My Savior nailed to the cross! As I pray with You, the ravishing power of Your love and suffering keeps my gaze fixed on You. But my heart wants to break when I see you suffering so much. You are consumed with love and pain. The flames burning in Your heart are so high that they are close to reducing Your heart to ashes. Your restrained love is stronger than even death. You want to give it a way out, You look at the thief on Your right and snatch him from hell. Your mercy touches his heart. He is completely transformed, recognizes and confesses You as God and cries out in sincere repentance over his life of sin:

“Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!” And You do not hesitate to answer him:

“Verily I say to you, this very day you will be with Me in paradise.”

You have thus achieved the first triumph of your love. But I also see that Your love conquers the heart not only of the thief, but also of countless dying people. Oh, You put Your blood at their disposal, Your love, Your merits and use all the tricks at God's disposal to stir their hearts and win them over for You. But even at this moment Your love is thwarted. How many dying people reject it, distrust You and despair! Your pain at this is so great that You wrap Yourself in pain all over again.

I want, my Jesus, to atone for those who despair of Your mercy at the moment of death. My sweet Love, instill confidence and trust in You in all people, especially those who are in the throes of death. By virtue of the promise You gave to the thief, grant them light, strength and assistance to die holy and fly from this earth to heaven. Enclose all souls in Your most holy Body, in Your Blood and in Your wounds. For the sake of the merits of Your precious Blood, do not allow even a single soul to be lost. May the voice of Your Blood even now give all souls the comforting promise: “Today still you will be with Me in Paradise.”

Third Word:
“Mother, behold Your Son!” “Behold your mother!”

My crucified Savior! Your sufferings increase more and more. On the cross You are truly the King of pain. Among all Your torments, no soul escapes You; You give each one Your own life. Your love, however, sees itself despised by the creatures. Since it cannot find a way out, it becomes all the more violent and makes You endure unspeakable torment. In this torment, it tries to fathom what else would be possible to defeat man, and it lets You speak:

"See, My soul, how much I have loved you. If you do not want to have pity on yourself, at least have pity on My love!"

In the meantime, since You have nothing more to give to the souls, You turn Your mother's languid gaze. Your suffering is torturing Her to death, crucifying Her too. Mother and Son understand each other, and it is a consolation for You and a satisfaction that You can give Your faithful Mother to poor humanity. In John You see the whole human race. You speak with a voice so tender that all human hearts could be touched:

"Mother, behold your son! ” and to John:

“Behold your mother!”

Your voice penetrates the mother's heart, and united with the voice of your blood it continues:

"My Mother, to you I entrust all My children. All the love You feel for Me, feel for them. Turn all your efforts and all your motherly tenderness towards My children; you shall save them all for Me."

Your mother accepts the proposal. But now Your suffering is so intense that You withdraw into silence once again.

I want, my Jesus, to atone for all the insults and blasphemies inflicted on the Blessed Virgin and for the ingratitude of so many people who do not want to recognize the benefits You have done us all by giving us Mary as our Mother.

How can we show our gratitude to You for such a benefit? By returning to You, my Jesus, and offering Your Blood, Your wounds and the infinite love of Your Heart to You as a sacrifice. O Most Holy Virgin, how moved You are to hear the voice of Your good Jesus, who leaves You as Mother to us all!

We thank You for this, Blessed Virgin. To give thanks as is fitting, we offer You the thanksgiving of Your Son Himself. O Mary, be our Mother, take care of us and do not allow us to offend You in the slightest. Keep us always close to the Heart of Jesus. With Your Holy Hands bind us all so firmly to Him that we can never again escape from Him. With Your own acts I want to atone for the insults done to Your Jesus in You, sweet Mother.

Jesus, while You are immersed in a sea of suffering, You take care of the salvation of souls all the more. But I will not remain indifferent, rather, like a dove, I will take my flight to Your wounds, kiss them, try to soothe their pain and immerse myself in Your blood so that I can cry out with You: “Souls, souls!” I want to hold up Your head, wounded by thorns and tormented by pain, in order to make reparation to You and implore mercy, love and forgiveness for all.¹

Reign in my spirit, O Jesus! Heal it from all aberrations by virtue of the thorns that enter Your head, and do not let me ever go astray.

You eyes of my highest good, though filled with blood, look upon me, my misery, my weakness, look upon my poor heart and cause me to experience the marvelous effects of your holy gaze.

You ears of my Jesus, though deafened by the insults and blasphemies of the wicked, O listen to me! Listen to my prayers and do not disregard my atonements. Hear, O Jesus, the cry of my heart. It will calm down when You have filled it with Your love.

O face of the fairest of the children of men! Show Yourself to me and let me see You so that I can peel my poor heart away from everything and everyone. Your beauty enchants me and constantly draws me to You.

Sweetest mouth of my Jesus, speak to me! Your voice resounds incessantly within me. The power of Your Word destroys everything that is not the will of God, that is not love.

Jesus, spread out Your arms to embrace me. Reach out Your arms to receive me. Let this embrace be so intimate that no human power can tear me away from You.

You holy shoulders of my Jesus, always strong and steadfast in suffering for love of me, give me strength, steadfastness and valor in suffering for love of Him. Jesus, do not allow me to be unsteady in love, rather let me share in Your immutability.

My Jesus' breast, ignited by flames of love, give me Your flames, You can no longer hold them back, and my heart seeks them with longing, I would also have to make my way through Your blood and Your wounds. It is the flames of Your love that hurt You the most. Jesus, my greatest good, give me a share in it too. Does a soul that is as cold and as poor in love as mine move You to compassion?

Hands of my Jesus, You who created heaven and earth, now You can move no more. My Jesus, continue Your creation, bring about the creation of love. Create in my whole being a new, a divine life. Speak a word of creation over my poor heart and transform it completely into Yours.

You holy feet of my Jesus, never leave me alone. Make me always walk with you and never take a step away from you. Jesus, with my love and my acts of reparation I want to refresh You for all that You suffer at Your pierced feet.

My crucified Savior! I adore Your precious Blood, I kiss one wound after the other and I want to sink into them all my love, my adoration, my sincere acts of reparation. May Your Blood be for all souls light in darkness, strength in suffering, power in weakness, forgiveness in temptation, defense in danger, succor in death and the wings that carry souls from this earth to heaven.

Jesus, I come to You to build my dwelling place in Your heart. From the depths of Your Heart, my sweet Love, I will call all to You, and if anyone wants to come near You to offend You, I will oppose him and not allow him to wound You. Rather, I will enclose him in your heart, speak to him of your love and turn his insults into love.

Jesus, do not let me ever step out of Your heart. Nourish me with Your flames, give me life from Your life, so that I may love You as You desire to be loved.

Fourth Word:
“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

Suffering Savior! While I, clinging to Your Heart, am busy contemplating Your pains, I perceive that convulsive trembling afflicts Your humanity. All Your limbs are in turmoil, as if one wanted to detach itself from the other. In the agony caused by the terrible convulsions, You cry out in a loud voice:

“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

At this cry, everyone trembles, the darkness thickens, Your Mother, petrified by pain, turns pale and is close to fainting. My life, my everything, my Jesus, what do I see? Oh, You are close to death. Oh, if only the sufferings that so faithfully persevere with You would at least leave You now! Even after such great torments, You look with immeasurable pain at those souls who are not yet fully incorporated into You², You also look at the many who are lost, You feel painfully the separation from those who renounce You.You, who must make satisfaction to divine justice, feel the fear of death of everyone, even the torments they have to suffer in hell, and call out with a strong voice to all:

"O do not leave Me! If you want more suffering, well, I am ready for it, but do not separate yourselves from My humanity. For this separation is for Me the pain of pains, the death of every death. I would consider all the rest as nothing if I did not have to endure your agonizing separation. O have pity on My blood, on My wounds and on My death. Incessantly I let your hearts hear the call: O do not forsake Me!"

My love, how I suffer with You! You struggle with death, Your head sinks on Your breast, Life wants to leave You.

My love, I too feel close to death and would like to cry out with You: “Souls, souls!” I will not leave this cross, these wounds of Yours, because I want to ask for souls from You. If You wish, I will descend into the hearts of all people and surround them with Your sufferings so that they will not escape You. If it were possible, I would place myself at the entrance to hell to force those souls who are destined for it to retreat and lead them to Your heart.

My Jesus, You are silent and I mourn Your near death. Oh, how I pity You! I press Your heart tightly to mine and show it all the tenderness of which I am capable. In order to give You a consolation commensurate with Your suffering, I would like to have a divine tenderness and show You all my sympathy with it, I would like to turn my heart into a stream of bliss in order to pour it into Your heart and sweeten the bitterness You feel in the face of the demise of so many souls. Your cry sounds too painful because the Father has left You, but even more painful for You is the downfall of the souls who are moving away from You. It is He who elicits such bitter lamentation from Your heart. O Jesus! Increase grace in all, that no soul may be lost. Let my atonement be for the benefit of those who would plunge into ruin, so that they will not be rejected.

I also ask You, my Jesus, for the sake of Your extreme abandonment, to assist the souls who love You, from whom You seem to withdraw Yourself, in order to have them as companions of Your abandonment. May the sufferings of these souls be like voices which call the souls close to You, and thus lift You up in Your pain.

Reflections and Practices

by St. Fr. Annibale Di Francia

Jesus Forgives the good thief, and with so much Love as to bring him immediately to Paradise with Himself. And we—do we always pray for the souls of the so many dying who need a prayer, so that hell may be closed to them, and the gates of Heaven be opened?

The pains of Jesus on the Cross increase but, forgetful of Himself, He always Prays for us. He leaves nothing for Himself and gives everything to us, even His Most Holy Mother, offering Her as the Dearest Gift from His Heart. And we—do we give everything to Jesus?

In all that we do—prayers, actions and other things—do we always have the intention of absorbing New Love within ourselves³, so as to give everything back to Him? We must absorb it in order to give it, so that everything we do may carry the Seal of the Works of Jesus.

When the Lord gives us fervor, Light and Love, do we use them for the good of others? Do we try to enclose souls in this Light and in this fervor, so as to move the Heart of Jesus to convert them; or do we selfishly keep His Graces for ourselves alone?

O my Jesus, may every little spark of love that I feel in my heart become a fire that may consume all the hearts of creatures, and enclose them in Your Heart.

What use do we make of the Great Gift of His Mama, Whom He gave to us? Do we make the Love of Jesus, the Tendernesses of Jesus and all that Jesus did our own, so as to make His Mama content? Can we say that our Divine Mother finds in us the contentment that She found in Jesus? Are we always close to Her, as faithful children; do we obey Her and imitate Her Virtues? Do we try every way in order not to escape from Her Maternal Gaze, so that She may keep us always clinging to Jesus? In everything we do, do we always call the Gazes of the Celestial Mother to guide us, so as to be able to act in a saintly way, as true children of Hers, under Her Compassionate Gaze?

And in order to give Her the same contentment as Her Son gave to Her, let us ask from Jesus all the Love that He had for

His Most Holy Mother, the Glory that He continuously gave to Her, His Tenderness and all His finesses of Love. Let us make all this our own, and let us say to the Celestial Mama, “We have Jesus in ourselves; and in order to make You content, so that You may find in us all that You found in Jesus, we give everything to You. Moreover, Beautiful Mama, we also want to give to Jesus all the Contentments that He found in You. Therefore, we want to enter into Your Heart and take all Your Love, all Your Contentments, all Your Tendernesses and Maternal Cares, and give them all to Jesus. Our Mama, may Your Maternal Hands be the sweet chains which keep us bound to You and to Jesus.”

Jesus does not spare Himself in anything. Loving us with Highest Love, He would want to save us all and, if it were possible, snatch all souls from hell, even at the cost of suffering all of their pains. In spite of this, He sees that, through continual strainings, souls want to free themselves from His arms and, unable to contain His pain, He cries out, “My God, My God, why have You abandoned Me?” And we—can we say that our love for souls is similar to that of Jesus? Are our prayers, our pains and all of our most tiny acts united to the acts and to the prayers of Jesus in order to snatch souls from hell? How do we compassionate Jesus in His Immense Sorrow? If our life could be consumed in a continuous holocaust, it would not be enough to compassionate this Sorrow. Every little act, suffering and thought that we do united to Jesus can be used to grab souls, so that they may not fall into hell. United with Jesus, we will have His own Power in our hands. But if we do not do our acts united with Jesus, they will not serve to prevent even one soul from going to hell.

My Love and my All, hold me tightly to Your Heart, so that I may immediately feel how much the sinner saddens You in detaching himself from You, and therefore be able to do my part right away. O my Jesus, may Your Love bind my heart, so that, burned by Your Fire, I may feel the Love that You Yourself had for souls. When I suffer sorrows, pains and bitternesses, then pour out Your Justice upon me, O Jesus, and

take the satisfaction You want. But may the sinner be saved, O Jesus; may my pains be the bond that binds You and the sinner, and may my soul receive the consolation of seeing Your Justice satisfied.

¹ Like Jesus, the Servant of God also wants to save all souls by atoning with Jesus for all.

² As members of his mystical body.

³ Through every work that we perform in the state of grace and out of love for God, we gain an increase in love, grace, merit and glory.

Sacrifice and Thanksgiving

Sources:

Bild von freepik

Bild von ddraw auf Freepik

Image by freepik

Thorn Circle Vectors by Vecteezy

Crown Of Thorns Vectors by Vecteezy

Image by freepik