This hope, said Benedict XVI, "consists in the knowledge of God, in the discovery of His heart as good and merciful Father. Jesus, with His death on the cross and His resurrection, revealed us His face, the face of a God which is so great in love to be able to communicate us an indestructible hope, which neither death may affect, because the lives of those who entrust themselves to this Father are ready for the perspective of eternal blessedness". For the Pope, "the development of modern science confined faith and hope to the private and individual sphere, to a greater and greater extent. In this way, today, it is clear, and sometimes dramatic, that both man and the world need God the real God! otherwise they remain without hope". In fact, "science pays a high contribution to the good of mankind", but "it is not able to redeem it". Therefore, man "is redeemed by love, which makes personal and social life beautiful and good. For this reason, the great hope, the full and final hope, is granted by God, for God is love, for God visited us through Jesus and gave us life. And life will go back to Him at the end of time". "Our hope he concluded must be for Christ; it is Him whom we are waiting for! With Mary, His Mother, the Church is meeting the Spouse. And it does that through works of charity, because, like faith, one may show hope through love".
