PART V
ON THE PASSION OF OUR LORD.
TEN PRAYERS OF DEVOUT AFFECTIONS,
In which our Lord's Passion is pleaded with him.
It was revealed to St. Gertrude that reading and meditations on the Passion are far more useful and efficacious than all other spiritual exercises. As those who handle flour cannot avoid contracting some whiteness, so no one, however imperfect his devotion may be, can occupy his mind with the Passion of our Lord without receiving some benefit therefrom. And, however cold and lukewarm our devotion, our Lord will look upon us with greater long-suffering and mercy if we never omit the memory of his Passion.
FIRST PRAYER.
O Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Sweetness and Jubilee of those who love thee, remember all the presentiment of grief thou didst endure from the moment of thy conception, and especially at thy entrance into thy Passion, when thou didst say: My soul is sorrowful, even unto death; and when, by reason of overwhelming dread and anguish and grief, thou didst sweat as it were drops of blood trickling down upon the ground. Remember all the bitterness of thy sorrow when thou wast seized upon by the Jews, accused by false witnesses, condemned by thy three judges, buffeted and smitten, spit upon, scourged, and crowned with thorns. O sweetest Jesus, I implore thee, by all the sorrows and insults thou didst endure, have mercy on me a sinner. Amen.
SECOND PRAYER.
O JESUS, Paradise of the delights of God, remember now all the dread and sorrow thou didst endure when Pilate pronounced on thee sentence of death; when the godless soldiers laid the heavy cross on thy shoulders, and fastened thee thereon with rude and blunted nails, cruelly stretching thy sacred limbs so that all thy bones could be numbered: I beseech thee, vouchsafe to pronounce a merciful sentence on me in the day of judgment, and deliver me from all punishment. Amen.
THIRD PRAYER.
O JESUS, heavenly Physician, remember now the languor and the pain thou didst endure when lifted upon the cross, when all thy bones were out of joint, so that no sorrow was like to thy sorrow, because, from the sole of thy foot to the top of thy head, there was no soundness in thee. And nevertheless thou didst put away the feeling of all thine own griefs, and pray to thy Father for thine enemies, saying: Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. By this thy charity and thy mercy, grant that the dignity and worth of thy Passion may be the entire remission of all my sins. Amen.
FOURTH PRAYER.
O JESUS, Mirror of the eternal splendour, remember now that sadness which filled thy heart when thou didst behold in the mirror of thy Divinity the reprobation of the wicked and the multitude of the lost; and by the depth of the compassion thou didst then feel for lost and despairing sinners, and by the mercy thou didst show to the robber on the cross, saying: This day thou shalt be with me in Paradise, I beseech thee, O compassionate Jesus, show me thy mercy in the hour of my death. Amen.
FIFTH PRAYER.
O JESUS, King most beloved, remember now all the mournful desolation of thy heart, when thou, the tenderest and most faithful of friends, wast forsaken by all, and mocked as thou hungest on the cross; when thou didst find none. to comfort thee but thy beloved Mother, who stood by thy cross to the last, and whom thou didst commend to thy disciple, saying: Woman, behold thy son; and to the disciple: Behold thy Mother. I beseech thee, O compassionate Jesus, by that sword of anguish which then pierced her heart, do thou condole with me and console me in all my tribulations. Amen.
SIXTH PRAYER.
O JESUS, inexhaustible Fountain of pity, remember now that bitterness which thou didst endure when, all thy strength being exhausted and thy Sacred Body dried up, thou didst feel that burning thirst, and hadst not one drop of water to cool thy parched tongue, but only vinegar upon hyssop; I beseech thee that thou wouldest extinguish in me the thirst of carnal concupiscence and worldly delights. Amen.
SEVENTH PRAYER.
O JESUS, mighty King, remember now that when thou wast plunged into the bitter waters of thy Passion until they closed over thy Head, thou wast forsaken not only by men but by thy Father also, and didst cry with a loud voice, saying: My God, my God,why ha st thou forsaken me? By this thine anguish and dereliction, I beseech thee, forsake me not in my last agony. Amen.
EIGHTH PRAYER.
O JESUS, strong Lion of the tribe of Juda, remember now the sorrow and the woe thou didst endure, when all the forces of thy Heart and of thy Flesh failed thee utterly, and thou didst bow thy Head and cry: It is consummated. By this thine anguish and thy woe, have mercy on me at the end of my life, when my soul shall be troubled, and my spirit disquieted within me. Amen.
NINTH PRAYER.
O JESUS, Splendour of the Father's glory and Figure of his substance, remember now that earnest commendation with which thou didst commend thy spirit to the Father, saying: Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit, and when, thy Sacred Body being torn and thy Heart broken, and all the bowels of thy compassion laid bare for our redemption, thou didst give up the ghost: I beseech thee by that love which moved thee, the Life of all that live, to submit to die, that thou wouldest mortify and kill in my soul whatever is displeasing to thee. Amen.
TENTH PRAYER.
O JESUS, true and fruitful Vine, remember now the lavish, the excessive profusion wherewith thou didst shed thy Most Precious Blood, when on the cross thou didst tread the winepress alone, and wast crushed as a cluster of ripe grapes; when thou didst give us water and blood from thy pierced side, so that not one drop remained in thy Heart. Then wast thou hanged up as a bundle of myrrh, and thy tender Flesh grew pale, and thy moisture was all dried up within thee, and the marrow of thy bones consumed. By this thy most bitter Passion, and by the shedding of thy Most Precious Blood, I beseech thee, O most loving Jesus, wash my soul at the hour of my death with the water which flowed from thy Sacred Side, and adorn it with comeliness in the Precious Blood of thy sweetest Heart, and render it acceptable in thy sight in the fragrant odour of thy divine love. Amen.
Oblation
ACCEPT, O compassionate Jesus, with that exceeding love wherewith thou didst endure a bitter death, and didst offer it, together with all the fruit of thy most, sacred Humanity, to God the Father on the day of thine ascension: by the depth of those wounds which scarred thy Flesh and pierced thy Hands and Feet and Heart, I beseech thee, raise me up, who am steeped and sunk in sin, and render me well-pleasing to thee in all things. Amen.
FIVE OFFERINGS OF THE PASSION OF CHRIST FOR SINS.
Our Lord said to St. Gertrude on one occasion: If you believe that I offered myself to God the Father on the cross, believe also that I now desire with the same love to be daily offered to God the Father for each sinner in particular; so that, however heavy be the load of sins beneath which a man feels himself oppressed, he may take comfort in the hope of pardon if he offer to God the Father thy most spotless Passion and Death, and may be assured that he will reap abundant fruit of mercy and indulgence.
FIRST OFFERING.
ALMIGHTY and eternal God, unfailing Fountain of mercy, who dost not despise those that come unto thee, notwithstanding their unworthiness, but dost cleanse them from their sins; behold, I, a sinner, weighed down beneath a grievous burden of sins, confess to thee in the spirit of humility and with a contrite heart, that I have been exceedingly ungrateful to thee my God, and have offended thee in manifold ways. But now I come to thee, and prostrate myself before thee with true contrition, and implore thy mercy. And as I have nothing of greater worth to offer thee in satisfaction for my sins than the most holy Life and Passion of thy Son, therefore I offer thee that surpassing love wherewith thy Only-begotten took on him our nature, and during three-and-thirty years endured so many toils and fatigues, so much anguish and woe, for our sake; and I make this offering to thee through the sweetest Heart of Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Ghost, and for all the sins which I have committed from my birth upwards even to this hour, with the full consent of my will and the delectation of my heart. I offer thee the apprehension and the sorrowfulness which he felt when he said: My soul is sorrowful, even unto death. I offer thee that sweat of blood which impetuous love and thrilling anguish wrung from his sacred Body, and that thrice-repeated prayer which he poured forth to thee from the midst of his Agony. I offer thee his ignominious bondage, his stripes and bruises, his insults and blasphemies, his blows and buffetings, the plucking out of his hair, and the spitting on his adorable face, which he endured in the houses of Annas and of Caiaphas in that same night; and setting forth all these before thee with gratitude and lively compassion, I beseech thine inexhaustible goodness that by their virtue and merit thou wouldst wash me from my sins, and render me in all things well-pleasing to thee. Amen.
After each of these offerings you may say a Pater Noster.
SECOND OFFERING.
O Most compassionate God, for all the perverse and wicked actions which I have done with the several members of my body I offer thee that inexpressible affront and grief which thy Son endured, when his sacred Face was so shamefully spit upon and smitten; when he was unjustly accused before Pilate and Herod, was scornfully mocked and blasphemously insulted, I offer thee the ignominious stripping off of his garments, the harsh binding to the pillar, his painful scourging, his grievous wounds, and his excessive effusion of blood. Behold, O compassionate Father, with what composed modesty he stood at the pillar, how with all his heart he sighed unto thee, how many blows and gashes he received, and with how many wounds his flesh was torn, what anguish penetrated even to his bones, and how many the drops of his most sacred Blood which flowed forth from his wounds; and setting forth all these before thee, with gratitude and lively compassion, I beseech thee that by their virtue and their merit thou wouldst receive me into thy favour, and render me in all things well-pleasing to thee. Amen.
THIRD OFFERING
O Most long-suffering God, for all the good I have omitted through my sloth and lukewarmness, I offer thee that love wherewith thy Son endured his intolerable anguish, when he was crowned with thorns, hailed with impious derision, shamefully spit upon, smitten with reeds and buffeted, dragged before the judgment-seat and unjustly condemned; when a murderer and thief was preferred to him, and an ungodly rabble clamoured for his death. I offer thee that way of sorrows he went to the Mount Calvary, laden with his heavy cross; I offer thee the weariness of his sacred limbs, the ruthlessness of the soldiers, the shouts and derision of the mob, his footprints traced in blood, and whatsoever he did or suffered throughout his whole life. And setting forth all these before thee with gratitude and lively compassion, I beseech thine inexhaustible goodness, that by their virtue and their merit thou wouldst wash me from my sins, and render me in all things well-pleasing to thee. Amen.
FOURTH OFFERING.
O Most merciful God, for all the sins and iniquities which I have committed against thee with my body or my soul, I offer thee all that exceeding sorrow which thy Son endured, when the garments which cleaved to his lacerated flesh were roughly stripped off, and all his wounds thus mercilessly torn open afresh. I offer thee the cruel and most fearful anguish of his Heart, when his most sacred Hands and Feet were nailed to the cross. Remember, O most compassionate Father, how humbly and how piteously thy Son laid himself down upon the cross, not knowing where to lay his head by reason of the intensity of his intolerable agony. Remember what tears his eyes poured forth to thee, what sighs broke forth from his heart towards thee, how many drops of priceless blood dripped from his sacred wounds, what sorrow and horror of thick darkness pervaded his human soul as death came slowly onwards. I set forth before thee with gratitude and lively compassion all these bloodsheddings and tears, all the anguish of his distorted and dislocated limbs, all his groanings and sighs, and all the love and the patience with which thy Son endured them all; beseeching thee that thou wouldst cleanse me from my sins, and render me in all things well-pleasing to thee. Amen.
FIFTH OFFERING.
O Most gracious and clement God, for all my sins, mortal and venial, for all my negligences and omissions, for all the guilt I have contracted and all the punishment I have deserved, I offer thee the unutterable anguish which pierced the Heart of thy Son when the cross was uplifted and let fall suddenly into its place, and all the weight of his sacred Body was borne by three nails. I offer to thee all the scornful mockeries and the blasphemies which assailed his sacred Ears, all the words be uttered from the cross, all the tears he shed, all the quivering of his holy limbs in their agony, all the anguish and torment of his sacred Heart, all the sighs and prayers which he breathed towards thee, all his shrinking from nakedness and from the rude gaze of the crowd, all his acts of virtue on the cross, all the compassion, the sobs, the tears of his most desolate Mother and of all his friends; I offer thee, last of all, that most bitter, most cruel, most agonising death, which impetuous love and thrilling anguish inflicted on him, most humbly beseeching thee that, by the merits of his most holy Life and Passion and Death, thou wouldst wash my soul from all its stains and defilements in his most precious Blood, and adorn it with the merits and virtues of his Humanity, and strengthen it at its departure hence with his Passion and Death. Amen.
THE VICTIM OF SIN.
A prayer in which our Blessed Lord hanging on the cross is offered to God the Father.
LOOK down, O pitiful Father, from the throne of thy Majesty and the lofty habitation of thy heavens, and behold thy beloved Son hanging so piteously and so ignominiously on the cross, his sacred Body all stretched, and racked, and torn with cruel wounds. Look down upon that spotless Lamb, who opened not his mouth when in the jaws of the wolves, to speak one word of deprecation or complaint. See thy most beloved Son, thy sweet Jesus, shedding his Blood with such profuse liberality for the sin of his brethren. Behold that sacred Head, before which the Powers of heaven bow in reverent awe, now itself bowed in dereliction and in anguish. See that Face, fairer than the sons of men, defiled with spittings, seamed with scars, besmeared with blood, and marred with livid bruises. Behold his eyes swimming in tears, his gracious mouth distorted, his sunken pallid cheeks, his hair plucked oft, his arms so painfully stretched, his bones out of joint, his breast torn with wounds, his skin all scarred with gashes, his weak and trembling knees, his hands and feet dug through with cruel nails, his pierced side, his heart laid open, and all his limbs swollen with scourging and with blows.
Remember, O most compassionate Father, who it is that suffers; and remember in thy mercy for whom he suffers. Is not this thy well-beloved Son, whom thou hast begotten from everlasting, and cherished in thine inmost heart? Is not this that most spotless Lamb who, obedient to thee even unto death, hath offered himself a sacrifice and a victim for our sins? Suffer thyself, then, to be touched with that great sight which thine only begotten Son hath set before thee upon the cross, and with the satisfaction he hath made for our sins. Remember all his groanings, remember all the tears he shed upon the cross, while he prayed for those who had crucified him, saying: Father, forgive them! To this end I set forth before thee and offer thee, for my innumerable sins, offences, and negligences, this thy Son, who is made unto me justice, and sanctification, and redemption. Behold,
O most holy Father, I set before thee thy most humble Son, who has made most abundant atonement to thee for all my sins of pride. I set forth before thee and offer thee this thy most meek and gentle Son, who has made atonement to thee for all my sins of anger. I offer thee thy most loving Son, who has fully satisfied for all my sins of hatred. His most gracious liberality has paid whatever debt I have contracted through my avarice. His most holy works have made amends for my sloth. His most perfect abstinence has satisfied for my gluttony. The purity of his most holy life has blotted out whatever sins I have committed by evil thoughts, or words, or deeds. His entire and finished obedience, wherein he was obedient unto thee even unto death, has effaced my disobedience. Lastly, let his universal and absolute perfection plead for my utter imperfection and lack of all virtues. This is my treasure, O most compassionate Father, in which I put my trust; this is the price wherewith I pay thee all my debts. I beseech thee, therefore, by the virtue of all the prayers which thy Son poured out before thee on behalf of sinners, that thou wouldst deign to render this my oblation valid, acceptable, and availing; and by the most sinless Humanity of the same Jesus Christ thy Son to look on me as pure and cleansed from all sin, and endowed and adorned by his glorious Divinity with all those virtues wherewith that. same Divinity caused his most holy Humanity to blossom and to bear fruit. Amen.
A SHORTER OFFERING.
This prayer was revealed to St. Gertrude during a marvellous and unusual visitation of grace, and she was told at the same time that our Lord would accept it with singular favour from all who repeated it. It became so familiar to the saint that during her last illness she repeated it continually.
O Most loving Father, in atonement and satisfaction for all my sins, I offer thee all the whole Passion of thy most beloved Son, from the plaintive wail he uttered when laid upon straw in the manger, through all the helplessness of his infancy, the privations of his boyhood, the adversities of his youth, the sufferings of his manhood, until that hour when he bowed his Head upon the cross with a loud cry, and gave up the ghost. And, in atonement and satisfaction for all my negligences, I offer thee, O most loving Father, all the whole most holy life and conversation of thy Son, most perfect in its every thought, and word, and action, from the hour when he came down from his lofty throne to the Virgin's womb,and thence came forth into our dreary wilderness, to the hour when he presented to thy Fatherly regard the glory of his conquering Flesh. Amen.
PRAYER TO JESUS SUFFERING.
This prayer was very familiar to St. Gertrude, and through its use she obtained the great grace that the stigmata of the Most Sacred Wounds of our Lord were impressed upon her heart.
O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, grant that I may aspire towards thee with all my heart, with yearning desire, with a soul ever athirst for thee; that I may breathe in thee alone, who art all sweetness and all delight; and that my whole spirit and my inmost heart may pant for thee, their true blessedness. O most merciful Lord,engrave thy Wounds upon my heart with thy most precious Blood, that I may read in them all thy grief and all thy love; and may the memory of thy Wounds ever abide in the secret of my heart, to excite my most lively compassion and to enkindle my most glowing love. Grant also that all creatures may grow vile in my eyes, and be thou alone sweet to my heart. Amen.
ASPIRATION OF A SOUL CONDOLING WITH JESUS IN HIS PASSION.
Our Lord said to St. Mechtilde: Whenever any one sighs towards me with love in meditating on my Passion, it is as though he gently touched my Wounds with a fresh-budding rose, and I wound his heart in return with the arrow of my love. Moreover, if he shed tears of devotion over my Passion, I will accept them as though he had suffered for me. And how shall I obtain this gift of tears? asked the saint. Then our Lord taught her the following prayer.
O Most tender Jesus, who didst come to seek and to save that which was lost; alas, how cruelly and how unworthily has the world treated thee, and how black has been its ingratitude to thee,who didst lay down thy beloved soul for its salvation! I condole with thee, O my most loving Brother, and I compassionate thee from my inmost heart, when I call to mind the mournful desolation in which thou, most faithful of friends, wast left by all thy friends; how thou wast ruthlessly seized as a thief and a robber, and cruelly bound, and driven towards thy death, scornfully mocked by thine enemies, and assailed with insults and outrages; and didst become as a worm and no man, the reproach of men, and the outcast of the people. Who can meditate without tears on the loving gentleness with which thou went est forth to meet thine enemies, as they came with swords and with staves to seize thee and deliver thee to death, even as a tender mother goes forth to meet the son of her love; and how thou didst meekly resign thyself into their cruel hands, to rescue them from the jaws of the wolves of hell! While they so pitilessly smote thee, for every blow and for every buffeting thou didst impress a kiss of love on all the souls which should be saved through thy Passion until the day of doom. Oh, how great was thy love towards thine enemies, O most tender Jesus, in that, even while they were cruelly scourging thee, thou didst pour forth for them such availing prayer, that many of them were converted unto thee! And when they thrust the crown of thorns on thy most sacred Head, thou didst weave into their crowns as many gems as there were thorns in thine own. O most gentle Jesus, who can think without an ardent love of thee on the amazing love thou didst manifest to us most ungrateful sinners, when thy sinless hands and feet were so inhumanly nailed to the cross, and all thy limbs so painfully stretched and dragged asunder that all thy bones might be numbered; and thou, the while, wast drawing towards thee, with all the might of thy Divinity, the souls of as many as were ordained to life everlasting. And when thy sacred Side was opened with the lance, thou didst offer the cup of life, filled from thine own Heart, to all who had drunk in Adam the cup of death, that in thee, who art the life, all might be made sons of everlasting life and blessedness. Wherefore, O thou tenderest Lover of my soul, in return for thy love, and for the undeserved bitterness of thy guiltless Passion, I offer thee my whole heart, earnestly desiring, from this moment to the time of my departure hence, to bear with thee all the bitterness and the sorrow of thy sweetest Heart, and of thine immaculate Body; and beseeching thee to wound my heart with a sense and sympathy in thy Passion, and evermore to keep alive its memory within me.
Amen.
PRAYER TO JESUS SUFFERING.
Our Lord said to St. Mechtilde: Behold, I make over to thee all the bitterness of my Passion, that thou mayest offer it to me again as though it were thine own possession. And whoever shall do this shall receive double at my hand, and whenever he renews this offering he shall assuredly receive the double; and this is that hundredfold which a man receives in this life, and in the world to come life everlasting.
O Most gracious Jesus, Redeemer and Saviour of the whole human race, I recall to thy mind with gratitude and love all the sorrow and anxiety which thou, my Creator and my God, didst feel in thine Agony, when thou didst pray yet longer, and didst bedew the earth with the sweat of Blood, wrung from thee by thine exceeding anguish, desire, and love; beseeching thee by all and each of those most sacred drops, all which I here offer thee with devout affection, that thou wouldest wash away all the stains of my sins. I recall to thy mind thy being unjustly bound with heavy chains, thy innumerable stripes and blows, and all the contumely and the blasphemy wherewith thou wast assailed, when all proclaimed thee a deceiver of the people; when thou wast falsely accused before Pilate, ignominiously mocked by Herod, and set aside for an impious robber; and when all the whole multitude clamorously demanded that thou shouldst be crucified. And all this thou didst endure with such love and such patience that although thou couldst by one look have appalled thine adversaries, and with one word convicted the false witnesses against thee, yet thou didst submit to be led as a sheep to the slaughter, and stand before thy judge with thy head bowed in humility, thine eyes fixed on the ground, not once opening thy mouth to speak one word of complaint at the lying accusations brought against thee. Wherefore I give thee thanks on behalf of all mankind, and offer thee all the outrages and the insults heaped on thee, in satisfaction for all the insult I have done thee by my sins. I give thee thanks also, and I recall to thy mind thy most cruel and excessive scourging, wherein thy whole Body was so gashed and torn that from the sole of thy foot to the top of thy head there was no soundness in thee. I set forth now before thee, likewise, that intolerable agony thou didst feel when the crown of thorns was so harshly forced upon thy kingly Head,when the sharp thorns pierced thy head and thy brow, and were thrust even into thy brain, and thy most gentle loving face, into which the Angels desire to look, was covered with slow-trickling drops of thy roseate Blood. O most pitiful Jesus, I now recall to thy mind the unutterable anguish which thrilled through thy whole Body when thou wast fastened to the cross with iron nails, when thou wast lifted up on high on thy cross, and blasphemed by the Jews, mocked in thy thirst with vinegar and gall, and hung up between two robbers as the refuse and offscouring of all creatures. Lastly, O most gracious Jesus, I recall to thy mind with gratitude and compassion all and each of the sorrows thou didst feel throughout thy whole most sacred Body, and especially in thy sweetest Heart, by reason of thy fore-knowledge that thy most bitter, thy most shameful, most guiltless Passion would be of no avail to so many. And then thy deified Heart itself broke with excessive love and grief,and thy most holy Soul quitted thy blessed Body with an inconceivable pang! For all these thy sorrows I give thee infinite thanks; and through thy sweetest Heart, in the power of the Holy Ghost, and on behalf pf and with the love of all creatures, I offer thee all thy grief, and pain, and torment of body and of soul, throughout all the time of thy Passion, for all the sins have committed, for all the good I have left undone or done negligently, and to turn away all the punishment I have so justly deserved. Do thou now vouchsafe to ratify and accept this my oblation, and to absolve me from all my sins. Amen.
SALUTATION OF ALL THE SACRED LIMBS OF JESUS.
In obedience to a divine inspiration, St. Gertrude was wont to salute each member of our Lord which had suffered in his Passion; whenever she did so, a divine splendour appeared to emanate from the sacred members thus saluted, and to irradiate her whole soul. In that splendour she was clothed with that innocence which our Lord acquired for us by the sufferings of that particular member. Wherefore let us not neglect this holy practice, if we would have some part in this blessing.
HAIL,tender Limbs of my Lord Jesus Christ, tormented in thy Passion with manifold pain for our salvation. Hail, thou adorable Head, crowned for us with thorns, and stricken with the reed. Hail, most worshipful Face, for us spit upon and smitten. Hail, most gentle Eyes of our Saviour, for us suffused with tears. Hail, sacred Mouth, filled for us with vinegar and gall. Hail, most noble Ears, pierced for us with reproach and contumely. Hail,thou kingly Neck, buffeted for us; and most holy Back, for us torn with the scourge. Hail, venerable Hands and Arms, stretched out for us upon the cross. Hail, divine Breast, disquieted for us, and mangled in the Passion. Hail, adorable Knees, bent in prayer for us, now crushed and out of joint. Hail, most worshipful Feet, pierced for us with the nails. Hail, glorious Side, riven for us with the soldier's lance. Hail, whole Body of my Jesus, hanged for us on the cross, torn and wounded, dead and buried. Hail, sacred Heart, dropping like the honeycomb, treasure-house of the most Blessed Trinity, broken for us on the cross. Hail, thrice-holy Soul of Jesus Christ, sorrowful for us even unto death. Hail, most precious Blood, flowing so lavishly from the wounds of Jesus. Hail, adorable Wounds of my Saviour, tokens of his love and price of our redemption, inflicted on Jesus in his Passion, and now radiant as stars in the highest heaven. Oh, write my name in these thy Wounds, good Jesus, and hide me therein from the face of the tempter. And by the many wounds and merits of all thy sacred Limbs, vouchsafe to my soul at its departure hence that innocence which thou hast acquired for thy Church by their several anguish and passion. Amen.
PRAYER TO JESUS HANGING ON THE CROSS.
O My most dear and loving Lord Jesus Christ, by the unutterable love wherewith thou didst love the race of men, when thou, the King of Heaven, didst hang upon the cross, thy Body all marred with wounds, thy Heart pierced through, thy Senses confused, thy most beauteous Face so piteously sad, thy ruddy Wounds dripping blood, thine Arms stretched out and thy Feet dug through, thy most sacred Limbs all wrenched and out of joint, thy Mouth livid and thy Countenance pale, thy tearful Eyes dimmed with the shadow of death, thy Breast heaving with sighs, thy Head bowed, thy Side laid open, and thy Soul saturated with sorrows: by all these, and by the love which broke thy sweetest Heart when thy blessed Soul went forth from thy Body, have mercy on my soul, I beseech thee, in the hour of my going hence. Amen.
THREE THANKSGIVINGS TO JESUS ON THE CROSS.
St. Mechtilde once asked our Lord, in prayer, which had been his greatest suffering. Our Lord replied; The being so forcibly stretched out upon the cross that all my bones might have been numbered; and if any one give me special thanks for that suffering, it shall be as though he anointed my wounds with fragrant ointment. And if any one give me thanks for the thirst I suffered, it shall be as though he had allayed that thirst in my Passion; moreover if he give me thanks that I wilted to be fastened to my cross with nails, he shall be as acceptable to me as though he had taken me down from it.
O Most meek and gentle Lamb of God,who during three long hours didst hang so piteously upon the cross; with the affection of all thy creatures give thee thanks for that intolerable pain thou didst endure when thou wast so cruelly stretched out upon thy sacred cross that all thy bones might be numbered: beseeching thee by that pain to forgive me all the sins which I have ever committed against thee with any member of my body. Amen.
O Most innocent Lamb of God, with the gratitude of every creature of thy hands I give thee thanks for the bitter thirst thou didst suffer for the salvation of the world, when with plaintive voice thou didst exclaim: I thirst; and when nothing was given thee to drink but only vinegar and gall: beseeching thee by the bitterness of that thirst to forgive me all me by showing thy the sins which I have most sacred Wounds ever committed against thee by immoderate eating and drinking. Amen.
O most sacred Lamb of God with the mutual gratitude of the Three Persons of the One adorable Trinity I give the thanks for all the dread anguish thou didst endure when thou wast so pitilessly fastened to the cross with iron nails driven through thy sacred hands and Feet; so that thy heart shuddered and thy whole frame quivered with agony. By this thy strong pain and thy most bitter death, I beseech thee to wash away the sins of my hands and my feet, and to appease thy Father's wrath again me by showing thy most sacred Wounds for me. Amen.
PRAISE TO JESUS DESPISED IN HIS PASSION.
Taught to St Mechtilde by our Lord himself.
O Jesus, most glorious in thy magnificence, I praise and bless thine incomprehensible omnipotence, thus weak and helpless for us in thy Passion. I adore and glorify thine unsearchable wisdom, thus accounted foolishness for us. I praise and magnify thine unutterable love, which did submit to he hated of all men for the sake of thine elect. I praise and extol thy meek and gentle mercy, sentenced to a fearful death for man. I praise and adore thy ravishing sweetness, embittered for us by thy most bitter death. Amen.
LOVING AFFECTIONS TO JESUS BLASPHEMED IN HIS PASSION.
When St. Gertrude heard, in the Gospel of the Mass, the words: Thou hast a devil; she was unutterably distressed at so blasphemous a reproach and addressed to our Lord the following prayer. While she was repeating it with most tender affection our Lord appeared to draw near to her and to greet her, saying: Whoever shall salute me with the like affection in reparation for the blasphemies heaped upon me, in the dreadful day of judgment I will show him such tender affection in return, that all his adversaries shall be amazed and flee away.
HAIL, life-giving Germ of divine Majesty! hail, unfading Flower of human dignity! O most loving Jesus, for all the blasphemies and contumely with which thou wast assailed on earth, I salute and bless thee with all the affection and love of the whole creation. For every drop of thy Precious Blood shed in thy Passion, for every Wound thou didst bear in thy sacred Body, for every blow and stripe and bruise, I salute and bless thee ten thousand fold. For every tear thou didst shed, for every sigh thou didst breathe forth, for every sorrow thou didst feel, I bless and salute thee, O my sweetest Jesus, ten thousand fold. For every act of virtue thou didst do, for every thirsting desire with which thou didst yearn for our salvation, for every look of love thou didst bend on thy Mother and thy friends. I bless and salute thee ten thousand fold. For every fall along thy way of sorrows, for every shrinking and sinking of thy Human Flesh, for every movement of thy sacred Hands and Feet,I salute and bless thee ten thousand fold. I bless and salute thee ten thousand times, O meekest Jesus, for every drop of Blood that fell to the ground in thy sweat of agony, for every painful step of thy weary Feet, for every strong cry and tear wherewith thou didst offer thy prayers and thy supplication to thy Father. I salute and bless thee ten thousand times, O most gentle Jesus, for every gash with which thy sacred Body was torn in thy scourging, for every thorn of thy cruel crown which entered into thy Flesh, for all the loathsome spittings with which thou wast defiled. I bless and salute thee ten thousand times for every cord with which thou wast bound, for every reproach and outrage wherewith thy soul was saturated, for every impious greeting of scorn with which thou wast insulted. For every false charge brought against thee, O sinless Jesus, for every foul and impious lie uttered in disparagement of thee, and for every unjust sentence pronounced upon thee, I bless and salute thee ten thousand fold. Would, O most gracious Jesus, that I could multiply these my salutations and praises ten thou sand times ten thou sand fold, and offer them to thee every hour of my life; that so I might efface and make amends for all the insults, the contumely, and the blasphemy hurled against thee, my sweetest Redeemer! I pray thee, despise not the desire nor the sighing of thy poor, but, according to thine own essential goodness, deign to ratify and accept them. Amen.
SALUTATION OF THE WOUND IN THE SIDE OF JESUS.
O LORD Jesus, compassionate Pelican, who hast cleansed us unclean in thine own Blood, I give thee thanks for the sweet and adorable Wound of love which thou didst receive on the cross, when thine all conquering love opened thy sweet-flowing Side, and wounded thy most sacred Heart with an arrow of love. Blessed for ever be that life-giving stroke and that most hallowed Wound; and blessed be the adorable Blood, and the water of salvation which gushed forth from it, to wash away all our sins! Wash me, unclean, O compassionate Jesus, in that cleansing water; anoint my feeble soul, and quicken it with that sacred Blood; and grant that at my last hour my portion and heritage may be but one drop of that divine stream. O most loving Jesus, by thy pierced Heart, I pray thee, wound my heart with that arrow of love; so that nothing of earth may abide in it more, but that it be filled with thy glowing love alone for ever. Amen.
SALUTATION OF THE WOUND IN THE SHOULDER OF JESUS.
It is related in the annals of Clairvaux that St. Bernard once asked our Lord, which was his greatest unrecorded suffering, and that our Lord condescended to answer: I had on my shoulder, while I bore my cross on the way of sorrows, a most grievous wound, which was more gainful to me than the others, and which is not recorded by men because they knew not of it. Honour this wound with thy devotion, and I will grant thee whatsoever thou dost ask through its virtue and merit. And in regard of all those who shall venerate this wound, I will remit to them all their venial sins, and will no more remember their mortal sins.
O Most loving Jesus, meekest Lamb of God, I, a miserable sinner, salute and worship the most sacred Wound of the shoulder on which thou didst bear thy heavy cross, which so tore thy Flesh and laid bare thy Bones as to inflict on thee an anguish greater than any other wound of thy most blessed Body. I adore thee, O Jesus most sorrowful; I praise thee, I bless and glorify thee, and give thee thanks for this most sacred and most painful Wound; beseeching thee, by that exceeding pain, and by the crushing burden of thy heavy cross, to be merciful to me a sinner, to forgive me all my mortal and all my venial sins, and to lead me on to wards heaven along the way of thy cross. Amen.
LITANY OF THE PASSION.
Lord have mercy.
Christ have mercy.
Lord have mercy.
Jesus hear us.
Jesus graciously hear us.
O God the Father, of heaven,
O God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
O God the Holy Ghost,
Holy Trinity, one God,
Jesus, Son of the living God,
By thy most holy life and conversation,
By thy most bitter passion and death,
By thy sorrow and thine agony in the garden,
By thy thrice-repeated prayer, Have mercy on us.
By thy resignation of thy human will,
By thy sweat of Blood,
By thy harsh captivity,
By thy bonds and stripes,
By thy sacred Body buffeted and smitten,
By thy mockings and thine ignominy,
By the spitting upon thy adorable Face,
By the false judgment pronounced on thee by Caiphas, By thy setting at naught by Herod,
By the shameful stripping off thy garments,
By thy cruel scourging,
By thy painful crown of thorns,
By thy purple robe,
By thy most unjust condemnation,
By thy bearing thine own cross,
By thy footprints traced in blood,
By the wound in thy sacred shoulder,
By the tearing off thy garments,
By the cruel stretching of all thy sacred limbs,
By thy dread crucifixion,
By the upraising of thy cross,
By the taunts and blasphemies of thine enemies,
By thy seven words and thy thirst,
By the compassion of thy Mother,
By the woe of all thy friends,
By the anguish of thy Heart and of thy Body,
By thy tears and prayers,
By the dropping of thy most precious Blood,
By thy patience and humility,
By the love of thy sweetest Heart,
By the love wherewith thou didst pray for sinners,
By the love wherewith thou didst endure all thy torments and sorrows,
By the love wherewith thou didst will to die a cruel death,
By the love wherewith thou didst will thy sacred Side to be opened with the lance,
By the love wherewith thou didst will to be laid in the sepulchre,
By the most acceptable sacrifice which thou didst offer to thy Father in thy Passion,
By the intercession of thy dearest Mother and of all thine elect,
By thine infinite dignity and worth,
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
Graciously hear us, O Lord. Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
Have mercy on us.
Jesus, hear us.
Jesus, graciously hear us.
Ant. O Saviour of the world, save us, who by thy cross and blood hast redeemed us: grant us thine aid, we beseech thee, O our God.
V. We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee.
R. Because by thy cross thou hast redeemed the world.
Let us pray.
O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, who didst at the sixth hour go up on the cross for the redemption of the world, and shed thy blood for the remission of our sins; we humbly beseech thee that by the virtue and merits of thy most holy life, passion, and death, thou wouldst grant us to enter into the gates of Paradise with joy: who livest, &c.