Growing in the Theological Virtues and Our Hope for Heaven

The theological virtues are necessary for spiritual growth. The theological virtue of hope is very important because trust is the first part of any relationship. While the theological virtue of hope means trust in any promise that God makes us, it is primarily trusting in God’s promise of Heaven.

There are three conditions needed to live the virtue of hope:
1. You need to actively pursue a relationship with God and Heaven.
2. You need to realize that it is possible for you to get to Heaven.
3. You need to realize that it is also possible for you to fail to get to Heaven.

This is the minimum standard for you to live according to the virtue of hope, which is really the foundation for the theological virtues of faith and charity. Another minimum standard is to have a correct vision of Heaven. No, we cannot truly know what Heaven will be like. Saint Paul tells us, “Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, and upon the heart of man has not come up that which God has prepared for those who love him.”

Is Your Vision of Heaven Weak and Boring?

But the problem is that most of us have a very weak vision of Heaven. We don’t realize it, but most of us have adopted our vision of Heaven from the Greek mythos. The Greeks saw the afterlife as a shadowland. True life was on earth. The spirit lived on after death, but only as a shadow of the full person. This vision of Heaven is reinforced by statements like “rest in peace” and “they’re at rest now.” The rest that we are really referring to is the absence of the strife of the Church militant. They are not longer struggling with sin, temptation and their fallen human nature. But that doesn’t mean they’re lying around doing nothing. Being “at rest” in Heaven doesn’t mean being inactive, uninvolved, and mostly asleep. In fact, Heaven will be a very active place where we enjoy God’s goodness in all of its many forms.

A Vision of Heaven Worthy of the Theological Virtues

We may not be able to know the full glory of Heaven, but we can know what Heaven will at least be like. We know that we will still be human. We will, therefore, continue to learn truth and continue to seek goodness. We will have bodies in Heaven, because being human means being an integration of body and spirit. So our existence in heaven will even be physical. It will be more real than this life – not less.

So spiritual growth requires you to learn more about a truly Catholic vision of Heaven so you know what you’re hoping for. Another way to understand the virtue of hope is the intense desire for unity with God and for eternity with Him in Heaven. To live the virtue of hope, and all of the theological virtues, you have to have a vision of Heaven worthy of that desire. And then you can bet that the real thing will be infinitely better.

Brought to you by Jeffrey S. Arrowood at From the Abbey, dedicated to helping you rediscover the JOY of learning and living your faith so you can grow in intimacy with God.