BY Father Mateo Crawley-Boevey, SS.CC.
Additional Devotions for Fridays Subsequent to the First
August.— For The 2nd Friday
For The 3rd Friday
For The 4th Friday
Commentary on the Seven Last Words
The Agony of Calvary and the Agony of the Tabernacle
Behold, here within a step of us in this divine Host is Jesus. Let us place ourselves in His presence, because it is really He, the merciful God of Calvary … On the Golgotha of the altar He continues the Redemption of the world, of this ungrateful world which ignores Him … Let us approach in all confidence and gather with sentiments of faith and love the last supreme words of our divine Master, … the testament of His agonizing Heart …
Let us make with a real lively faith a fervent act of adoration.
(Pause)
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Jesus, my God, I adore Thee,
here present in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar,
where Thou waitest day and night to be our comfort
while we await Thine unveiled presence in heaven.
Jesus, my God,
I adore Thee in all places
where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved
and where sins are committed
against this Sacrament of Love.
Jesus, my God,
I adore Thee for all time,
past, present and future,
for every soul that ever was,
is now, or ever shall be created.
Jesus, my God,
Who for us hast endured hunger and cold,
labour and fatigue,
I adore Thee.
Jesus, my God, Who for my sake
has deigned to subject Thyself
to the humiliation of temptation,
to the perfidy and defection of friends,
to the scorn of Thine enemies,
I adore Thee.
Jesus, my God, Who for us has endured
the buffeting of Thy passion,
the scourging, the crowning with thorns,
the heavy weight of the cross,
I adore Thee.
Jesus, my God, Who,
for my salvation and that of all mankind,
was cruelly nailed to the cross
and hung there for three long hours in bitter agony, I adore Thee.
Jesus, My God,
Who for love of us
didst institute this Blessed Sacrament
and offer Thyself daily for the sins of men,
I adore Thee.
Jesus, my God,
Who in Holy Communion became the food of my soul,
I adore Thee.
Jesus, for Thee I live.
Jesus, for Thee I die.
Jesus, I am Thine in life and in death.
Amen.
“Having arrived at the summit of the mountain they crucified Jesus between two thieves.” O how beautiful heaven must be if Calvary appears to us so resplendent in the purple of the Blood of Jesus, in the gloom of the death of the Savior … Behold, … the veil of the mystery which hides from us Jesus Christ, Beauty Uncreated, the Holy of Holies, is torn away in proportion as our faith increases. May that faith be great, … immense, … and with our eyes full of this divine light, let us fix them on the altar, which, by a marvel of divine love remains always the Golgotha, the mountain of great expiation. But because Jesus is there, let us lift up our eyes without fear and fix them with delight on this Host. Oh! yes, let us do it without fear because Jesus is there …
You Angels, who surround the Tabernacle, mourn in silence because it is not given to you as to us to disturb the mystic agony of the Well-Beloved … This right belongs only to those who can speak to Him in the language of tears and of a broken heart.
Let us draw close to gather the last words of our dying Jesus; let us hasten because we must receive His last sigh … Let us climb Calvary. The Mother of Sorrows awaits us there …
The repentant Magdalen attracts us and gives us great confidence … Let us pray beside Saint John, the faithful friend of the agonizing Master. Behold your God! … Look at Him nailed to a cross! … Contemplate Him with immense love! …
Alas! The words of the Prophet were only too true—from the sole of His Foot unto the top of His Head there is no soundness in His adorable Body … His divine Brow anointed by Mary’s kisses is torn by thorns … His Lips burn with thirst; those Lips, a smile from which evokes the dawn of heavenly peace in afflicted souls … His Mouth now livid, brought sweet nectar to heal all wounds … And those Eyes from whose depths came the first glimmer of hope for unhappy culprits, are now veiled with a cloud of blood …
Read, oh, read on the pierced Hands and transpierced Feet, written in His Blood, the wonderful story of so many prodigals, prizes and conquests of the Heart of the Good Shepherd, Who without respite pursued them. Let us read again, … and we shall certainly find all the history of our great faults and that of the great and divine mercies in these Wounds. Oh, gift, as immense as it is little appreciated, that of pardon, which His pity grants us! …
Listen to the agonizing Master, Who now wishes to renew for us all the absolution of His Mercy … He moans as He lifts His divine Head … He contemplates with a look of infinite mercy this perverse world which is putting Him to death … and permitting His Heart to speak in the Host which we adore, He cries out in a voice which is a sob of divine grief and pity:
I. “Father, Forgive Them, For They Know Not What They Do.”
(Slowly)
“Father, do not look at the thorns of My crown, for they are only the natural, bitter fruit of this unfortunate earth … I have searched for them, for these thorns, Father; oh, pardon the human pride that produced them … Pardon also the great number who will ignore the mission which Thou hast confided to Me.”
“Forgive My infuriated executioners. Ah, pardon also the cowardice of My friends … Father, forgive the faults of the powerful, the more responsible ones, … but pardon also the faults of the humble and of the poor. Do not punish inexorably, O Father, … because creatures are but dust and the abyss of darkness. Forgive parents and children; … so numerous are the pitfalls which border the road of My little children. Forget their great, oh, their very great weaknesses, but pardon also their treacheries. Oh, yes, pardon these souls because they are all My sheep … Yes, they all belong to Me … Ah, do not strike them, Father, have pity on them, for they know not what they do.”
(Pause)
Souls: And now, Jesus Crucified, let me unite my prayer to Thine, Divine Savior of souls. Covered with confusion, I prostrate myself in Thy presence and, fixing my eyes on the lonely Tabernacle, I feel my heart saddened by the neglect shown Thee by so many redeemed souls …
But since with such great goodness Thou dost allow me during this Holy Hour to unite my tears with those Thou hast shed, I pray to Thee Jesus, for those who do not pray … I bless Thee for those who curse Thee, … and with all my soul I praise and adore Thee in union with the universal prayer that rises from all the sanctuaries of the world.
Accept, Lord, the cry of expiation from our afflicted, repentant souls: they ask Thy pardon! For our sins, for those of our relatives and friends.
(Aloud)
All: Pardon, Divine Heart!
For infidelity and profanation of holy days, …
All: Pardon, Divine Heart!
For impurity and public scandals, …
All: Pardon, Divine Heart!
For those who corrupt childhood and mislead youth, …
All: Pardon, Divine Heart!
For deliberate disobedience to Holy Mother Church, …
All: Pardon, Divine Heart!
For the crimes in homes and for the faults of parents and children, …
All: Pardon, Divine Heart!
For attacks, committed against the Roman Pontiff, …
All: Pardon, Divine Heart!
For the disturbers of the peace and Christian society, …
All: Pardon, Divine Heart!
For the abuses of the Sacraments and outrages against the Holy Eucharist, …
All: Pardon, Divine Heart!
For cowardly attacks of the press and for the machinations of secret societies, …
All: Pardon, Divine Heart!
And finally, Jesus, for the just who waver and for obstinate sinners who resist grace, …
All: Pardon, Divine Heart!
(Pause or hymn)
II. How amiable is the Heart of Jesus! How sweet it is during this Holy Hour to talk to Him while bathing His bloodstained Feet with our tears of repentance.
We have hardly asked grace for sinners when immediately comes the echo of His benign voice resounding in our ears as a hymn of peace, which makes us feel as if Heaven were drawing near us …
The good thief spoke in the name of all the fallen … We, who must die, soon, perhaps, let us listen to the answer of our very gracious Redeemer: “This day thou shalt be with Me in paradise. Repentance has already opened the heaven of My heart to you … Wait, Christian soul, for the blessed moment when this life’s dream will fade away and with penitents and angels you will sing the mercies of your God …
“Sinful souls who grieve, take refuge in My Wounds, opened by your faults; … do not fear, … it is never too late to have recourse to My infinite mercy … You also wish to tell Me of your brothers who are struggling and in agony … Speak! … I wish to be victim for all; I am your Brother, … I am Jesus.”
(Slowly and brokenly)
Heart of Jesus, infinitely sweet to unfortunate sinners, it is a sinner who implores Thee …
Heart of Jesus, divinely amiable with the poor, it is a beggar who awaits and asks that Thou open Thy door to him.
Heart of Jesus, health of the infirm, behold a sick man who visits Thee.
Heart of Jesus, luminous path for those who have gone astray, it is a prodigal who is looking for Thee… . He comes from afar… .
Heart of Jesus, ineffably gentle to those who weep, it is a wretched soul who knocks on Thy Tabernacle door… .
Heart of Jesus, the only Faithful Friend of man, an ungrateful friend is here, weeping at Thy Feet… .
Heart of Jesus, divine quietude and only repose in the uncertainties of the world, a very feeble soul and one who struggles, calls Thee to his aid… .
Heart of Jesus, inextinguishable Fire of love, it is a very poor soul, but one of good will who wishes to be rekindled in the ardor of Thy love… .
Heart of Jesus agonizing, hope of the dying, remember those who in this very hour are struggling with death… .
Promise them, O Jesus, as to the dying repentant thief, that in dying on Thy Heart, they will live forever with Thee in that incomparable Paradise… . Have pity on the agonizing! … Send them the Angel of Gethsemane and bring to their lips, which can no longer call on Thee, the chalice of Thy compassionate Heart… .
O Jesus, be their Jesus… . Above all be close to the dying who are most forsaken… .
III. Mary is there, … standing, leaning on the Cross, her eyes fixed on her Divine Son in agony… . She, who, of old was surrounded by angels, who with dove-like tones lulled this same Jesus, then a Child, asleep in her arms… . Oh, those happy, peaceful days of Bethlehem quickly passed by! … The thirty years of unforgettable sojourn at Nazareth vanished like an ecstasy… . It was only yesterday, … this same Victim of love, the Child Jesus, pressed firmly in His Mother’s arms, asked her for a crust of bread. His Hair, fragrant then with Mary’s kisses, is dyed now with the God-Man’s Blood… . Ah! … But He is always the same Jesus, … truly the Son of Mary … He loves His Mother with a love stronger than death. … In His last hour He will speak to the Virgin Mother to make her a supreme legacy… . Loving souls, let us listen on our knees to the testament of Jesus Crucified: “Woman, behold thy son!” …
“And all your sons! …
I bequeath all men to you, because you have saved them by your tears. I confide them to you, for the blood I received from you is the price I paid in exchange for them. And you, John, My Apostle, My friend of predilection: Behold thy mother! Love her for Me; console her in My absence; take her home with you! … From now on she will be the Mother of all, the Mother of all those who suffer, the consolatrix of all suffering souls…
“Compassionate souls who surround Me on the Calvary of this altar, Mary is your Mother and she is also My Mother: Remember that after the holy hour of loving Redemption we are brothers forever…”
(Pause)
Souls: In my poverty what have I to offer Thee, good Jesus, in return for the sacred gift of Thy Mother? … I will receive her with all the love of my soul and will shelter her under my poor roof which Thou Thyself hast not scorned. And in gratitude I offer Thee, through her virginal hands, the sorrows of those who suffer united to Thy Cross.
In the name of Mary most sorrowful, I pray Thee to visit those souls in their trials, to aid them in their insecurity, to enlighten them in their doubts… . Oh! yes, through Mary, the Virgin Martyr, I conjure Thee to sweeten the tears of so many mothers in grief, especially of those who weep inconsolably over the death of a son… .
Above all we implore Thy pity for those mothers who suffer mortal anguish over the eternal salvation of their children. And since the Heart of Mary Immaculate is Thy altar of predilection, permit us, Jesus, to offer Thee their ardent and solemn thanksgiving in reparation for the ingratitude of men… . Through Thy sweet Mother, in union with her Immaculate Heart, we thank Thee, beloved Savior:
(Slowly and with brief pauses)
For the gratuitous and inestimable gift of faith,
(Aloud)
All: Infinite gratitude to Thy loving Heart.
For the treasure of grace and for the virtue of hope in that Heaven which is the end of this life’s sorrows, …
All: Infinite gratitude to Thy loving Heart.
For Thy Church, the Ark of Salvation, persecuted but always victorious, …
All: Infinite gratitude to Thy loving Heart.
For the incomprehensible mercy with which Thou dost pardon all sins in the Sacraments of Baptism and Penance, …
All: Infinite gratitude to Thy loving Heart.
For the tenderness Thou dost lavish on sorrowing souls who bless Thee in their pains and in the Cross, …
All: Infinite gratitude to Thy loving Heart.
For the holy ingenuity of Thy charity in bringing about the wonderful conversion of the most hardhearted sinners, …
All: Infinite gratitude to Thy loving Heart.
By the gifts, often misunderstood, of peace or trial, of sickness or health, of riches or poverty, which Thou dost make use of in redeeming so many souls, …
All: Infinite gratitude to Thy loving Heart.
For the signal benefits which Thou didst accord so many ingrates, who neglect and abuse their station in life, their fortune and their talents, which they owe to Thee alone, Jesus, …
All: Infinite gratitude to Thy loving Heart.
For the signal benefits and the confidence Thou hast placed in us by entrusting to us the care and the honor of Thy Mother and of her Immaculate Heart! …
All: Infinite gratitude to Thy loving Heart.
For Thy Most Holy Eucharist, for Thy captivity, and Thy companionship, replete with all delights, promised us until the consummation of the world, …
All: Infinite gratitude to Thy loving Heart.
And, finally, for the unhoped-for Paradise Thou hast offered to us through Thy servant, Margaret Mary, … for the wonderful, incomprehensible gift of Thy Sacred Heart, …
All: Infinite gratitude to Thy loving Heart.
IV. In order to remain peaceful and to follow resignedly the dolorous journey of life, let us think of Jesus… . How much more cruel was His Martyrdom on the Cross… . What more agonizing than the loneliness of the Crucified Master abandoned by those very ones who had partaken of the glorious banquet of His love, of His beauty, and of His marvels! … Where are they now?
But there is a thought much more piercing still to His Soul overflowing with opprobrium …
Jesus Himself will reveal it to us in that cry of infinite anguish which escapes from His oppressed Breast when He is about to die: “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” “O Father, I came amongst those Thou commandest Me to redeem; they did not receive Me, and they erected a Cross for their own Savior… . O Father, let Thy Will be done and not Mine! … In exchange for Thy abandonment I entreat Thee to save all those Thou hast confided to Me. May they be one with Me in My wounded Heart, as Thou and I are One in love…”
“O Father, how bitter is this chalice! … My Heart breaks, tortured in this infinite desolation… . Father, why hast Thou forsaken Me? …”
(Pause)
Souls: Good Shepherd, I can guess the grief which wrings from Thee this cry of unspeakable bitterness: … it is the eternal death of the impious, lost because he turned away from Thee… . Ah! they are numerous who are about to be eternally lost—those who are submerged in the abyss of darkness, without faith, without love, without hope! Remember them, Jesus! … Thou Who didst suffer so much from the abandonment of Thy Heavenly Father, do not turn away from them, Blessed Redeemer! I pray to Thee for them with all the ardor of my soul, for those of the household who have lost the faith, for those who corrupt education and the press, for those who hate Thy Name, for those who persecute Thy Church, for so many unfortunate ones who curse Thy Cross and Thine Altar! … I implore Thee, O Jesus, to draw them to Thee, to forgive them in Thy goodness and by the agony of Thine adorable Heart! …
(Pray for the conversion of the impious)
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Lord Jesus Christ, most merciful Saviour of the world, we humbly beseech You, by Your most Sacred Heart, that all the sheep who stray out of Your fold may one day be converted to You, the Shepherd and Bishop of their souls, who lives and reigns with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, world without end.
Amen.
(Pause or hymn Parce Domine)
V. Why is there, today, this unusual movement of hate against Jesus Christ, the meek Lamb put to death on Calvary? … Why this rage of the people, the official blasphemy of the powerful, and the fury of the learned to obliterate His Name from the face of the earth? Grieve, fervent souls, behold His implacable enemies, busy preparing the bitter drink, with the gall of all ingratitude and all treason, to offer it to the Savior… . And with all that, after twenty centuries of ignominy it is always the same words which fall from His divine Lips.
He exposes to us His aching Soul. With an immense love, let us listen and reflect there near the Host: “Sitio!” … “I thirst.” … Burning thirst to feel Myself loved, ardent thirst to live your life of suffering, intense thirst to give you peace, happiness… . and then an eternal Heaven! … I thirst for your souls, I thirst for your tears; … weep on My Breast. Souls who come to console Me, give Me to drink; and to repay you, I will open in My Side the never failing source of life… . Love Me! I thirst! …
(Pause)
Souls: Jesus, we also, weary from crossing the desert, thirst for those Living Waters that Thou didst promise us: We thirst for Thee, … that thirst will never be completely assuaged until the coming of Thy Kingdom in the triumph of Thy loving Heart… . It does not suffice us to implore Thy Mercy, O Divine Redeemer. Thy interests are our interests. We all long for Thy Reign. We pray Thee then, Jesus, to carry out the promises Thou didst make to Thy confidante, Margaret Mary, in favor of those souls who adore Thee in the inexpressible beauty, the ineffable tenderness, the incomprehensible love of Thy Sacred Heart.
So we ask Thee with Holy Church, we entreat Thee by Thy Virgin Mother, we beg Thee for the inviolable honor of Thy Name, that Thou hasten to establish the Reign of Thy loving Heart.
(Aloud)
All: Triumph by the Reign of Thy loving Heart.
Hasten, Jesus! yes, come quickly, before Satan and the world wrest consciences from Thee and in Thy absence profane all states of life… .
All: Triumph by the Reign of Thy loving Heart.
Advance, Jesus, and triumph in homes. Reign in them by the unchanging peace promised those, who chanting Hosannas, have received Thee.
All: Triumph by the Reign of Thy loving Heart.
Make no delay, beloved Master, for many households suffer evils and bitternesses that Thou hast promised to cure… .
All: Triumph by the Reign of Thy loving Heart.
Come, … because Thou art omnipotent, Thou, God of the battles of life; come, show Thy wounded Side as a pledge of celestial hope in the agony of death… .
All: Triumph by the Reign of Thy loving Heart.
Be Thyself the Reward promised our labors; Thou alone, be the inspiration and recompense of all our undertakings… .
All: Triumph by the Reign of Thy loving Heart.
And Thy favored ones—I mean the sinners—do not forget that for them, above all, Thou hast revealed the inexhaustible tenderness of Thy love… .
All: Triumph by the Reign of Thy loving Heart.
Good Master, there are so many lukewarm, so many indifferent whom Thou wilt have to inflame by this admirable devotion… .
All: Triumph by the Reign of Thy loving Heart.
“Behold, here is the source of Life,” Thou didst say, showing us Thy transpierced Side. Let us then draw from It the fervor, the sanctity to which we aspire… .
All: Triumph by the Reign of Thy loving Heart.
According to Thy request, Thy image has been enthroned in many homes; … in the name of those homes we beg Thee to continue to reign there, as the loved Master and only Sovereign… .
All: Triumph by the Reign of Thy loving Heart.
Give words of fire, an irresistible, victorious persuasion to those priests who like John, the beloved Apostle, love Thee and preach Thee… .
All: Triumph by the Reign of Thy loving Heart.
And for those who propagate this sublime devotion, for those who publish its ineffable wonders, reserve in Thy Heart a place near which Thy Mother’s name is engraved… .
All: Triumph by the Reign of Thy loving Heart.
And finally, Jesus, give the Heaven of Thy Heart to us who have shared Thine agony during this Holy Hour… . By this hour of consolation, by the First Friday Reparatory Communion, fulfill in us Thine infallible promise; and at the decisive hour of death:
All: Triumph by the Reign of Thy loving Heart.
(Pause or hymn)
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| Anonymous | The Sodalist’s Hymnal (1887) |
|---|---|
| 1. Thy life, O Lord, is ebbing fast, Thine eyes are growing dim at last; How near to death Thou art! I hear Thou heave one heavy sigh: It is the last, the loudest cry That broke Thy Sacred Heart, That broke Thy Sacred Heart. |
2. The scene, the dreadful scene is o’er– The wicked men can do no more, Thy head is on Thy breast; The thorns, the nails Thou dost not fear, The cruel scoff, the bitter jeer– Thy Heart is now at rest, Thy Heart is now at rest. |
| 3. Thy voice, that made the demons flee, That waked the dead and calmed the sea, Itself in death is hushed; But O, we have this comfort sweet, Our foes lie prostrate at Thy feet, The serpent’s head is crushed, The serpent’s head is crushed. |
4. Thy corpse is hanging on the tree, While mocking crowds in impious glee The murd’rous act applaud; But quiv’ring earth and darkened skies, The crumbling rocks, the dead that rise, Proclaim Thee to be God, Proclaim Thee to be God. |
| 5. Yes, Jesus, bruised and marked with blood, And fastened to the dripping wood, To me Thou art the same, As throned on Thabor’s shining mount, Or in the heav’ns, of bliss the Fount, In glory and in shame, In glory and in shame. |
6. O, may Thy last, Thy piercing cry, The Blood that pleaded loud on high, For me be not in vain! O, make me treat the world as dross, And glory only in the Cross, On which Thou wouldst be slain, On which Thou wouldst be slain! Amen. |
VI. “My peace be with you, souls dear to My Heart; I thirsted and you quenched My thirst in giving Me your consolations.
Now that I have confided to your zeal the honor of My Name, I can exclaim: “It is consummated.” If there be anything lacking to My Passion, complete, O Father, my work of Redemption from the inexhaustible mercy of My Heart… . I have kept, Father, those Thou hast given Me, and now I return them to Thee; … if any one be lost it is not for lack of merciful love… . Oh, no, I ask Thee, by My Cross and My tenderness, to increase the number of the elect, of the saints of My Church… . Consummate the work of Thy crucified Son, by glorifying Me in those who on earth have drunk My redeeming Blood… . I return My Soul and the souls of the redeemed to Thee, but I pray Thee, Father, to give them My Heart that It may be the inheritance of sinners, of the poor, and of all those who long to live in the intimacy of My love…”
(Pause)
Souls: You have said, Jesus, that Thy Heart belongs to us. Then consummate Thy work by Thy Heart, sanctifying all those who are firmly resolved to follow Thee in the way of Sacrifice. Increase our faith, enliven our hope, and do not permit us to die without having given the measure of love which Thou dost expect from us.
Complete Thy work, Jesus, in the social triumph of Thy Holy Church; … abase the powers that oppress her; … disperse by a divine breath the hosts of hypocrites, the proud and ungodly, and all the enemies who assault her with fury; … speak, God of Light, and, as at Gethsemane, the children of darkness, of error, and of perverse doctrines, will fall backward… .
Speak, God of Love, and Thy Vicar will be exalted and, then, Thy work consummated, the sweet and irrestible power of Thy victorious Heart will be acclaimed from pole to pole.
Lord, consummate Thy work by alleviating the terrible torments of Purgatory; … have pity, O Jesus, and hasten the deliverance of the souls who suffer in just expiation of their sins. Shorten the time especially for those who this evening hope to see the dew of our prayers fall into the flames of Purgatory—namely, our relatives, benefactors, and friends to whom we owe the solace of our intercession … Remember our dearly loved dead, most benign Jesus … Thou hast taken them from us … May Thy Will be done and blessed be Thy Name! … Give them eternal rest, O Lord, do not forget them… .
(Ask for the triumph of the Heart of Jesus in the Church Militant and in Purgatory)
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| Fr. Frederick W. Faber, 1849 | Nicola A. Montani |
|---|---|
| 1. O turn to Jesus, Mother! turn, And call Him by His tenderest names; Pray for the Holy Souls that burn This hour amid the cleansing flames. |
2. Ah! they have fought a gallant fight; In death’s cold arms they persevered; And after life’s uncheery night The harbour of their rest is neared. |
| 3. In pains beyond all earthly pains, Favourites of Jesus! there they lie, Letting the fire wear out their stains, And worshipping God’s purity. |
4. Spouses of Christ they are, for He Was wedded to them by His blood; And angels o’er their destiny In wondering adoration brood. |
| 5. They are the children of thy tears; Then hasten, Mother! to their aid; In pity think each hour appears An age while glory is delayed. |
6. See, how they bound amid their fires, While pain and love their spirits fill; Then with self-crucified desires Utter sweet murmurs, and lie still. |
| 7. Ah me! the love of Jesus yearns O’er that abyss of sacred pain, And as He looks His Bosom burns With Calvary’s dear thirst again. |
8. O Mary! let thy Son no more His lingering Spouses thus expect; God’s children to their God restore, And to the Spirit His elect. |
| 9. Pray then, as thou hast ever prayed; Angels and Souls, all look to thee; God waits thy prayers, for He hath made Those prayers His law of charity. |
Amen. |
(Pause)
VII. Nature in mourning is covered with darkness during the Holy Hour of the first Good Friday. The chants of the heavenly Jerusalem are interrupted, … The entire Court of Heaven stoops, and kneeling before the Victim of Golgotha, it waits in order to receive the last throb of the Heart of the Man-God… .
Fervent loving souls, we are truly at the summit of Calvary; it is the Holy Hour! … A loud Voice resounds in the heights, a Voice that says: “Father, into Thy Hands I commend My Spirit.” And bending His lacerated Head, Jesus Crucified dies of love… . It is His Heart which has brought Him to death for us … All glory to His loving Heart which gave us life! …
(Pause)
O Jesus, supreme Lover of those who love Thee, accept from the hands of the Mother of Sorrows the offering of my whole being, of my life! … I no longer belong to myself, Lord, I am all thine—and forever! … And in this gift I wish to forget myself, to be consecrated to the triumph of Thy Divine Heart … Accept me, Jesus, and listen now to my last prayer… .
(Slowly, with pauses)
When the angels of the sanctuary will bless Thee in the thrice holy Eucharist, … and I, I will be in my agony; … their praises will be mine; … remember the poor servant of Thy Divine Heart… .
When just souls on earth glowing with love will praise and cry to Thee, … and I … I will be in my agony, … their sorrows and tears will be mine; remember the prodigal conquered by Thy Divine Heart… .
When Thy priests, Thy virgins of the temple, and Thine apostles will proclaim Thee their Sovereign, will preach Thee to souls and enthrone Thee in the world, … and I … I will be in my agony; … their zeal and their fervor will be mine; … remember the apostle of Thy Divine Heart… .
When Thy Church, praying and repairing before the altar, will aid Thee in redeeming the world, … and I … I will be in my agony; her sacrifice and prayer will be mine; … remember the faithful friend of Thy Divine Heart… .
When, during the Holy Hour, Thy favored friends, in loving, suffering and reparation, will make Thee forget sacrileges and treasons, … and I … I will be in my agony; … their intimacy with Thee and their holocausts will be mine; … remember this altar and this victim of Thy Divine Heart… .
When Thy Blessed Mother adores Thee in the Holy Eucharist, thus making reparation for earth’s countless crimes, … and I … I will be in my agony; … her adoration will be mine, … remember the child of Thy Divine Heart… . But no, Lord, … rather forget me, if Thou wish, provided that at the hour of my death Thou dost forget me forever in the Wound of Thy Sacred Heart.
(Pause)
What have I, Lord, that Thou hast not given me? ….
Despoil me of all, even of Thy own gifts, but enkindle in me the flames of Thy Sacred Heart.
What do I know that Thou hast not taught me? … Oh, would that I might forget all human and earthly science, but that I might love Thee more and more, O Divine Heart! …
What can I do, if Thou dost not help me? And what am I, if not united to Thee? … Unite me to Thee, then, by a bond stronger than death… . I renounce all the delights of Thy love, in order to completely possess that other Paradise—Thy loving Heart… .
And there, bury, oh! yes, bury the faults which I have committed against Thee … and punish me and avenge Thyself, while wounding with a dart of burning charity that one who has so offended Thee! …
And if I have denied Thee, let me acknowledge Thee in the Eucharist where Thou art hidden… .
If I have offended Thee, let me serve Thee in an everlasting slavery of eternal love, … for it is rather death than life not to spend oneself in loving and making loved Thy sweet, compassionate Heart, so forsaken! … Thy Kingdom come!
Act of Consecration
of the Human Race to the
Sacred Heart of Jesus
(Leo XIII)
Most sweet Jesus, Redeemer of the human race, look down upon us humbly prostrate before Thee. We are Thine, and Thine we wish to be; but, to be more surely united with Thee, behold each one of us freely consecrates himself today to Thy Most Sacred Heart.
Many indeed have never known Thee; many too, despising Thy precepts, have rejected Thee. Have mercy on them all, most merciful Jesus, and draw them to Thy Sacred Heart.
Be Thou King, O Lord, not only of the faithful who have never forsaken Thee, but also of the prodigal children who have abandoned Thee; grant that they may quickly return to their Father’s house lest they die of wretchedness and hunger.
Be Thou King of those who are deceived by erroneous opinions, or whom discord keeps aloof; call them back to the harbor of truth and unity of faith, so that soon there may be but one flock and one Shepherd.
Be Thou King of all those who are still involved in the darkness of idolatry or of Islamism; refuse not to draw them all into the light and kingdom of God. Turn Thine eyes of mercy toward the children of that race, once Thy chosen people. Of old they called down upon themselves the Blood of the Savior; may it now descend upon them a laver of redemption and of life.
Grant, O Lord, to Thy Church assurance of freedom and immunity from harm; give peace and order to all nations, and make the earth resound from pole to pole with one cry: Praise to the Divine Heart that wrought our salvation; to It be glory and Honor forever. Amen.
A Pater and an Ave for the agonizing and for sinners.
A Pater and an Ave for the universal triumph of the Sacred Heart, especially by daily Communion, the Holy Hour and the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart in families.
A Pater and an Ave for the particular intentions of all present.
A Pater and an Ave for our country.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, Thy Kingdom come! (5 times)
Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us. (3 times)
Saint Joseph, pray for us.
Saint Margaret Mary, pray for us.
Return to Table of Contents (21 Holy Hours by Father Mateo Crawley-Boevey, SS.CC.)