Litany of Trust: Who Wrote It and How to Pray It

The Litany of Trust is a modern Catholic prayer that asks Jesus to free us from the fears and false beliefs that keep us from trusting him, and then repeats, line after line, “Jesus, I trust in you.” It was written by Sr. Faustina Maria Pia of the Sisters of Life, a community founded in New York in 1991 to protect and care for human life, and it has spread around the world through prayer cards, retreats and social media. Below is what the litany is, how it is built, how to pray it, where to find the official text, and classic prayers of trust from the Church’s tradition to pray alongside it.

What is the Litany of Trust?

A litany is a prayer made of short invocations, each followed by the same response. The Litany of Trust has two movements:

“Deliver me, Jesus.” A series of petitions asking to be freed from the things that block trust: the fear of being unloved or forgotten, the need to control, the belief that we must earn God’s love, the fear of suffering and of the future.
“Jesus, I trust in you.” A series of affirmations of faith in who Jesus is and what he does: that he is with us in suffering, that his plan is better than ours, that he hears every prayer, that he will never leave us.

The response “Jesus, I trust in you” is the signature of the Divine Mercy devotion given through St. Faustina Kowalska.

Where to find the official text

The Litany of Trust is a recent prayer protected by copyright, so we do not reproduce it here. The official text is published by the Sisters of Life (sistersoflife.org), who offer it as a printable prayer card and in their retreat materials. Many parishes and Catholic bookstores also carry the card.

How to pray the Litany of Trust

Slowly. Pause after each line; notice which fear or belief touches you most.
Daily for a season, for example for thirty days, during Lent, or through a time of decision, illness or grief.
With the Scriptures of trust below, reading one passage before you begin.
In a group, with a leader reading each line and everyone answering “Deliver me, Jesus” or “Jesus, I trust in you.”

Classic Catholic prayers of trust

The Act of Hope and Confidence in God by St. Claude de la Colombière, a perfect companion to the Litany of Trust, from Father Lasance’s With God (1911):

My God, I believe most firmly that Thou watchest over all who hope in Thee, and that we can want for nothing when we rely upon Thee in all things; therefore I am resolved for the future to have no anxieties, and to cast all my cares upon Thee. “In peace in the self-same I will sleep and I will rest; for Thou, O Lord, singularly hast settled me in hope.”

Men may deprive me of worldly goods and of honors; sickness may take from me my strength and the means of serving Thee; I may even lose Thy 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 wrest it from me. “In peace in the self-same I will sleep and I will rest.”

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 Thou, O Lord, singularly hast settled me in hope.” This confidence can never be 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 Thee. “In Thee, O Lord, have I 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 the firmament totter; but these things alarm me not. While I hope in Thee I am sheltered from all misfortune, and I am sure that my trust shall endure, for I rely upon Thee to sustain this unfailing hope.

Finally, I know that my confidence can not exceed Thy bounty, and that I shall never receive less than I have hoped for from Thee. Therefore, I hope that Thou wilt sustain me against my evil inclinations; that Thou wilt protect me against the most furious assaults of the evil one, and that Thou wilt cause my weakness to triumph over my most powerful enemies. I hope that Thou wilt never cease to love me, and that I shall love Thee unceasingly, “In Thee, O Lord, have I hoped; let me never be confounded.”

The Suscipe of St. Ignatius (from My Prayer-Book, 1908):

Take, O Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding and my whole will. Thou hast given me all that I am and all that I possess; I surrender it all to Thee that Thou mayest dispose of it according to Thy will. Give me only Thy love and Thy grace; with these I will be rich enough, and will have no more to desire.

St. Teresa of Avila’s Bookmark (from With God, 1911):

Let nothing disturb thee,
Let nothing affright thee.
All things are passing;
God only is changeless.
Patience gains all things.
Who hath God wanteth nothing —
Alone God sufficeth.

A short litany of trust written for this page:

When I am afraid of the future, Jesus, I trust in you.
When I feel alone, Jesus, I trust in you.
When my prayers seem unanswered, Jesus, I trust in you.
When I cannot see the way, Jesus, I trust in you.
When I have failed, Jesus, I trust in you.
In life and in death, Jesus, I trust in you.

Scripture of trust

Have confidence in the Lord with all thy heart, and lean not upon thy own prudence.
In all thy ways think on him, and he will direct thy steps.

Cast thy care upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall not suffer the just to waver for ever.

And we know that to them that love God, all things work together unto good, to such as, according to his purpose, are called to be saints.

Frequently asked questions

Who wrote the Litany of Trust?

Sr. Faustina Maria Pia, a member of the Sisters of Life, the religious community founded by Cardinal John O’Connor in New York in 1991.

Is the Litany of Trust an official prayer of the Church?

It is a private devotion, freely prayed by Catholics, like most litanies. Only a few litanies are approved for public liturgy, such as the Litany of the Saints and the Litany of Loreto.

What is the difference between the Litany of Trust and the Litany of Humility?

The Litany of Humility asks to be freed from the desire for esteem and the fear of humiliation; the Litany of Trust asks to be freed from fear and anxiety and to rest in Jesus’ love. Many people pray both.

More prayers of trust

Texts and sources

The Litany of Trust: Sr. Faustina Maria Pia, S.V., Sisters of Life; described here, not reproduced.
Act of Hope and Confidence (St. Claude de la Colombière) and St. Teresa’s Bookmark: F. X. Lasance, With God (1911), public domain (Wikisource). Suscipe: F. X. Lasance, My Prayer-Book (1908), public domain (Wikisource).
Scripture: Proverbs 3:5–6; Psalm 54:23 (55:22 in modern Bibles); Romans 8:28, Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner), public domain.
The short litany of trust was written for this page.