Category Archives: Spe Salvi

A Scripture-laden request for intercession concludes this document, which you can find in full online here: 50. So we cry to her: Holy Mary, you belonged to the humble and great souls of Israel who, like Simeon, were “looking for … Continue reading →

Modern people think of stars in many ways. The cult of celebrity is strong these days, and sometimes the prefix “super” is needed to distinguish those above our ordinary stars. The older meaning involves guidance, and accompaniment in a time … Continue reading →

Let’s finish the topic of Judgement as a setting for learning and practicing hope. In this section, Pope Benedict XVI writes of praying for the dead. Do we have proof of the effectiveness of this practice? No more than most any … Continue reading →

Continuing the discussion on Judgement as a setting for learning and practicing hope. Pope Benedict XVI cites the encounter with Jesus as a purgation and judgment. Honestly. it sounds like something Pope Francis would teach. Here, you read and decide: … Continue reading →

46. Yet we know from experience that neither case is normal in human life. Remember, we are talking about folks out-and-out condemned to hell or ushered into santo subito status. Pope Benedict XVI offers a hopeful vibe: For the great … Continue reading →

The section titled Judgement as a setting for learning and practicing hope takes a look at that mysterious intermediate state between heaven and hell. 45. This early Jewish idea of an intermediate state includes the view that these souls are not simply … Continue reading →

44. To protest against God in the name of justice is not helpful. A world without God is a world without hope (cf. Ephesians 2:12). Not helpful for the cause of justice, but complaining to God, and even complaining about … Continue reading →

43. Christians likewise can and must constantly learn from the strict rejection of images that is contained in God’s first commandment (cf. Exodus 20:4). The truth of negative theology was highlighted by the Fourth Lateran Council, which explicitly stated that … Continue reading →

Let’s delve more deeply in the notion of Judgement as a setting for learning and practicing hope. 42. In the modern era, the idea of the Last Judgement has faded into the background: Christian faith has been individualized and primarily … Continue reading →

We come to the last of three major “settings for learning and practicing hope.” Pope Benedict XVI introduces Judgement as a setting for learning and practicing hope. What does he mean by what we can identify as the Last Judgment? … Continue reading →

One last thought on Action and suffering as settings for learning hope. 40. I would like to add here another brief comment with some relevance for everyday living. There used to be a form of devotion—perhaps less practiced today but … Continue reading →

What does it mean to move toward the person who is suffering? To shield and protect them? Or even just to bear the wrongs and hurts they bear, perhaps alone? This is where the topic Action and suffering as settings for … Continue reading →

Sorry ’bout skipping a day on this topic, but let’s get back to Action and suffering as settings for learning hope. In today’s installment, numbered section 38, Pope Benedict XVI suggests that the phenomenon of suffering gives an opportunity for the … Continue reading →

37. Let us return to our topic. We can try to limit suffering, to fight against it, but we cannot eliminate it. It is when we attempt to avoid suffering by withdrawing from anything that might involve hurt, when we … Continue reading →

Continuing our discussion on action and suffering we turn to the latter. 36. Like action, suffering is a part of our human existence. Suffering stems partly from our finitude, and partly from the mass of sin which has accumulated over the … Continue reading →