The theological virtue of hope which is a divine gift conferred by God through which one trusts that God will grant eternal life and the means to obtain it on condition that one cooperates. Hope is composed of desire and expectation together with the recognition of the difficulty to be overcome to achieve eternal life. While hope is no longer necessary for those who have achieved salvation, and is no longer possible for those who have rejected the means of salvation, it remains necessary for those of us who are still working for our own salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12 ).Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay God does not arbitrarily remove the gift of hope from our souls, but we, through our actions, can destroy that gift. If we lose faith, we no longer have reason for hope (faith in "God's omnipotence, his goodness, and his faithfulness to what he has promised"). Likewise, if we continue to believe in God, but come to doubt His goodness and/or faithfulness, then we have fallen into the sin of despair, which is the opposite of hope. If we do not repent of despair, then we reject hope and, through our own actions, destroy the possibility of salvation. There are two types of grace, sanctifying and actual. Sanctifying grace remains in the soul. It is what makes the soul holy; gives the soul supernatural life. More properly, it is supernatural life. Real grace, by contrast, is a supernatural push or encouragement. It is transitory. He does not live in the soul, but acts on the soul, as it were, from the outside. It's a supernatural kick in the ass. It sets the will and intellect in motion so that we can seek and continue to sanctify grace. Imagine being instantly transported to the bottom of the ocean. What's the first thing you'll do? That's right: dying. You would die because you are not equipped to live underwater. You don't have the right respiratory system. If you want to live in the deep blue sea, you need equipment that you are not equipped with in nature; you need something to lift you above your nature, something super-(i.e. "above") natural, like oxygen tanks. It's pretty much the same thing with your soul. In its natural state, it is not fit for heaven. It doesn't have the right equipment, and if you die with your soul in its natural state, heaven won't be for you. What you need to live there is supernatural life, not just natural life. That supernatural life is called sanctifying grace. The reason you need sanctifying grace to be able to live in heaven is because you will be in perfect and absolute union with God, the source of all life. If sanctifying grace dwells in your soul when you die, then you have the equipment you need and can live in heaven.