Actus Spei
The Act of Hope
An act of divine hope, trusting in God's grace and promises for the pardon of sin and life everlasting.
Domine Deus, spero per gratiam tuam
remissionem omnium peccatorum,
et post hanc vitam aeternam felicitatem me esse consecuturum,
quia tu promisisti,
qui es infinite potens, fidelis, benignus, et misericors.
In hac spe vivere et mori statuo.
Amen.
O Lord God, I hope by Thy grace
for the pardon of all my sins,
and after this life to attain everlasting happiness,
because Thou hast promised it,
Thou who art infinitely powerful, faithful, kind, and merciful.
In this hope I resolve to live and to die.
Amen.
Translation source: fisheaters.com/prayers.html
About this prayer
Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, trusting in the promises of Christ and relying not upon our own strength but upon the help of His grace. By the Act of Hope the soul looks with confidence to two things God has promised: the pardon of sin through grace in this life, and everlasting blessedness in the life to come.
Its certainty rests not upon our own merits, which could never deserve so great a reward, but upon God Himself, who is infinitely powerful, faithful, kind, and merciful, and who keeps His promises. Hope holds the narrow path between presumption, which expects salvation without conversion, and despair, which doubts the mercy of God. The act is a sure remedy against discouragement, and a great comfort to the dying.