Today's episode will cover paragraphs 24 through 31 of Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical letter on hope, which asks the question: what is the true shape of Christian hope? 

I had recorded a conversation about these paragraphs with my friend Kale Zelden, but the audio somehow didn't survive the recording process, so today's episode will be a simple reading of these paragraphs. But more than any other part of the letter, this section is the culmination of everything that has been discussed before, so it really needs no additional commentary. At the midpoint of the letter, with characteristically clear prose and depth of insight, Pope Benedict XVI brings to light the contours of Christian hope.

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Spe Salvi (Saved in Hope) by Pope Benedict XVI, 2007