August 21, 2005
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“An Act of Hope and Confidence in God”
My God, I believe most firmly that You watch over all who hope in You, and that we can want for nothing when we rely upon You in all things; therefore I am resolved for the future to have no anxieties, and to cast all my cares upon You.
People may deprive me of worldly goods and of honors; sickness may take from me my strength and the means of serving You; I may even lose Your 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 You, O Lord, singularly have 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 You. “In You, O Lord, I have 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 firmament totter; but these things alarm me not. While I hope in You I am sheltered from all misfortune, and I am sure that my trust shall endure, for I rely upon You to sustain this unfailing hope.
Finally, I know that my confidence cannot exceed Your bounty, and that I shall never receive less than I have hoped for from You. Therefore I hope that You will sustain me against my evil inclinations; that You will protect me against the most furious assaults of the evil one, and that You will cause my weakness to triumph over my most powerful enemies. I hope that You will never cease to love me, and that I shall love You unceasingly. “In You, O Lord, have I hoped; let me never be confounded.”
Claude de la Colombiere, S.J., 1600′s
(slightly edited to contemporary English)
1[a] To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul;
3 No one whose hope is in you
will ever be put to shame…
from Psalm 25
(click on the link above for an audio reading of Psalm 25 ..you’ll want to turn the music off first)
Comments (6)
Hey Jim, this is beautiful! (Of course it is…it’s on your page!) Thanks again. BTW, that link to Ps. 25 is not available here.
But that’s to be expected from time to time…maybe it’s temporary or maybe it’s intentional. Either way, I’ll try again another time. See you later.
His Peace2u –
Very nice. Thank you. Just goes to show, there is much richness to be culled from tradition.
How good it is to read the words of a heart that seemed to fully seek God.
Thank you for the kind comment at my Xanga.
I’m thankful for peace today, much like the bird in the small tree in the painting from your previous post. I’m starting to see that this tumultuous season of life holds great promise of living the reality of many of the truths we have believed and hoped some day to actually walk in. He is the rock that we can count on.
Your Xanga posts are a great encouragement~ glad your voice is part of this written world.
alittle2 blue: Very kind…thanks!Let me know if that link begins to work…just curiosity..I’m pretty new to the age of technology in many respects.
Breath_of_Dawn:Thanks. I agree, but have to confess that there is a part of me that is both surprised AND thrilled to find something hundreds of years old which resonates as deeply with my own feelings as this did. I think what I’d say is that it makes real the verse in Hebrews which says that “we are surrounded by …a cloud of witnesses.” It cements a personal connection to those who have gone before.
secureintruth: Thank you for your gracious support. You need to know that your candor in sharing your journey is a great encouragement to me, as well. Walking together with you and the others of sincere faith (eg; see above) I encounter online (and in 3D life, as well, of course!) helps so much to “smooth the path”.
Christ’s Peace…Jim
The Ps. 25 link is still not available today.
Also, I wanted to let you know the music html you sent me is way over my head. I don’t even know where to begin. Maybe if I have a brainy day I try it. Until then, I’ll just come here and listen.
His Peace2u –
Very touching – in a strictly Christian way of course.