TWENTY-FIRST HOUR

The second word on the Cross

Crucified Jesus, as I pray with You, the power of Your Love and Your suffering keeps my gaze fixed on You. But my heart breaks when I see You suffering so much. You suffer from love and pain, and the flames that burn Your Heart rise so high that they completely consume You. Your restrained Love is stronger than death. And to give it vent, You look at the thief on Your right and snatch him from hell.

By your grace, you touch his heart and the evildoer is completely transformed. He recognizes you, acknowledges God in you, and, filled with remorse, says: Lord, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.

And you answer him without hesitation: Truly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in paradise, and you make it the first triumph of your Love. But I see that in your Love, you steal not only the heart of the thief, but also that of many dying people. Ah, you give them your Blood, your Love, and your merits. You use every trick and effort to move their hearts and steal them all for yourself... But even here, your Love encounters resistance! How many reject you! How much distrust, how much despair! And your pain is so great that it forces you into silence once again...

I want to make amends to You, my Jesus, for those who lose hope in God's mercy at the moment of death. Jesus, my Love, inspire in everyone infinite trust and confidence in You, especially in those who are experiencing the anguish of death. And by the power of Your Word, give them light, strength, and help, so that they may die a holy death and ascend from earth to Heaven. In Your Most Holy Body, in Your Blood and in Your wounds, You have gathered all souls, O Jesus. For the sake of Your precious Blood, do not allow even one soul to be lost! May Your Blood, together with Your voice, constantly call out to all souls: Today you will be with Me in paradise!

The third word on the Cross

My tormented and crucified Jesus, Your pain grows ever more intense... Ah, on this cross You are truly the King of Sorrows! Amidst so much suffering, no soul escapes You, and what is more, You give Your own Life to each one of them. But Your Love feels rejected, despised, and disregarded by creatures, and finding no outlet, it intensifies and inflicts unspeakable torture on You. Amidst this torture, it ponders what else it could give to man to win him over, and makes you say: Do you see, my son, how much I have loved you? If you do not want to have mercy on yourself, at least have mercy on my Love!

Meanwhile, seeing that you have nothing to give him, because you have given him everything, you turn your longing gaze to your Mother. Because of your pain, she also suffers more than if she were dying, and the love that torments her is so great that it makes her crucified along with you... Mother and Son, you understand each other. You sigh with relief and are comforted to see that you can give your Mother to the creature. And seeing all humanity in John, you say in a voice so tender that it could move any heart: Woman, here is your son, and to John: here is your Mother! Your voice descends into Her maternal Heart and, joining with the voice of your Blood, continues: My Mother, I entrust all my children to you. Feel for them all the Love that you feel for Me. Let all your maternal care and tenderness be for my children. You will save them all for Me. Your Mother accepts this.

Meanwhile, your sorrows are so intense that you sink back into silence. O my Jesus, I want to make amends for the insults inflicted on the Blessed Virgin, for the blasphemies and ingratitude of so many who refuse to acknowledge the blessings you have bestowed on everyone by giving her to us as our Mother... How can we thank You for such a great blessing? I will use Your own source, O Jesus, and in gratitude I offer You Your Blood, Your wounds, and the infinite Love of Your Heart. O Holy Mother, how moved you are when you hear the voice of your Son, who leaves you to us all as our Mother! Thank you, O Blessed Virgin, and in thanking you as you deserve, I offer you my own thanks to your Jesus. Beloved Mother, be our Mother, care for us, and never allow yourself to be offended in the slightest. Keep us always close to Jesus. Bind us to Him with your hands so that we may never escape from Him. With your own intentions, I want to make amends on behalf of everyone for the insults inflicted on Jesus and you, my beloved Mother.

My Jesus, when you are immersed in such great suffering, you implore even more for the salvation of souls. However, I will not remain indifferent, but I want to rush to your wounds to kiss and soothe them. I want to immerse myself in Your Blood so that I can say with You: souls, souls! I want to support Your pierced and aching head to make amends to You and ask You for mercy, love, and forgiveness for everyone.

The fourth word on the Cross

Suffering Jesus, immersed in You and embraced by Your Heart, I count Your sufferings and see that a convulsive shudder pierces Your Most Holy Humanity. Your limbs writhe as if one wanted to separate from the other, and amid this twisting caused by terrible pain, You cry out loudly: My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?

At this cry, everyone trembles, the darkness grows thicker, your petrified mother turns pale and faints.

My Life and my All, Jesus, what do I see? Ah, you are close to death. Even your sufferings, so faithful to you, will soon leave you. Meanwhile, after so much suffering, you realize with great pain that not all souls are united in you. What is more, you see that many of them will be lost. You feel their painful separation as they detach themselves from your members. And because you must also make amends to God's justice for them, you feel the eternal death of each of them and the sufferings they will experience in hell. And you cry out loudly to all hearts: Do not abandon Me! If you want more suffering, I am ready, but do not separate yourselves from my Humanity! This is suffering beyond suffering, this is death beyond death. All the rest would be nothing to Me if I did not suffer your separation from Me. Oh, have mercy on My Blood, on My wounds, on My death! This cry will resound constantly in your hearts. Oh, do not abandon Me!

My love, how deeply I grieve with you...! You are losing your breath. Your Most Holy Head is already falling onto Your Chest, Life is leaving You... My Jesus, I feel that I am dying. I also want to cry out with You: souls, souls! I will not leave Your Cross, Your wounds, to ask You for souls. And if You wish, I will descend into the hearts of creatures and surround them with Your sufferings so that they cannot escape You. And if it were possible, I would like to stand at the gates of hell to turn back the souls going there and direct them to Your Heart... But You are dying and silent, and I weep because of Your approaching death. O my Jesus, I sympathize with You and press Your Heart closer to mine. I kiss It and look at It with all the tenderness I am capable of. And to bring You greater relief, I make Your divine Tenderness my own, and with it I intend to sympathize with You. I want to transform my heart into a river of sweetness and pour it into Yours to sweeten the bitterness You feel at the loss of souls. Your cry is very painful, Jesus. It is the loss of souls departing from You, more than the Father's abandonment of You, that causes this painful lament to come from Your Heart. O my Jesus, multiply Your graces upon everyone, so that no one may be lost. May my reparation be for those souls who are to be lost, so that they may not be lost. Finally, I ask You, Jesus, for this extreme abandonment of Yours, to help so many souls who love You and whom You seem to be depriving of Yourself and leaving in darkness because You want to have companions in Your abandonment. May their pain be like a plea that will call souls to You and ease Your suffering.