Fr. Basil Maturin (+1915):
Hope cannot see hell; it cannot contemplate failure. It sees what it aims for as already its possession, and then gathers all its forces to succeed. The despair that springs from the sense of one’s own weakness, and the breaking down of resolution after resolution, may be the birth pangs of Christian hope. The power of a sustained hopefulness by which perseverance may be gained is altogether independent of natural disposition. It is based upon spiritual experience. The soul has learned that, in spite of the most rooted habits, it can withstand old temptations before which once it was powerless.
