Of the three theological virtues, faith and love seem far better understood than that of hope. Perhaps this was the pastoral motivation behind our Holy Father prescribing 2025 to be a Jubilee Year of Hope. Announced last May with the papal bull Spes Non Confundit (“Hope Does Not Disappoint”), we have quickly found ourselves on the precipice of a year devoted to an awareness and cultivation of this beautiful, often mysterious virtue. Properly understood, hope is all about desiring the kingdom and eternal beatitude with the Lord, that is, confidently placing our trust in these promises by the grace of the Holy Spirit.
There are a lot of figures throughout salvation history that manifest this virtue so well, but few more explicitly for our instruction than St. Peter the Apostle. There are many ways that we can remember our beloved first pope — as an apostle, a fisherman, a friend — but it would be misguided to forget that he stands before us so much like we are: as a reconciled apostate, one who betrayed Christ.
Recall that on the evening of Our Lord’s passion, the betrayal of Judas was not an isolated incident. Just as Christ prophesied Judas’ betrayal, so, too, did Christ foreshadow the betrayal of Peter: “Truly I tell you, this very night, before the cock crows, you will deny me three times” (Mt 26:34). Both St. Peter and Judas betrayed the Lord and fled into the night. Scripture tells us that Judas was even immediately sorrowful for his sin, returning the 30 pieces of silver he had been given for his traitorous act. Judas flees into despair, taking his own life; St. Peter experiences profound forgiveness and begins to preach the Risen Lord. What separates these two traitors is nothing more than the virtue of hope.
Follow St. Peter’s example
When Judas handed over Our Lord to the officials, he immediately felt sorrow for his sin. Realizing what he had done could not be undone, he flees into the darkness of the night, isolates himself from his friends, and chooses a path of pure destruction. In short, Judas despaired. But what about St. Peter? Although he and the others (save St. John the Beloved) are absent from the Lord’s passion and excruciating death, the next we see of Peter, he is fishing on the sea of Galilee with some of the other disciples. John sees the Lord from on the beach, and Peter throws himself into the water, swims to the Lord, and three times answers that he loves the Lord, undoing his three-fold betrayal.
When we are tempted to despair, we cannot be like Judas who fled into the darkness of isolation and the depression of shame and guilt over his sin. We must be like St. Peter, who, despite his grave offense, returned to the familiarity of his work as a fisherman and the closeness of his friends. We need this fellowship to draw us out from ourselves; even Peter had to rely on John to draw his gaze back to Jesus: “It is the Lord!” (Jn 21:7). When we fall away from Jesus, take a moment and simply ask yourself, “Where are my friends? Who is going to bring me back to him?”
To hope in the midst of despair is to follow the example of Peter who remained close to fellowship, friendship and what was familiar in his life.
