from 3 to 4 in the afternoon
TWENTY-THIRD HOUR
Jesus died after being pierced with a spear. Removal from the Cross
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...
Oh my Jesus, You are no longer alive! And I, dwelling in Your Heart, begin to enjoy the many fruits of Your Salvation... The most unbelieving, full of respect, bow down before You and beat their breasts, and what they did not do to Your living Body, they now do to Your dead Body. Nature is in turmoil, the sun is eclipsed, the earth is shaking, the elements are feeling the effects and seem to be participating in Your painful death. Angels, full of delight and love, descend from Heaven in their thousands, worship You, recognize You, and confirm that You are our true God... O my Jesus, I also join my adoration to theirs and offer You my gratitude and all the love of my poor heart.
But I see that Your Love is not yet satisfied. And to give us an even surer sign, You allow a soldier to approach You and pierce Your Heart with a spear, causing the last drops of Blood and water that were still contained in It to spill out. O Jesus, could you allow this spear to pierce my heart as well? Oh yes, let this spear pierce my desires, my thoughts, my heartbeats, and my will, let it convey to me Your Will, Your thoughts, and Your whole life full of love and sacrifice!
Heart of my Jesus, wounded by this spear, purify all souls, give shelter to all hearts and rest to all who are weary! It is from this wound that you give birth to the Church, your beloved Bride. It is here that you give birth to the sacraments and the life of souls. And I, together with our Most Holy Mother, cruelly wounded in her Heart, intend to make reparation for the insults, abuses, and sacrileges that are committed against Your Holy Church. I ask you, by the power of this wound and out of love for Mary, our sweetest Mother, to enclose everyone in your beloved Heart and to shield, protect, and enlighten the shepherds of your Church.
Oh my Jesus, after Your cruel and painful death, it seems that I should no longer live my own life, but that I should find my life only in Your wounded Heart. Therefore, whatever I do, I will always draw from this Divine Heart... I will never again give life to my thoughts, and if they want to live, I will take Yours. Never again will I give life to my will, and if it wants to live, I will take Your Most Holy Will. Never again will my love have life, and if it wants to live, I will take Your Love as my life... O my Jesus, Your entire Will is my will. What You desire, I also desire.
My Jesus, You have given us the ultimate proof of Your Love – Your Heart is torn apart and there is nothing more You can do for us. And here they are preparing to take You down from the Cross. And I, having placed everything in You, am leaving You, and together with Your beloved disciples, I want to remove the nails from Your Most Holy feet and hands. And while I am pulling out the nails, nail me completely to Yourself.
Jesus, the first to receive You into her bosom after You were taken down from the Cross is Your sorrowful Mother. Your pierced head rests gently in Her arms... O beloved Mother, do not despise my company, and allow me also to render my last service to my beloved Jesus together with You. My sweetest Mother, it is true that you surpass me in love and tenderness in touching my Jesus, but I will try to imitate you in the best way possible in order to please the glorified Jesus in everything. Therefore, I place my hands together with Your Most Holy hands and remove all the thorns surrounding His head, so that I may join my adoration to Your profound adoration.
Blue Mother, you bring your hands close to the eyes of my Jesus, which once gave light to the whole world, but which have now darkened and gone out, and you remove the clotted Blood from them. O Mother, I join you. Let us kiss His eyes together and pay them deep homage... I see the ears of my Jesus covered with blood, wounded by blows and torn by thorns. O Mother, in order to call so many souls who are deaf and unyielding to the voices of grace, let us place our adoration in these ears, which no longer hear, and which have suffered so much. O beloved Mother, I see your sorrowful and tearful face looking at the glorified Face of Jesus. I join my pain to yours. Together, let us remove the mud and saliva that have so disfigured it, and let us give glory to this Face of Divine Majesty, a Face that delighted Heaven and earth, and which now shows no sign of life... O beloved Mother, let us kiss His lips together, those divine lips which, with the sweetness of their words, drew so many souls to His Heart. Mother, with your own lips, I intend to kiss those bruised and bloodied lips and pay them deep homage.
Oh, my beloved Mother, together with you, I want to kiss and kiss again the beloved Body of my Jesus, which has become one great wound. I place my hands in yours to join together these hanging pieces of flesh. Let us give him deep reverence... O Mother, let us kiss these creative hands, which have done so many miracles for us, and which are now pierced, twisted, cold, and stiffened by death. Let us enclose the fate of all souls in these Most Holy wounds. When Jesus rises from the dead, he will find them here, laid by you, and none of them will be lost. O Mother, let us together worship these deep wounds on behalf of all and together with all.
Oh, Blue Mother, I see you approaching to kiss the feet of poor Jesus... How painful these wounds are! The nails tore pieces of flesh and skin, and the weight of the Most Holy Body cruelly tore them apart. Let us kiss them together and worship them, so that creatures, as they walk, may feel the footsteps of Jesus following right behind them and not dare to offend Him.
I see, beloved Mother, that you are directing your gaze to the Heart of the glorified Jesus... What shall we do in this Heart? You will teach me, Mother, you will bury me in Him and close the stone over me. And when you place my heart and my life in Him, I will be hidden for eternity. Give me your love, Mother, so that I may love Jesus. Give me your pain, so that I may intercede for everyone and make amends for all the insults His Heart will suffer!
Remember, Mother, that when you lay Jesus in the tomb, I also want to be buried with Him by your own hands, so that I may rise with Him and with all that belongs to Him.
And now, a word to you, my beloved Mother. I sympathize with you deeply. With all the tenderness of my poor heart, I would like to gather all the heartbeats, desires, and lives of all creatures to bring them to you in a gesture of compassion and love. I sympathize with you in the great pain you endured when you saw Jesus dead, crowned with thorns, torn by whips and nails; when you looked at those eyes that no longer look at you, at those ears that no longer hear your voice, at those lips that no longer speak to you; when you looked at those hands that no longer embrace you, at those feet that never left you and always, even from afar, followed your footsteps... I want to offer you the Heart of Jesus Himself, overflowing with love, to show you the compassion you deserve and bring relief to your cruel sufferings.
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.