Tag: Act of LoveHow can I better praise God?
A: Dear Friend, thank you for asking. This is a very touching question… a beautiful expression just in the asking alone. The most helpful means to me in developing my own language of praise and adoration is praying the prayers of the saints. As an example, one of my favorite prayers during Lent is expressed in St. Alphonsus Ligouri’s version of The Way of the Cross. In his reflection at the second station he says,
The first time I prayed this I felt uncomfortable. I just didn’t feel that it was completely true. Yes, I love Jesus, but, I know that my heart is divided. I love him with what seems to me to be a deep love, but I am also very aware of my sin and the fact that my love is not always as whole-hearted as I desire it to be. So, it felt a bit disingenuous saying the words, “I love you Jesus my love.” It seemed more honest to pray, “I don’t love you as much as I should, but I want to love you far more than I do.” My rescue came in the writings of St. Catherine of Sienna. She relays how it is not possible for us to atone for even the smallest sin (if there is such thing as a small sin). She notes that even though this is true, with God’s grace working through us to love him, we are far more capable, by that virtue-amplifying grace, to repent and thus love God more completely. I realized that when I am expressing even the most meager half-hearted and poorly worded praise, that my words are reaching God in a way that has far more beauty and grace than I could ever muster on my own. It is something like little poorly skilled boy producing a painting that expresses his love for God. He works as hard as he can but from a human standpoint the painting is artistically pitiful. However, by God’s empowering grace, he receives, in the boy’s desire and his own amplifying grace, a painting that is more beautiful than Michelangelo could ever produce. I was further comforted by the amazing words of a poem written by Saint Teresa Margaret of the Sacred Heart, O.C.D.
With respect to praying with the saints, there are many good books available. One that I have found a particular blessing is Divine Intimacy. For every day of the year, following the Liturgical calendar, there are meditations and very beautiful prayers from Carmelite saints and other holy men and women. Praying these prayers and making them my own has been extremely helpful. Another approach that I have found helpful is to personalize the treasure of our traditional prayers. For instance, I begin almost all of my meditation times with an adaptation of the Acts of Faith, Hope, and Love. When I first began this practice I simply prayed them as they are. Over time, I began to pray extemporaneously through the ideas and sentiments that they contain. That is, I made these acts my own either in the traditional form or adapted them to personal experience and the state of my heart each time I entered into meditation. This morning I prayed something like this for my act of faith:
When I am feeling less able to express myself, I simply return to the traditional forms and pray them as my own prayer or I just sit in the quiet and gently repeat, “I love you Jesus my love. Grant that I might love you always, and then do with me what you will.” For all of our devout friends out there, what approaches have you taken to improve your ability to praise God? Dan Another version of Acts of Faith, Hope, and Love
O my God, I firmly believe that Thou art one God in three Divine Persons, Father, Son and Holy Ghost; I believe that Thy Divine Son became man, and died for our sins, and that He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe these and all the truths which the Holy Catholic Church teaches, because Thou hast revealed them, who canst neither deceive or be deceived. ACT OF HOPE: 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 my Redeemer. ACT OF LOVE: O my God, I love Thee above all things, with my whole heart and soul, because Thou are all good and deserving of my love. I love my neighbor as myself for the love of Thee. I forgive all who have injured me, and I ask forgiveness from all whom I have injured. Acts of Faith, Hope, and Love
Act of Faith
Act of Hope
Act of Love
Ideally, these acts are prayed spontaneously in our own words. If you have difficulty using your own words at first, simply begin using these for a while. Once you get the hang of it, personalize each act by answering these questions: Act of Faith: What do I believe about Christ, about God, about what he has done for me? Act of Hope: What am I joyfully anticipating as the outcome of my relationship with God both now and in the future? Act of Love: Why do I love God? What is it about him that evokes love and appreciation in me? What am I thankful or grateful for? May your faith, hope, and love increase in Him! Dan Frustration and Humility – Is there such thing as an “Act” of humility?
A: This question is clearly a direct inspiration of the Holy Spirit: Where else could a desire to make “acts of humility” have come from? I will try to share some thoughts that will help you follow this beautiful inspiration. Traditional Catholic spirituality often uses the phrase “act of” when referring to a particular type of prayer. You have probably heard or read about an “act of faith” or an “act of hope” or an “act of love.” The term can be traced back to the Latin verb “agere,” which has the past participle form of “actum” (it’s always good to review our grammar!). That verb is juicy. “Agere” means about a dozen different things in Latin, but the core sense of the word is to put into motion, to focus energy upon. Our word “action” is derived from this root. So, when we make an “act of faith,” we put into action, in a conscious way, the virtue of faith. An act of faith, in this sense, is an activation of our belief, a focused assertion of our assent to what God has revealed as true. An act of humility is the same conscious activation of the virtue of humility, a focused assertion of our absolute dependence on God for existence, salvation, and growth in all that is good and healthy, naturally and supernaturally. Your instinct that there may be short acts of humility (ready-made formulas that can help us make this conscious assertion frequently and energetically) is right on target. All spiritual writers agree that we should frequently lift our hearts to God, even in the midst of our busy schedules. In fact, the Church has attached a partial indulgence to the lifting of our hearts and minds to God during our daily activities, even for a brief moment. This is how we stay in tune with our heavenly trajectory in life. At the end of this post, I will include some formulas for acts of humility that you may like. But I want to emphasize that the value of these types for formulaic prayers is not in the word themselves. They are not magical incantations. Rather, their value is in their ability to help us focus our minds on the deep truths that God has revealed to us in Christ. They give us words to express our deepest convictions. And every time we express those convictions consciously, really meaning what we say, we deepen them. And it is from deep, mature Christian convictions that virtue can grow and flourish, that we can gradually learn to live in elegant and dexterous harmony with God’s unceasing action in and through our lives. So, by all means, make frequent acts of humility, but when you find yourself falling into the empty or routine recitation, don’t be afraid to switch formulas, or to use your daily prayer time to compose a one yourself! (Yes, we are allowed to write our own prayers – sometimes these are the very best ones, because they come from the very depths of our experience of God.) Some short prayers that can be used as acts of humility:
Yours in Christ, Father John Bartunek, LC, ThD |
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