The Sacred Heart

An Act of Hope and Confidence in God

 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.

"In peace in the self-same I will sleep and I will rest; for Thou, O Lord, singularly hast settled me in hope."

Men 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 wrest it from me.

"In peace in the self-same I will sleep and I will rest."

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 hast settled me in hope." This confidence can never be 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, have I hoped; let me never be confounded."

I know, alas! I know but too well that I am frail and changeable; I know the power of temptation against the strongest virtue. I have seen stars fall from Heaven, and pillars of the 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 can not 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 assaults 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."

-------REV. CLAUDE DE LA COLOMBIÈRE, S.J.



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