What is Hope?

A Production of the Ultimate Christian Podcast Network.

The Theological Virtues

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church

The theological virtues are the foundation of Christian moral activity; they animate it and give it its special character. They inform and give life to all the moral virtues. They are infused by God into the souls of the faithful to make them capable of acting as his children and of meriting eternal life. They are the pledge of the presence and action of the Holy Spirit in the faculties of the human being. There are three theological virtues: faith, hope, and charity (love.) #1813

These virtues are gifts from God!

The Virtue of Hope

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church

Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ’s promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit. “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” #1817

3 Points About Hope

  • We hope for what we don’t have and can’t see
  • Sometimes it is difficult to hope
  • we can have hope by relying on God’s undeniable power

Act of Hope

My God, I hope with a firm confidence that you will give me, by the merits of Jesus Christ, your grace in this world, and, if I observe your commandments, your glory in the next, because you have promised it to me, and because you are supremely faithful in your promises. (Charles Peguy)

 

 

Pray the Act of Hope Prayer each day as a reminder to rely on God.

Consider praying with Mark 4:26-32.

Contact Deanna.

The Gospel of Matthew

A Production of the Ultimate Christian Podcast Network.

The Gospel of Matthew is the focus of the Sunday Gospel readings. It can be helpful to have some context when we are reading the Word to help us better understand it. This Gospel was written sometime between 70 and 100 A.D., after the fall of the temple in Jerusalem. It was written for Jewish Christian and is considered to have a mission focus.

Who is Jesus

It begins with the genealogy of Jesus which ties him to the Old Testament, which reinforces him as the Messiah, the long-awaited hope of Israel. Matthew is very reverent toward Jesus, in his miracle stories Jesus is shown as very powerful and underscores what he has done. For example, in the feeding of the five thousand, he ends the story by adding, not including women and children to really bring home the point that many, many people were fed that day. In his healing stories, it is all the people were healed not only those who were near Jesus or asked. He healed all from physical, spiritual and psychological illnesses.

Matthew is the only Gospel writer to include the parable of the Unforgiving Servant, (Mt 18:21-35). In this parable, unforgiveness is in direct contrast to the Father who is limitless forgiveness.

Matthew Trivia

  • Matthew has 1028 verses
  • It was written after Mark, before Luke
  • Matthew’s symbol is the winged man
  • It was written in Greek

the not lukewarm challenge

 

As you continue reading Matthew’s Gospel and see how Jesus calls all to mission, are you getting a sense of your own mission?