Spe Salvi

Spe Salvi by Pope Benedict XVI. paperback edition. ISBN: 9781860824944.

Pope Benedict XVIs second encyclical, Saved In Hope, ("Spe Salvi" in Latin) takes its title from St. Paul, who wrote, "In hope we have been saved". In this special deluxe hardcover edition of the work, the Holy Father continues a line of thought he began with his first encyclical, God is Love. Love and Hope are closely related in the spiritual life. Love of God involves hope or trust in God. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, "The virtue of hope responds to the aspiration to happiness which God has placed in the heart of every man". Hope enables us to look to the next life, but it also inspires and purifies our actions in this life. Pope Benedict considers modern philosophies and the challenges of faith today in light of the virtue of hope. "Confronted by todays changing and complex panorama, the virtue of hope is subject to harsh trials in the community of believers. For this very reason, we must be apostles who are filled with hope and joyful trust in Gods promises. In contemporary society, which shows such visible signs of secularism, we must not give in to despair." -- Pope Benedict XVI