The Act of Hope is a short prayer in which we place our trust in God's goodness and promises. It is one of three traditional prayers, along with the Act of Faith and Act of Love, that express the three theological virtues.
O my God, relying on Thy infinite goodness and promises, I hope to obtain pardon of my sins, the help of Thy grace, and life everlasting, through the merits of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Redeemer. Amen.
When to Pray It
- In the morning, together with the Act of Faith and Act of Love
- In times of discouragement, worry, or fear
- When you feel weighed down by your sins
- When praying for a happy death
What It Means
The Act of Hope asks God for three things, the three things we need most:
- Pardon of my sins: God's forgiveness
- The help of Thy grace: His strength to live well each day
- Life everlasting: heaven
And it tells us why we can hope for them:
- "Relying on Thy infinite goodness and promises": not on our own strength, but on God's goodness and faithfulness
- "Through the merits of Jesus Christ": because Jesus has already won these gifts for us by His death and Resurrection
Christian hope is not wishful thinking. It is confident trust in a God who keeps His promises.
The Virtue of Hope
Hope is a theological virtue by which we desire heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ's promises and relying on the help of the Holy Spirit, not on our own strength (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1817).
Hope protects us from two dangers:
- Despair: giving up on God's mercy
- Presumption: assuming we will be saved without repentance or effort
"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering (for he is faithful that hath promised)." (Hebrews 10:23, Douay-Rheims)