland’.”
Philosophers agree that hope is rooted on “desire”, and have wantonly scoured among the crowd of desires for the “primary one” – the one that keeps history going and is powerful to overturn the structures of society.
Freud pegged such on the basis of sexual desire; Adler invoked will-power; Jung pinpointed the vaguer need for intoxication; and others appealed to the need for self-preservation.
But for Bloch, the driving force or elementary energy of hope is hunger – which is the source of constant improvement, a revolutionary force that makes necessary the ceaseless search for new structures to satisfy it.
Hope is a virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness placing our trust in Christ’s promises and relying on the help of the Holy Spirit.
Thus, for Bloch, hope is possible even without God – the kind of hope that is based on “militant optimism”, one that is neither passive expectation nor venturesome activism, but emerges from society’s repressed elements.
Now, let’s segue to Christendom’s Jubilee of Hope 2025, as declared by Pope Francis.
No denying, this easily resonates with the Filipinos’ lofty sense of hope, augured by such expressions like “Habang may buhay, may pag-asa”, “May awa ang Diyos” or “Diyos na ang bahala”.
Though dismissed by others (foreigners particularly) as fatalistic or defeatist, truth is – as has been proven time and again – our deep religiosity and faith in God have imbued us with an enduring hope which no calamity or catastrophe can crush or extinguish.
But, what’s exactly the Jubilee of Hope 2025’s essence or reason for being?
CBCP president, Pablo Virgilio Cardinal David, in his “Pastoral Reflection for the Jubilee of Hope 2025”, explains:
“Pope Francis chose the theme ‘Pilgrims of Hope’ for this Jubilee Year to restore a climate of hope and trust, to fan the flame of hope that has been given us, and help everyone to gain new strength and certainty by looking to the future with an open spirit, a trusting heart and far-sighted vision. Hope does not disappoint because it is anchored on the love of God that been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:3-5). WE HAVE HOPE BECAUSE WE ARE LOVED. He has loved us first (1 Jn. 4:10). His boundless love is the source of our infinite hope.”
And, lastly, hope is not only geared on our present dispensation but for eternity. “Hope is a virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness placing our trust in Christ’s promises and relying on the help of the Holy Spirit.” (CCC #1817).
In sum, the following lines from St. Teresa of Avila are truly spot on:
“Hope, O my soul, hope. You know neither the day nor the hour. Watch carefully for everything passes quickly, even though your impatience makes doubtful what is certain, and turns a very short time into a long one. Dream that the more you struggle, the more that you prove the LOVE THAT YOU BEAR YOUR GOD and the more that you will REJOICE ONE DAY WITH YOUR BELOVED, in a happiness and rapture that can never end.”
