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“SPE SALVI facti sumus”–in hope we were saved, says St. Paul to the Romans, and likewise to us (Rom 8:24). According to the Christian faith, “redemption”—salvation—is not simply a given. Redemption is offered to us in the sense that we have been given hope, trustworthy hope, by virtue of which we can face our present: the present, even if it is arduous, can be lived and accepted if it leads towards a goal, if we can be sure of this goal, and if this goal is great enough to justify the effort of the journey. (SPE SALVI – Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter on Christian Hope / November 30, 2007)