Although the term "hope" gives us the impression it is a gift that offers us rest, it actually doesn't. According to St. Thomas Aquinas it is one of the challenging passions whereby we strain towards something good. We endure, therefore the restlessness of spirit that remains unsatisfied in the absence of some good. The theological virtue of hope strains towards the Divine-Good - God Himself. This theological virtue leads to placing natural hopes into their proper context.

The sins against Hope: despair and presumption are "easy" passions according to Aquinas. They are not necessary enjoyable, but they are comforting in the sense of "giving-up" is comforting. We choose to rest is letting go of a good. Sometimes we have to do this with natural goods, but when it comes to the Divine Good, despairing is a sin against despair. Presumption is the death of our relationship with a God of grace, rather than approaching him with entitlement.

How do we navigate these challenging times where we are exhausted of hoping for something better; we are exhausted of being restless? We need to pray for a supernatural type of hope that will enable us to rise above all worldly losses, as good as they might be.