The Act of Love, also called the Act of Charity, is a short prayer in which we tell God that we love Him above all things, and that we love our neighbor for His sake. It is one of three traditional prayers, along with the Act of Faith and Act of Hope, that express the three theological virtues.
O my God, I love Thee above all things, with my whole heart and soul, because Thou art all good and worthy of all love.
I love my neighbor as myself for the love of Thee. I forgive all who have injured me, and ask pardon of all whom I have injured. Amen.
When to Pray It
- In the morning, together with the Act of Faith and Act of Hope
- After Holy Communion
- When you are struggling to forgive someone
- At night, before sleep, with the Act of Contrition
What It Means
The Act of Love follows the two great commandments Jesus gave us:
"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind... And the second is like to this: Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." (Matthew 22:37, 39, Douay-Rheims)
The prayer has two halves:
- Love of God: we love Him above everything, not for what He gives us, but because He is all good and worthy of all love.
- Love of neighbor: because we love God, we love others as ourselves. That love becomes real in forgiveness: forgiving those who have hurt us, and asking pardon of those we have hurt.
The last two lines are often the hardest to pray, and the most important.
The Virtue of Charity
Charity is the greatest of the theological virtues. By it, we love God above all things for His own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1822).
"And now there remain faith, hope, and charity, these three: but the greatest of these is charity." (1 Corinthians 13:13, Douay-Rheims)
Faith and hope belong to this life. In heaven, we will see God face to face and possess what we hoped for. Charity alone lasts forever.