Summary of Spes Salvi (“Saved in Hope”) by Pope Benedict XVI

Background

Pope Benedict XVI’s 2007 encyclical, Spe Salvi (“Saved in Hope”), delves into the transformative power of Christian hope. Drawing from Romans 8:24, “In hope we were saved,” the Pope explores how this virtue shapes our lives, especially in the face of suffering and the promise of eternal life.

1. Hope Changes Everything: “The Future Breaks Into the Present”

Hope isn’t just wishful thinking—it’s a game-changer. Benedict explains that Christian hope is performative: it doesn’t merely inform but transforms. Through faith, the promise of eternal life shapes how we live in the here and now. As the Pope writes, “The dark door of time, of the future, has been thrown open. The one who has hope lives differently; the one who hopes has been granted the gift of a new life” (2).

This future certainty allows us to endure challenges with a new perspective. Hope, he argues, “draws the future into the present” (7), enabling us to live today with meaning and purpose, confident that life will not end in emptiness. True hope impacts the decisions we make, the relationships we nurture, and the way we confront the uncertainties of life.

2. Hope Redeems Suffering: “God Suffers With Us”

Rather than escaping suffering, Christian hope transforms it. Benedict highlights that avoiding suffering often leads to a hollow existence, devoid of meaning. Instead, he encourages us to mature through suffering by uniting it with Christ’s Passion: “It is not by sidestepping or fleeing from suffering that we are healed, but rather by our capacity for accepting it, maturing through it and finding meaning through union with Christ, who suffered with infinite love” (37).

Through the consoling presence of Christ, who suffered “with infinite love,” our pain finds meaning. Benedict draws on St. Bernard of Clairvaux’s insight: “God cannot suffer, but He can suffer with” (Impassibilis est Deus, sed non incompassibilis). This compassion makes hope tangible even in the darkest moments, as it assures us that we are never alone.

The Pope underscores that only this kind of hope—rooted in Christ’s solidarity with us—can give us the courage to persevere amid life’s trials, finding purpose and strength in what might otherwise feel unbearable: “Only the great certitude of hope that my own life and history in general, despite all failures, are held firm by the indestructible power of Love, and that this gives them their meaning and importance, only this kind of hope can then give the courage to act and to persevere” (35).

3. Hope Anchors Us in Eternal Life: “A Glimpse of Infinite Love”

What do we truly desire? While we resist death, neither do we want to live forever in the brokenness of this world. Benedict addresses this paradox by pointing to the “blessed life” we yearn for—a life beyond the limitations of time and sin.

“We have a paradoxical attitude towards life on earth: “On the one hand, we do not want to die; above all, those who love us do not want us to die. Yet on the other hand, neither do we want to continue living indefinitely, nor was the earth created with that in view… So what do we really want?” (11).

Eternal life, as the Pope beautifully describes, is not an unending sequence of days but a supreme moment of fulfillment. It’s like “plunging into the ocean of infinite love” (12), where all of time is gathered into a single, joyful embrace of God’s presence: “We can only attempt to grasp the idea that such a moment is life in the full sense, a plunging ever anew into the vastness of being, in which we are simply overwhelmed with joy” (12). This vision of eternity fuels our hope and reminds us that no earthly project—be it scientific or political—can substitute for the ultimate hope found in God’s promise of the Kingdom.

St. Josephine Bakhita: A Model of Hope

Pope Benedict highlights St. Josephine Bakhita as a powerful example of hope in action. Born in Sudan in 1869, Bakhita was abducted by slave-traders at age nine, enduring years of brutal treatment and being sold five times. Yet her encounter with Christianity in Italy revealed to her a new kind of master – the Master: Christ, who no longer despised and abused her, but shared in her suffering and gave her new hope.

Bakhita’s hope transformed her identity. No longer a slave, she embraced her dignity as a beloved child of God, saying, “I am definitively loved and whatever happens to me—I am awaited by this Love. And so my life is good.” She later became a Canossian Sister, spreading the message of hope throughout Italy. Her life exemplifies how even in the most dire circumstances, hope in Christ can bring freedom and purpose.

“If I was to meet those slave raiders that abducted me and those who tortured me, I’d kneel down to them to kiss their hands, because, if it had not have been for them, I would not have become a Christian and religious woman” (St. Josephine Bakhita).

Why Spe Salvi Matters Today

In a world often characterized by fleeting hopes and empty promises, Spe Salvi calls us to embrace the hope that truly satisfies. It challenges us to let hope shape our daily lives, endure suffering with purpose, and anchor ourselves in the ultimate promise of eternal life.

As Pope Benedict writes, “God is the foundation of hope: not any god, but the God who has a human face and who has loved us to the end” (31). This hope isn’t distant or abstract; it’s present wherever His love reaches us. And through this love, we are empowered to persevere, live meaningfully, and proclaim the joy of hope to a world in need.