Prayers for
Hope, Trust and Confidence in God
Gospel According to St John, 16.33:
These things I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you shall have distress: but have confidence, I have overcome the world.
Haec locutus sum vobis, ut in me pacem habeatis. In mundo pressuram habebitis : sed confidite, ego vici mundum.
The Transfiguration, Gerard David, c. 1500-1505
Prayer of Saint Claude de la Colombiere (1641-1682)
Act of Confidence in God
My God, I’m so persuaded that You watch over all who hope in You and nothing can be lacking to those who await from You all things, that I have determined to live from now on without any concern, letting go and giving You all of my anxieties.
I will sleep and rest in peace because You, O Lord, and only You, have secured my hope. Men can deprive me of possessions and reputation; illnesses can take away my strength and means to serve You; I myself can lose Your grace because of sin; but I will not lose my hope; I will conserve it until the last instant of my life and all the efforts from demons trying to take it away from me will be useless.
I will sleep and rest in peace. May others expect happiness in their richness and talents; some may lean on the innocence of their lives, or the rigor of their penitence, or above all on the amount of their good works, or the fervour of their prayers.
As for myself Lord, all my confidence is my confidence itself. Because You Lord, only You have secured my hope. No one has been deceived by this confidence. No one who has waited in the Lord has been frustrated in their confidence.
Therefore, I am sure that I will be eternally happy because I firmly hope to be; and because You, Oh, My God, are in Whom I expect all. In You I hope Lord, and never will I be confused. I know very well . . . too well that I am fragile and inconstant, I know well the power of temptations against the most firm virtue; I have seen the stars fall from heaven and columns from the firmament; but none of this can frighten me.
As long as I maintain firm my hope, I will be conserved from all calamities; and I am sure to hope always, because I hope the same in this unchanging hope.
In conclusion, I am sure that I cannot hope in excess in You and that I will receive all that I would have hoped for in You. Therefore, I know You will sustain me on the most rapid and slippery slopes, that You will strengthen me against the assaults and make my weakness triumph over the most tremendous enemies. I hope You will always love me and I will love you without interruption; to take once and for all my hope as far as it can reach. I hope in You and only in You!
Oh, My Creator! In time and for all eternity. Amen.
The Incredulity of Saint Thomas, Francois-Joseph Navez, 1823
Prayer of Saint Charles de Foucauld (1858-1916)
The Prayer of Abandonment
Father, I abandon myself into your hands;do with me what you will.
Whatever you may do, I thank you: I am ready for all, I accept all.
I offer it to you with all the love of my heart,
for I love you, Lord, and so need to give myself,
to surrender myself into your hands without reserve,
and with boundless confidence, for you are my Father.
A Prayer from Blessed Miguel Pro, a Modern Martyr
Blessed Miguel Pro’s last request was to be allowed to kneel and pray. The executioner awaits, as he kisses the crucifix and prays, 27 November 1927.
With his arms extended as if on a cross, Blessed Miguel Pro prayed for those who were to execute him: “My God, have mercy on them. My God, bless them. Lord, you know that I am innocent. With all of my heart, I forgive my enemies”, 27 November 1927.
Blessed Miguel Pro (José Ramón Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez) was a Mexican Jesuit priest executed on 27 November 1927, on false charges during the brutal masonic crackdown against the Catholic Church by the Mexican government under the presidency of Plutarco Elías Calles.
Blessed Miguel Pro (1891-1927) was killed by a firing squad in front of news cameras that the government had brought in to record what it hoped would be the embarrassing spectacle of a priest pleading for mercy. It was one of the first modern attempts to use media images to manipulate public opinion for antireligious purposes. However instead of wavering, Blessed Miguel Pro displayed great dignity. He walked out to the execution bravely, asking only to be allowed to pray before dying. After a few minutes, he stood up, extended his arms in the form of a cross, a traditional Mexican posture in prayer, and with a steady voice, neither defiant nor desperate, movingly intoned words that have since become famous, “Viva Cristo Rey,” “Long live Christ the King".
The photographs of Blessed Miguel Pro’s execution became objects of Catholic devotion in Mexico and of government embarrassment throughout the world. Officials tried to suppress their circulation, declaring the mere possession of the photos a treasonous act, but without success.
Blessed Miguel Pro was known for his religious piety and innocence, and he was beatified by Pope John Paul II as a Catholic martyr in odium fidei (“in hatred of the Faith”) on September 25, 1988.
Blessed Miguel Pro is martyred, 27 November 1927
Blessed Miguel Pro (1891-1927)
Short Litany to the Sacred Heart
I believe, O Lord, but strengthen my faith.
Heart of Jesus, I love Thee; but increase my love.
Heart of Jesus, I trust in Thee; but give greater vigour to my confidence.
Heart of Jesus, I give my heart to Thee; but so enclose it in Thee that it may never be separated from Thee.
Heart of Jesus, I am all Thine; but take care of my promise so that I may be able to put it in practice even unto the complete sacrifice of my life.
Madonna of the Book, Sandro Botticelli, c. 1480-1481
(A star, Star of the Sea, is embroidered on the shoulder of Our Lady's robe)
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153)
In Praise of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Homily II, 17)
17. This verse ends: 'And the Virgin’s name was Mary'.* Let us now say a few words about this name, which means ‘star of the sea’ and is so becoming to the Virgin Mother. Surely she is very fittingly likened to a star. The star sends forth its ray without harm to itself. In the same way the Virgin brought forth her son with no injury to herself. The ray no more diminishes the star's brightness than does the Son his mother's integrity.
* Lk 1:27
She is indeed that noble star risen out of Jacob* whose beam enlightens this earthly globe. She it is whose brightness both twinkles in the highest heaven and pierces the pit of hell, * and is shed upon earth, warming our hearts far more than our bodies, fostering virtue and cauterizing vice. She, I tell you, is that splendid and wonderous star suspended as by necessity over this great wide sea, radiant with merit and brilliant in example.
* Num 24.17 * Pr 5.5
O you, whoever you are, who feel that in the tidal wave of this world you are nearer to being tossed about among the squalls and gales than treading on dry land, if you do not want to founder in the tempest, do not avert your eyes from the brightness of this star. When the wind of temptation blows up within you, when you strike upon the rock of tribulation, gaze up at this star, call out to Mary. When rage or greed or fleshly desires are battering the skiff of your soul, gaze up at Mary.
When the immensity of your sins weighs you down and you are bewildered by the loathsomeness of your conscience, when the terrifying thought of judgement appalls you and you begin to founder in the gulf of sadness and despair, think of Mary. In dangers, in hardships,* in every doubt, think of Mary, call out to Mary. Keep her in your mouth, keep her in your heart.
* 2 Cor 6.4
Follow the example of her life and you will obtain the favour of her prayer. Following her, you will never go astray. Asking her help, you will never despair. Keeping her in your thoughts, you will never wander away. With your hand in hers, you will never stumble. With her protecting you, you will not be afraid. With her leading you, you will never tire. Her kindness will see you through to the end. Then you will know by your own experience how true it is that 'the Virgin's name was Mary'.*
* Lk 1:27
But now we must rest awhile for fear that we do no more than cast a fleeting glance at the brightness of such splendid light. And if I may appropriate the words of the Apostle: 'It is good that we are here'* sweetly to contemplate in silence what no long-winded discourse could ever adequately explain. By devout contemplation of this twinkling star, this interval will allow us to refresh our minds for the discourse that follows.
* Matt 17.4
Blessed Miguel Pro, Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, Wisconsin, painted by Neilson Carlin, c. 2007
Immaculate Queen of Peace, pray for us.
