The Church, Daughter and Mother of Hope

Abstract

This article explains, on the occasion of the Jubilee, how the Church generates hope. To this end, it describes the current reasons for despair, namely, the situation of a world damaged and threatened by various causes: pandemics, wars, inequality, and ecological crisis; and, on the other hand, the difficulties within the Church in its mission to evangelize. Overcoming these challenges and difficulties will depend on the Church focusing on its mission. It must scrutinize the signs of these times to discern how Christ, through His Spirit, is acting. The outlook must be fundamentally positive. The Church possesses criteria to carry out this discernment. On the pastoral level, it must translate eschatological salvation into actions of charity and justice, and especially into the care for our common home, given that it is in danger.

Keywords: Hope. Eschatology. Soteriology. Criteria for Discernment. Common Home.