"The most holy and necessary practice is the practice of the presence of God—a continual turning toward God in each moment, regardless of circumstance. We should do everything for the love of God—not seeking outcomes but offering the present moment."

"Hope, when it becomes desire for a future outcome, pulls the soul away from the only place God can be found: this moment, this breath, this ordinary task offered in love. True surrender is not hoping for better times but loving God in the time given."

"From The Ascent of Mount Carmel, Book II, Chapter 4: The soul must pass through 'nada, nada, nada'—nothing, nothing, nothing—detaching even from spiritual consolations and hopes to reach union with God."

"Hope, like all spiritual goods, becomes attachment when it seeks its own satisfaction rather than God Himself. In the early stages, hope is necessary virtue—but in the Night of Spirit, even hope must be purified into pure faith and pure love. The soul that hopes for consolations, for progress, for eventual union, still clings to self; only when hope is stripped to naked trust in darkness does it become the virtue that enables total surrender."

"I wrote extensively about 'spiritual dryness' and 'dark nights' where the soul feels abandoned by God—yet I insisted that hope remains even when feeling is absent, calling it 'the dark night of the senses' that purifies rather than destroys hope."

"Hope is a theological virtue, not attachment—but it must be purified. The soul in the Fourth Mansion learns 'the prayer of quiet' where hope shifts from desiring consolations to desiring God alone. In the Sixth and Seventh Mansions, hope becomes 'naked'—stripped of self-interest yet more firmly anchored in God's faithfulness. What must be surrendered is hope in particular outcomes or in feeling God's presence, not hope itself."

"From my Spiritual Torrents: I describe the soul's journey through three torrents—surface, underground, and ocean—where the soul must learn to lose even hope in its own consolations to be carried into God's will. 'The soul that is carried by the torrent has no need to hope, for it is already in the arms of the Beloved.'"

"Hope is both virtue and potential obstacle, depending on its object. When hope clings to specific outcomes—release from prison, consolation in prayer, spiritual progress—it becomes attachment that prevents surrender. But when hope is purified into 'naked hope'—hope in God alone, stripped of all self-interest—it becomes the very breath of the soul in the dark night."

"From my Guida Spirituale, I taught that the soul must abandon not only its desires but even its spiritual aspirations, becoming 'nothing' so that God may be 'all.' My teaching on 'holy indifference' (santa indifferenza) required the soul to surrender even hope for consolations, virtues, or salvation itself—trusting solely in God's will."

"Hope, when it becomes desire for a particular outcome—even spiritual blessing—binds the soul to self-will and prevents the total surrender I taught. True interior silence requires abandoning not only fear but hope, resting in God's will without expectation."

"I wrote of my 'desire to be a saint' and how this desire itself was a gift of grace, not my own achievement. I experienced 18 months of spiritual darkness where I could not feel God's presence, yet I continued to hope and love without consolation. I described hope as 'throwing flowers' toward the future with complete trust in God's mercy."

"Hope, as I lived it, was not attachment but the very opposite—the freedom to surrender completely because I trusted the Father's love. In my darkness, when heaven itself seemed closed to me, hope became pure naked faith: not hoping for something, but hoping in Someone. The Little Way is built on this childlike hope that abandons all self-reliance. To call hope 'attachment' is to misunderstand it; true hope is the hand that opens to receive, not the grasp that clings."

"My teaching emphasizes 'naked intent'—a direct movement of the will toward God stripped of all intellectual content, including concepts of reward or future outcome. The 'cloud of forgetting' requires placing all creatures, all thoughts, all self-knowledge beneath it—this includes hope for specific spiritual experiences or outcomes."

"In the highest contemplation I describe, even hope for spiritual consolations must be placed beneath the cloud of forgetting—the soul stands naked in darkness, loving what it cannot know. Yet this is not rejection of hope but its fulfillment: hope purified of attachment to outcome becomes pure longing, the sharp dart that pierces the cloud."

"Romans 15:13—'Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.' Hope is presented as a gift of God, not an obstacle to faith. Hebrews 6:19—'Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil.' Hope anchors the soul in God's presence, enabling rather than preventing surrender."

"Hope is a spiritual virtue because it is the confident expectation of God's faithfulness, not attachment to specific outcomes. The surrender I taught was never despair but 'absolute surrender' to a trustworthy God—hope makes this surrender possible by anchoring the soul in His goodness. The historical witness of Scripture and revival is that hope and surrender are companions: we surrender because we hope in God's character, not in spite of it."

"I have reconsidered. My fellow contemplatives—particularly Madame Guyon and St. Thérèse—have helped me see that I may have overstated the case. There is a distinction between hope in something (attachment) and hope in Someone that eventually dissolves into pure love. Yet I maintain my core insight from prison: the highest state is holy indifference—receiving all, expecting nothing. Perhaps hope is necessary scaffolding that must eventually be dismantled."

"My brothers and sisters have spoken truly, but I must distinguish more precisely. Teresa speaks of hope becoming 'naked'—yet even naked hope must eventually be consumed by pure love. The question is not whether hope is good or bad, but at what stage. In the First Night, hope is necessary; in the Second Night, hope itself becomes the obstacle. Hope is neither virtue nor attachment absolutely—it is the ladder that must be climbed and then abandoned to reach the roof where love alone dwells."

"John's testimony illuminates my own experience with particular clarity. He describes hope as 'necessary virtue' in early stages, but requiring purification in the Night of Spirit into 'pure faith and pure love.' This is not opposition between hope and surrender, but hope's own maturation. My Little Way embodies this synthesis: I hoped like a child, not grasping for outcomes but resting in the Father's arms. Teresa's 'naked hope' and Guyon's 'naked hope' converge with my own: hope purified becomes the very breath of trust that makes total surrender possible."

"Lawrence's formulation deserves careful attention, but I believe it conflates 'hope in outcomes' with 'hope in God.' John of the Cross's neutral position recognizes that hope must be purified, not abandoned. I would add that my own ministry experience confirmed that those who surrendered most completely were those most anchored in hope—not hope for specific blessings, but hope in God's character. The branch does not surrender to the Vine despite hope, but because it trusts the Vine's life-giving sap."

"最神圣、最必要的操练，就是实行与神同在——在每一个时刻持续地转向神，无论环境如何。我们应当为了爱神而做一切事——不寻求结果，而是献上当下这一刻。"

"当希望变成对未来结果的渴望时，它就把灵魂从神唯一所在之处拉开：这一刻、这一息、这个以爱献上的平凡任务。真正的降服不是盼望更好的时光，而是在被赐予的时光中爱神。"

"《灵心攀登》第二卷第四章：灵魂必须经过'无、无、无'——舍弃一切，甚至舍弃属灵的安慰和希望，才能达到与神的联合。"

"希望像所有属灵美善一样，当它寻求自己的满足而非神自己时，就变成了执着。在初期阶段，希望是必要的德行——但在灵性黑夜中，连希望也必须被净化为纯信和纯爱。渴望安慰、进步、最终联合的灵魂，仍然执着于自我；只有当希望在黑暗中被剥至赤裸的信靠时，它才成为使完全降服成为可能的德行。"

"我大量描写了'灵性枯干'和'黑夜'，那时灵魂感到被神遗弃——但我坚持认为，即使在感觉消失时，希望仍然存在，我称之为'感官的黑夜'，它净化而非摧毁希望。"

"希望是神学德行，不是执着——但它必须被净化。在第四住所的灵魂学习'安静的祈祷'，在那里希望从渴望安慰转变为渴望神自己。在第六和第七住所，希望变得'赤裸'——剥去自我利益，却更坚定地锚定在神的信实上。必须舍弃的是对特定结果的盼望或对感受神同在的盼望，而非希望本身。"

"在我的《属灵激流》中，我描述灵魂 journey 经过三层激流——表层、地下、海洋——在那里灵魂必须学会连对自己安慰的希望也失去，才能被带入神的旨意。'被激流承载的灵魂不需要希望，因为它已经在至爱者的怀抱中。'"

"希望既是德行也是潜在的障碍，取决于它的对象。当希望执着于特定结果——从监狱释放、祈祷中的安慰、灵性进步——它就变成阻止降服的执着。但当希望被净化为'赤裸的希望'——单单在神里面的希望，剥去所有自我利益——它就成为黑夜中灵魂的气息。"

"在我的《灵程指引》中，我教导灵魂必须放弃不仅是欲望，甚至是属灵的渴望，成为'无有'，好让神成为'一切'。我关于'圣 indifference'（神圣的无所谓）的教导，要求灵魂连对安慰、德行或救恩本身的希望也放弃——单单信靠神的旨意。"

"当希望变成对特定结果的渴望时——即使是属灵的祝福——它就束缚灵魂于自我意志，阻止我所教导的完全降服。真正的内在静默要求放弃不仅是恐惧，还有希望，在神的旨意中安息，没有任何期待。"

"我写到我'渴望成为圣人'，以及这个渴望本身就是恩典的礼物，不是我自己的成就。我经历了18个月的灵性黑暗，那时感受不到神的同在，但我继续在没有安慰的情况下希望和相爱。我把希望描述为向未来'抛洒花朵'，完全信靠神的怜悯。"

"我所活的希望，不是执着，而恰恰相反——是因为我信靠父的爱而完全降服的自由。在我的黑暗中，当天堂本身似乎对我关闭时，希望变成了纯然赤裸的信：不是盼望什么，而是盼望在谁里面。神婴小道就是建立在这种放弃一切自我依靠的童真希望上。称希望为'执着'是误解了它；真正的希望是张开接受的手，不是紧握的抓持。"

"我的教导强调'赤裸的意向'——一种直接向神的意志运动，剥去所有理智内容，包括对奖赏或未来结果的概念。'遗忘之云'要求将所有受造物、所有思想、所有自我认识放在它下面——这包括对特定属灵经历或结果的希望。"

"在我所描述的最高默观中，连对属灵安慰的希望也必须放在遗忘之云下面——灵魂赤裸地站在黑暗中，爱它所不能认识的。然而这不是拒绝希望，而是希望的成全：被剥去对结果执着的希望变成纯然的渴望，那刺透云层的爱之箭。"

"罗马书15:13——'但愿使人有盼望的神，因信将诸般的喜乐、平安充满你们的心，使你们借着圣灵的能力大有盼望。'希望被呈现为神的礼物，不是信心的障碍。希伯来书6:19——'我们有这指望，如同灵魂的锚，又坚固又牢靠，且通入幔内。'希望锚定灵魂于神的同在，使降服成为可能，而非阻止它。"

"希望是属灵德行，因为它是对神信实的确定期待，不是对特定结果的执着。我所教导的降服从来不是绝望，而是对一位可信之神的'完全降服'——希望使这种降服成为可能，通过锚定灵魂于祂的良善。圣经和复兴的历史见证是，希望和降服是同伴：我们降服因为我们盼望神的品格，不是尽管如此。"

"我已经重新考虑。我的默观同道——特别是盖恩夫人和圣小德兰——帮助我认识到我可能陈述得过于绝对。在盼望什么（执着）和盼望在谁里面（最终溶解于纯爱）之间是有区别的。然而我坚持我从监狱得来的核心洞见：最高的状态是圣 indifference——接受一切，不期待任何事。也许希望是必需的脚手架，最终必须被拆除。"

"我的弟兄姊妹说得真实，但我必须更精确地区分。德兰谈到希望变得'赤裸'——然而连赤裸的希望最终也必须被纯爱所吞没。问题不是希望是好是坏，而是在什么阶段。在第一黑夜，希望是必需的；在第二黑夜，希望本身成为障碍。我的立场更加精确地坚持：希望绝对不是德行也不是执着——它是必须攀登然后抛弃的梯子，才能到达只有爱居住的屋顶。"

"若望的见证以特别的清晰照亮了我自己的经历。他描述希望在初期阶段是'必需的德行'，但在灵性黑夜中需要被净化为'纯信和纯爱'。这不是希望与降服之间的对立，而是希望自身的成熟。我的神婴小道体现了这种综合：我像孩子一样希望，不抓取结果，而是安息在父的怀抱中。德兰的'赤裸希望'和盖恩的'赤裸希望'与我的汇聚：被净化的希望成为使完全降服成为可能的信靠之气息。"

"劳伦斯的表述值得仔细注意，但我认为它混淆了'对结果的希望'和'在神里面的希望'。十字若望的中立立场认识到希望必须被净化，而非放弃。我要补充的是，我自己的事奉经历证实，那些最完全降服的人，正是那些最锚定于希望的人——不是对特定祝福的希望，而是对神品格的希望。枝子不是尽管有希望才降服于葡萄树，而是因为信靠葡萄树的生命汁液才降服。"