24. Hope and Fear in Philosophical and Spiritual Life

Subscribe in Podcast App | Download Transcript

Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Problem of Disagreement and Two Problematic Reactions #

• Universal disagreement among philosophers reveals both human weakness and the commonness of error
• Two erroneous responses: despair (giving up on truth) and boldness (dismissing predecessors and attempting truth alone)
• Despair violates the natural human desire to know; boldness lacks humility and fear of being mistaken

The Balance of Hope and Fear in Spiritual Life #

• Hope in divine mercy without fear of divine justice leads to presumption
• Fear of divine justice without hope in divine mercy leads to despair
• The virtue lies in balancing both: hope and fear together
• Modern preaching often emphasizes “God bless you just the way you are,” losing the element of fear needed for spiritual health
• Example of those who have committed abortion: need encouragement in divine mercy rather than additional fear
• Example of those living laxly: need to be “straightened out” by divine justice rather than only mercy
• A spiritual director (like a good priest in confession) must discern what each person needs: consolation or caution

The Balance of Hope and Fear in Philosophical Life #

• Philosophers need hope of overcoming difficulties in knowing truth
• Philosophers need fear of making mistakes
• The good teacher knows when to encourage (when students despair) and when to caution (when students become overconfident)
• Monsignor Dion exemplified this: in class he encouraged; in office hours with advanced students, he raised difficulties
• Descartes’s boldness (excessive confidence without fear) is as problematic as despair
• Fear of error was central to Berquist’s own philosophical formation through his teachers

The Balance of Hope and Fear in Other Domains #

• Political life: A politician needs both hope of winning and the fear that comes from “running scared”
• The principle applies universally: any genuine human endeavor requires this balance

Key Arguments #

Hope and Fear as Necessary Complements #

• Without hope, fear leads to despair and abandonment of effort
• Without fear, hope leads to presumption and recklessness
• Both must be present together in proper measure for genuine progress
• The balance must be tailored to the individual’s condition and needs

The Example of Christ and St. Margaret Mary Alacoque #

• Christ is described as “a master” who knows when to be merciful and when to exercise justice
• St. Margaret Mary experienced Christ’s severity as a corrective to her self-satisfaction
• This demonstrates that authentic spiritual direction involves both consolation and correction

Pedagogical Principle: Leading from the Known to the Unknown #

• A teacher must know what the student already knows in order to lead him to what he doesn’t know
• Socrates’ method with the slave boy: he leads him through things the boy himself knows
• Both teacher and student must share common knowledge for genuine teaching to occur

Important Definitions #

Hope (in philosophical context): The expectation and confidence that truth can be known despite difficulties and obstacles

Fear (in philosophical context): Caution and awareness of the danger of error and mistaken thinking

Presumption: False confidence arising from hope in divine mercy without corresponding fear of divine justice

Despair: Loss of hope, arising from fear of divine justice without trust in divine mercy

Boldness/Audacity: Excessive confidence in one’s own ability without proper reverence for predecessors or fear of error (exemplified by Descartes)

Examples & Illustrations #

The Woman Who Has Had an Abortion #

• She might despair of salvation after realizing what she has done
• She needs encouragement and building up of hope in divine mercy
• This illustrates that spiritual direction must be responsive to the person’s actual condition

St. Margaret Mary and Christ’s Severity #

• She felt “pretty good about herself”
• Christ’s response was severe and frightening, meant to correct her presumption
• Shows that mercy is not always comfort; sometimes it is the shock of justice

St. John of the Cross’s Prayer #

• He prayed that he would have his purgatory on earth rather than in the afterlife
• This demonstrates that suffering accepted in life (with hope) is preferable to delayed suffering
• Illustrates the willingness to embrace the fear and pain necessary for true purification

Modern Funeral Practices #

• People speak as if the deceased are certainly in heaven
• Berquist notes his own father’s priest friend, Father Stein, urged continued prayer for the deceased because we don’t know how long purgatory lasts
• Illustrates how modern sentiment has lost the balance of hope and fear regarding the afterlife

Father Stein’s Homily #

• He preached: “Some of you are going to have a mighty unhappy eternity”
• Contrasts sharply with contemporary homilies that avoid mention of sin, consequences of sin, or hell
• Shows the necessity of the fear element in authentic preaching

Monsignor Dion’s Teaching Method #

• In regular class: encouragement and building confidence
• In advanced office hours: raising difficulties and objections to prevent overconfidence
• Exemplifies the pedagogical balance of hope and fear

Warren Murray’s Comment on Dion #

• “His predominant passion is fear”
• Yet this fear (of being mistaken) was good and productive
• Shows that a certain habitual cautiousness about error can be a virtue

Notable Quotes #

“Hoping in the divine mercy, right, without fear of the divine justice will make one…presumptuous. But fear of the divine justice without any hope in the divine mercy would make one…despair.” — Thomas Aquinas (Psalm commentary, via Berquist)

“Christ is a master…He knows when to be merciful and when to straighten you out with justice.” — Berquist, on spiritual direction

“I was in one of the Catholic bookstores there a few years ago…here’s St. Anson, meditation to gain fear of the Lord. And I say, you don’t have that very often now.” — Berquist, on contemporary spiritual culture

“Pray that I have my purgatory on earth.” — St. John of the Cross, to a friend

Questions Addressed #

How Should One Respond to Universal Philosophical Disagreement? #

• Not by despairing or abandoning the search for truth
• Not by boldly dismissing all predecessors
• But by seeking the common ground and becoming strong in it (discussed more fully in connection with Heraclitus)

What Is the Role of a Spiritual Director or Teacher? #

• To discern the spiritual or intellectual state of the person before them
• To provide encouragement when they despair
• To provide caution and correction when they become presumptuous
• To know that these interventions must be tailored to the individual

How Do Hope and Fear Relate to the Natural Human Desire for Truth? #

• Hope sustains the natural desire to know truth against the obstacles and difficulties encountered
• Fear protects that desire from the presumption that would lead to error
• Together, they channel the desire toward genuine wisdom rather than false confidence

Why Is Modern Preaching Often Unbalanced? #

• It emphasizes divine mercy and acceptance (“God bless you just the way you are”) without the corrective element of fear of divine justice
• This creates presumption and fails to address the seriousness of sin and its consequences
• The loss of teaching about death, judgment, heaven, and hell contributes to this imbalance