{"id":5568,"date":"2026-01-30T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/doxaweb.blog\/?p=5433"},"modified":"2026-01-30T06:13:42","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T12:13:42","slug":"the-battle-for-hope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/2026\/01\/30\/the-battle-for-hope\/","title":{"rendered":"the battle for hope"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1200\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/church-reflection-1200x1200-1.png?fit=1024%2C1024&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"reflections on the church\" class=\"wp-image-8029\" style=\"width:199px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/church-reflection-1200x1200-1.png?w=1200&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/church-reflection-1200x1200-1.png?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/church-reflection-1200x1200-1.png?resize=1024%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/church-reflection-1200x1200-1.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/church-reflection-1200x1200-1.png?resize=768%2C768&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"\">It&#8217;s been several months since I released my last podcast episode, so I wanted to let you know what&#8217;s coming next. In February of 2026, I&#8217;ll be releasing several episodes that I recorded back in 2020 with a longtime friend of mine, Kale Zelden, as we engaged in a close reading of a letter by Pope Benedict XVI on the theme of hope. This letter, entitled Spe Salvi or &#8220;The Hope that Saves&#8221;, has several points of convergence with&nbsp; the work of C.S. Lewis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">After a harrowing 2025, I chose to return to the topic of hope for the beginning of this year, because I still believe that the theological virtue of hope is one of the most underdeveloped muscles in my spiritual life, and one I urgently need in the current hour. Perhaps you feel the same, or know someone who does.&nbsp; I hope the upcoming episodes on The Hope That Saves will provide you with ample material for meditation and inspiration as we navigate the new&nbsp; year.I&#8217;ve just re-released a <a href=\"https:\/\/weightofglory.buzzsprout.com\/996733\/episodes\/7159222-the-battle-for-hope\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>podcast episode<\/strong><\/a> from 2020 with a friend of mine, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/onepeterfive.com\/author\/kzelden\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Kale Zelden<\/a><\/strong>, in which we have a conversation about a broad range of topics: the self-conscious church; distinctive garb and priestly identity; the church as an expert in humanity; the naked public square and moral unbelievers; self-exploitation, social media and grifters; the institutional and the charismatic; the long wait for renewal; and Catholic identity and liturgy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"buzzsprout-player-7159222\"><\/div><script src=\"https:\/\/www.buzzsprout.com\/996733\/episodes\/7159222-the-battle-for-hope.js?container_id=buzzsprout-player-7159222&#038;player=small\" type=\"text\/javascript\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After a harrowing 2025, I chose to return to the topic of hope for the beginning of this year, because I still believe that the theological virtue of hope is one of the most underdeveloped muscles in my spiritual life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8029,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,31,33,39,42,43,44,48,55,59,62],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5568","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cs-lewis","category-liturgy","category-moral-life","category-podcasts","category-pope-benedict-xvi","category-pope-francis","category-pope-john-paul-ii","category-priesthood","category-seminary","category-veritatis-splendor","category-weight-of-glory"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>the battle for hope &#8211; doxaweb<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/2026\/01\/30\/the-battle-for-hope\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"the battle for hope &#8211; doxaweb\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"After a harrowing 2025, I chose to return to the topic of hope for the beginning of this year, because I still believe that the theological virtue of hope is one of the most underdeveloped muscles in my spiritual life.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/2026\/01\/30\/the-battle-for-hope\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"doxaweb\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-30T11:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-30T12:13:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/church-reflection-1200x1200-1.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Clayton\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Clayton\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/30\\\/the-battle-for-hope\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/30\\\/the-battle-for-hope\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Clayton\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d1d3d00ef2b9d57ad4eb931f00575d9e\"},\"headline\":\"the battle for hope\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-30T11:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-30T12:13:42+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/30\\\/the-battle-for-hope\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":246,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d1d3d00ef2b9d57ad4eb931f00575d9e\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/30\\\/the-battle-for-hope\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/church-reflection-1200x1200-1.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1\",\"articleSection\":[\"CS Lewis\",\"liturgy\",\"moral life\",\"podcasts\",\"Pope Benedict XVI\",\"Pope Francis\",\"Pope John Paul II\",\"priesthood\",\"seminary\",\"Veritatis Splendor\",\"weight of glory\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/30\\\/the-battle-for-hope\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/30\\\/the-battle-for-hope\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/30\\\/the-battle-for-hope\\\/\",\"name\":\"the battle for hope &#8211; doxaweb\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/30\\\/the-battle-for-hope\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/30\\\/the-battle-for-hope\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/church-reflection-1200x1200-1.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-30T11:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-30T12:13:42+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/30\\\/the-battle-for-hope\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/30\\\/the-battle-for-hope\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/30\\\/the-battle-for-hope\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/church-reflection-1200x1200-1.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/church-reflection-1200x1200-1.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":1200},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/30\\\/the-battle-for-hope\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"the battle for hope\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Weight of Glory\",\"description\":\"our every encounter leads someone to beatitude or away from it\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d1d3d00ef2b9d57ad4eb931f00575d9e\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d1d3d00ef2b9d57ad4eb931f00575d9e\",\"name\":\"Clayton\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/IMG_1778.jpg?fit=960%2C960&ssl=1\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/IMG_1778.jpg?fit=960%2C960&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/IMG_1778.jpg?fit=960%2C960&ssl=1\",\"width\":960,\"height\":960,\"caption\":\"Clayton\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/doxaweb.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/IMG_1778.jpg?fit=960%2C960&ssl=1\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"the battle for hope &#8211; doxaweb","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/2026\/01\/30\/the-battle-for-hope\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"the battle for hope &#8211; doxaweb","og_description":"After a harrowing 2025, I chose to return to the topic of hope for the beginning of this year, because I still believe that the theological virtue of hope is one of the most underdeveloped muscles in my spiritual life.","og_url":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/2026\/01\/30\/the-battle-for-hope\/","og_site_name":"doxaweb","article_published_time":"2026-01-30T11:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-01-30T12:13:42+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":1200,"url":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/church-reflection-1200x1200-1.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Clayton","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Clayton","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/2026\/01\/30\/the-battle-for-hope\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/2026\/01\/30\/the-battle-for-hope\/"},"author":{"name":"Clayton","@id":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d1d3d00ef2b9d57ad4eb931f00575d9e"},"headline":"the battle for hope","datePublished":"2026-01-30T11:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-30T12:13:42+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/2026\/01\/30\/the-battle-for-hope\/"},"wordCount":246,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d1d3d00ef2b9d57ad4eb931f00575d9e"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/2026\/01\/30\/the-battle-for-hope\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/church-reflection-1200x1200-1.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1","articleSection":["CS Lewis","liturgy","moral life","podcasts","Pope Benedict XVI","Pope Francis","Pope John Paul II","priesthood","seminary","Veritatis Splendor","weight of glory"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/2026\/01\/30\/the-battle-for-hope\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/2026\/01\/30\/the-battle-for-hope\/","url":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/2026\/01\/30\/the-battle-for-hope\/","name":"the battle for hope &#8211; doxaweb","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/2026\/01\/30\/the-battle-for-hope\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/2026\/01\/30\/the-battle-for-hope\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/church-reflection-1200x1200-1.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1","datePublished":"2026-01-30T11:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-30T12:13:42+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/2026\/01\/30\/the-battle-for-hope\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/2026\/01\/30\/the-battle-for-hope\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/2026\/01\/30\/the-battle-for-hope\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/church-reflection-1200x1200-1.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/church-reflection-1200x1200-1.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1","width":1200,"height":1200},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/2026\/01\/30\/the-battle-for-hope\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"the battle for hope"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/","name":"The Weight of Glory","description":"our every encounter leads someone to beatitude or away from it","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d1d3d00ef2b9d57ad4eb931f00575d9e"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d1d3d00ef2b9d57ad4eb931f00575d9e","name":"Clayton","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_1778.jpg?fit=960%2C960&ssl=1","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_1778.jpg?fit=960%2C960&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_1778.jpg?fit=960%2C960&ssl=1","width":960,"height":960,"caption":"Clayton"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_1778.jpg?fit=960%2C960&ssl=1"}}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/church-reflection-1200x1200-1.png?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5568","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5568"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5568\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8030,"href":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5568\/revisions\/8030"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8029"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doxaweb.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}