Act of Hope and Confidence in God
Catholic, General
This was given to me by my priest yesterday. I find it to be very helpful and wanted to share it:
My God, I believe most firmly that Thou watchest over all who hope in
Thee,
and that we can want for nothing when we rely upon Thee in all
things;
therefore I am resolved for the future to have no anxieties,
and to cast all my cares upon Thee.
People may deprive me of worldly goods and of honors;
sickness
may take from me my strength and the means of serving Thee;
I may even
lose Thy grace by sin;
but my trust shall never leave me.
I will
preserve it to the last moment of my life,
and the powers of hell shall
seek in vain to wrestle it from me.
Let others seek happiness in their wealth, in their talents;
let them trust to the purity of their lives,
the severity of their
mortifications,
to the number of their good works,
the fervor of their
prayers;
as for me, O my God, in my very confidence lies all my hope.
"For Thou, O Lord, singularly has settled me in hope."
This confidence
can never be in vain.
"No one has hoped in the Lord and has been
confounded."
I am assured, therefore, of my eternal happiness,
for I firmly
hope for it, and all my hope is in Thee.
"In Thee, O Lord, I have
hoped; let me never be confounded."
I know, alas! I know but too well that I am frail and
changable;
I know the power of temptation against the strongest virtue.
I have seen stars fall from heaven, and pillars of firmament totter;
but these things alarm me not.
While I hope in Thee I am sheltered from
all misfortune,
and I am sure that my trust shall endure,
for I rely
upon Thee to sustain this unfailing hope.
Finally, I know that my confidence cannot exceed Thy bounty,
and that I shall never receive less than I have hoped for from Thee.
Therefore I hope that Thou wilt sustain me against my evil
inclinations;
that Thou wilt protect me against the most furious
assults of the evil one,
and that Thou wilt cause my weakness to
triumph over my most powerful enemies.
I hope that Thou wilt never
cease to love me,
and that I shall love Thee unceasingly.
"In Thee, O
Lord, have I hoped; let me never be confounded."
St. Claude de la Columbiere
Photo by Jonthan Bennett
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