Hope is more than optimism. It’s not wishful thinking or a sunny attitude. Hope is a virtue. A supernatural strength that lets us live with our eyes fixed on heaven—even when the world feels heavy.

The Catechism says hope is the virtue “by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ’s promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit.” (CCC 1817). In other words, hope with the grace of the Holy Spirit, is what carries us forward. It’s the anchor of the soul.