from 2 to 3 in the afternoon
TWENTY-SECOND HOUR
The third hour of suffering on the Cross. The death of Jesus
Preparation for each HOUR
And for those hours that I cannot reflect on, I offer you my willingness to remember them, and I intend to consciously reflect on them whenever I have to devote time to pfulfilling their duties or sleeping.
Accept, O merciful Lord, my loving intention and make it beneficial for me and for all, as if I had effectively and sanctimoniously accomplished what I wish to do.Meanwhile, I thank You, my Jesus, that through prayer You call me to unite myself with You. And to please You even more, I take Your thoughts, Your language, Your Heart, and I intend to pray with them, merging my whole self into Your Will and Your Love. I stretch out my arms to embrace You, I lay my head on Your Heart, and I begin...
The fifth word on the Cross
O my crucified and dying Jesus, embracing Your Cross, I feel the fire that burns Your entire Most Holy Person... Your Heart beats so strongly that it lifts Your ribs and torments You in a terrible and horrible way, and Your entire Most Holy Humanity is transformed, changing You beyond recognition. The love that burns in Your Heart dries You up and burns You completely. And, unable to contain it within Yourself, You feel intense pain from physical thirst due to the loss of all Your Blood, and even more so from the burning desire to save our souls. You would like to drink us like water to ensure our safety within Yourself. Therefore, gathering all your weakened strength, you cry out: I thirst!
Ah, you repeat these words to every heart: I desire your will, your feelings, your desires, and your love! You cannot give Me water fresher and more pleasant than your soul. Oh, do not let me burn! I have a burning thirst that burns my tongue and throat to such an extent that I can no longer utter a word. I also feel dryness in my Heart and bowels. Have mercy on my thirst, have mercy...!
And as if delirious with intense thirst, you surrender yourself to the Father's Will... Ah, my heart can no longer bear to see the wickedness of your enemies, who give you gall and vinegar instead of water! And you do not reject them! Ah, I understand, it is the gall of so many sins, it is the vinegar of our unbridled passions, vinegar which, instead of refreshing You, burns You even more... O my Jesus, I give You my heart, my thoughts, my feelings, I give You my whole being to quench Your thirst and bring relief to Your parched and bitter lips. Everything I am and everything I have is for You, O Jesus. If my sufferings are necessary for the salvation of even one soul, I am ready to suffer everything. I give myself to You completely, do with me as You please. I want to make amends for the pain You suffer because of all the souls going to perdition and because of those souls who close themselves off and do not give You the sorrow and abandonment You have allowed as a relief for Your burning and consuming thirst. And in this way, they increase Your suffering.
The sixth word on the Cross
My dying Goodness, the endless sea of Your sufferings, the fire that consumes You, and above all, the Supreme Will of the Father, who wants Your death, deprive us of the hope that You will remain alive... How will I be able to live without you? You are already losing strength, your eyes are becoming cloudy, your face is changing and becoming deathly pale. Your lips are half open, your breathing is becoming heavy and intermittent. There is no hope that you will recover. The fire that burns you is accompanied by icy coldness and cold sweat sprinkling your forehead. Your muscles and nerves contract more and more due to severe pain and the piercing of nails. The wounds open wider and wider. I am trembling all over and feel that I am dying. I look at you, my Goodness, and see the last tears flowing from your eyes, harbingers of approaching death, while you struggle to utter one more word: it is finished!
Oh my Jesus, you have exhausted everything, you have nothing left. Love has reached its peak... And have I completely destroyed myself with your Love? What thanksgiving should I offer you! What gratitude should I show You! My Jesus, on behalf of everyone, I want to make amends for not responding to Your Love and to comfort You in the face of the insults to Your Love that You suffer from creatures, while You destroy Yourself out of love on the cross.
The seventh word on the Cross. The death of Jesus
My crucified and dying Jesus, you are about to breathe your last breath in your earthly life... Your Most Holy Humanity has already stiffened. It seems that your Heart has already stopped beating. Together with Mary Magdalene, I cling to Your feet, and if it were possible, I would give my life to restore Yours. Meanwhile, I see, Jesus, that You are opening Your dying eyes again and looking around from the cross, as if You wanted to say goodbye to everyone for the last time... You look at your dying Mother, who no longer moves or speaks, so great is the suffering she feels, and you say to her: Farewell, Mother. I am leaving, but I will keep you in my Heart. Have mercy on my children and yours... You look at the weeping Magdalene, at the faithful John, and you say to them with your gaze: Farewell! You look at your enemies with love and say to them with your gaze: I forgive you and I give you a kiss of peace... Nothing escapes your gaze. You say goodbye to everyone and forgive everyone. Then you gather all your strength and cry out in a loud and thunderous voice: Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.
And bowing your head, you give up your spirit. †
My Jesus, at this cry, all of nature is shaken and weeps over Your death, over the death of its Creator. The earth trembles violently and seems as if it wants to cry and shake people so that they will recognize You as the true God. The veil of the Temple is torn, the dead rise, the sun, which until now has been weeping over Your pain, hides its light in terror... At this cry, your enemies fall to their knees and, beating their breasts, say: Truly, He is the Son of God! Your Mother, petrified and dying, endures a pain more severe than death.
My deceased Jesus, with this cry you also entrust all of us into the hands of the Father, so that he may not reject us. That is why you cry out loudly, not only with your voice, but also with all your pain and with the voice of your Blood: Father, into your hands I commend my Spirit and all souls!
My Jesus, I also surrender myself to You. Grant me the grace to die completely in Your Love and in Your Will. I beg You, never let me stray from Your Most Holy Will, either in life or in death. Furthermore, I want to make reparation to You for all those who do not surrender themselves completely to Your Most Holy Will and thus lose or diminish the precious fruit of Your Salvation. How painful it is for Your Heart to see so many flee from Your arms and close themselves off! Have mercy on them all, Jesus, and on me too!
I kiss your head crowned with thorns and ask your forgiveness for my many proud thoughts, ambitions, and sense of self-worth. I promise you that every time a thought comes to my mind that is not intended solely for you, O Jesus, and when I find myself in a situation where I would insult you, I will immediately cry out: Jesus and Mary, I entrust my soul to you!
Oh Jesus, I kiss Your eyes, still wet with tears and covered with clotted blood, and I ask Your forgiveness for all the times I have offended You with my evil and immodest gaze. I promise You that every time my eyes look at earthly things, I will immediately cry out: Jesus and Mary, I entrust my soul to You!
My Jesus, I kiss Your Most Holy ears, deafened until the last moment by insults and terrible blasphemies, and I ask Your forgiveness for all the times I listened to or made others listen to conversations that distanced us from You. I also ask Your forgiveness for the many evil conversations that creatures engage in. I promise You that every time I find myself in a situation where I would hear conversations that are displeasing to You, I will immediately cry out: Jesus and Mary, I entrust my soul to You!
O my Jesus, I kiss Your Most Holy Face, pale, bruised, and bleeding, and I ask Your forgiveness for the many mockeries, insults, and offenses You suffer from us, wretched creatures, through our sins. I promise You that every time I am tempted not to give You all the glory, love, and adoration that You deserve, I will immediately cry out: Jesus and Mary, I entrust my soul to You!
My Jesus, I kiss Your Most Holy lips, chapped and bitter. I ask Your forgiveness for all the times I have offended You with evil conversations or words, and for all the times I have contributed to Your bitterness and increased Your thirst. I promise You that every time I think of saying something that might offend You, I will immediately cry out: Jesus and Mary, I entrust my soul to You!
Oh Jesus, I kiss Your Most Holy neck and still see the marks of the chains and ropes that oppressed You. I ask Your forgiveness for so many attachments and affections of creatures that added ropes and chains to Your neck. I promise You that every time I feel troubled by attachments, desires, and feelings that are not meant for You, I will immediately cry out: Jesus and Mary, I entrust my soul to You!
My Jesus, I kiss Your Most Holy shoulders and ask Your forgiveness for so many forbidden pleasures and for so many sins committed by the five senses of our body. I promise You that every time I think of giving myself some pleasure or joy that would not be for Your glory, I will immediately cry out: Jesus and Mary, I entrust my soul to you!
My Jesus, I kiss Your Most Holy Breast and ask Your forgiveness for so much coldness, indifference, indifference, and cruel ingratitude that You receive from creatures. And if I ever feel that my love for You is growing colder, I will immediately cry out: Jesus and Mary, I entrust my soul to You!
O my Jesus, I kiss Your Most Holy Hands and ask Your forgiveness for all the deeds that were not done for You, for the bad ones as well as for those that become bad because of self-interest or self-esteem. Every time I think of doing something that is not out of love for You, I will immediately cry out: Jesus and Mary, I entrust my soul to You!
Oh my Jesus, I kiss Your Most Holy feet and ask Your forgiveness for so many steps and so many paths taken without pure intentions, and for so many who stray from You, seeking earthly pleasures. I promise You that every time the thought of turning away from You comes to my mind, I will immediately cry out: Jesus and Mary, I entrust my soul to You!
Oh Jesus, I kiss Your Most Sacred Heart and I intend to enclose in it all the souls redeemed by You, together with mine, so that all of them, without exception, may be saved... O Jesus, hide me in Your Heart and close the door so that I see nothing but You. I promise You that every time I think of leaving Your Heart, I will immediately cry out: Jesus and Mary, I give You my heart and my soul!
Thanksgiving after every HOUR
My beloved Jesus, You called me in this HOUR of Your Passion to keep You company, and I came. It seemed to me that I could hear You praying in agony and pain, making reparation, suffering, and you ask for the salvation of souls with the most moving and convincing voice. I have tried to accompany you in everything. And since I must now leave you to attend to my work, I feel obliged to to say thank you and bless you.
Yes, Jesus, I thank You a thousand times over and bless You for everything You have done and suffered for me and for everyone. I thank You and bless You for every drop of blood You shed, for every breath, for every heartbeat, for every step, word, glance, bitterness, and insult You suffered. Everything, O my Jesus, I intend to mark with my thank You and bless You. O my Jesus, make a continuous stream of thanksgiving and blessings flow to You from my whole being, so that I may draw upon myself and upon everyone the stream of Your blessings and Your graces. Oh, Jesus, hold me close to Your Heart and mark every part of my being with Your most holy hands with Your blessing, so that nothing but a constant hymn of praise to You may flow from me.