HH All EN

^ Sanctuary Revealed Prayers Models Divers Contact ^
En Hr It

VIVAT COR JESU SACRATISSIMUM!
Holy Hours
BY
REV. MATEO CRAWLEY-BOEVEY, SS. CC.
National Center of the Enthronement Fathers of the Sacred Hearts
WASHINGTON 17, D. C.
1954
NIHIL OBSTAT
VINCENT DAVIS, SS.CC,
Censor Deputatus
IMPRIMI POTEST
WILLIAM CONDON, SS.CC., Provincialis
NIHIL OBSTAT
JOHN TRACY ELLIS
Censor Librorum
IMPRIMATUR
+ PATRICK A. O'BOYLE
Archbishop of Washington
August 4, 1953
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
I. To start the New Year in the Spirit of the Sacred Heart. 21
II. Holy Hour for the First Friday of January and the Feast of the Sacred Heart 50
III. Holy Hour for the First Friday of February 79
Holy Hour for the First Friday of March and the feast of the Immaculate Heart of
IV. 111
Mary
V. Holy Hour for the First Friday of April 147
VI. Holy Hour for the First Friday of May 178
VII. Holy Hour for the First Friday of June, specially dedicated to suffering souls 208
Holy Hour for the First Friday of July — offered in reparation for public and
VIII. 237
official outrages against our Lord
Holy Hour for the First Friday of August — meditation on the seven last words
IX. 264
of the Dying Savior . . .
X. Holy Hour for the First Friday of September and for Holy Thursday 293
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
XI. Holy Hour for the First Friday of October 328
XII. Holy Hour offered as a homage of love and reparation to Christ the King 356
XIII. Holy Hour for the First Friday of November 412
XIV. Holy Hour for the First Friday of December — meditation on the five principal 441
requests of the Sacred Heart
Holy Hour for the Apostles of the Sacred Heart, through love, suffering, and
XV. 470
Eucharist — specially dedicated to contemplative Communities
XVI. Holy Hour on the Lord's Passion at Jerusalem, on the altar, and in souls 498
XVII. Holy Hour on the Holy Thursday Dungeon and the Tabernacle Prison 526
XVIII. Holy Hour to enlighten and comfort souls who suffer 565
XIX. Holy Hour on the intimate family and social reign of the Sacred Heart 595
XX. Holy Hour dedicated to the Friends of the Sacred Heart. 624
XXI. Holy Hour for mothers 651
Foreword
Through the hands of Mary, Mother Immaculate, Queen of America, I offer this little book of twenty-one
different Holy Hours as a token of love and reparation to the most Sacred Heart of Jesus, the King enthroned
in very many Catholic homes, and the Adorable Friend of parents and children.
With childlike trust in the Divine Promises, I ask in exchange His countless blessings upon that great army of
Night Adorers in the many homes scattered throughout this great nation. They are the genuine heirs of
Margaret Mary's vocation—to watch during the night close to her agonizing Master, consoling Him for the
coldness of so many careless souls, and offering atonement and penance for prodigals and sinners.
This book is dedicated also to the numerous priests to whom I have had the honor of preaching a Retreat,
with the hope that it may help them to cultivate a deep spirit of prayer, and that it may encourage them to
preach the Holy Hour, a devotion very dear to many Americans.
With deep appreciation I extend my thanks to the great number of religious Communities who invited me to
preach to them, and who have cooperated so earnestly in spreading and organizing the Social Reign of the
King of Love in the Catholic home. May God bless their work and help them to develop in homes a great and
fervent love for the Mass, an earnest desire to receive Holy Communion frequently, and a tender and
enduring love for the Sacred Heart.
More precious than the prayers contained in this book is the official prayer of the "Canon of the Mass." I
humbly ask the Night Adorers to begin their monthly adoration by reading carefully and lovingly the whole
Canon and offering it in union with the thousands of priests who, in other distant hemispheres, are at that
same moment offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
Conquer America, most Sacred Heart of Jesus!
Reign in America, Christ the King!
Fr. Mateo Crawley-Boevey, SS. CC.

Foreword
The evident and encouraging success of this little volume of Holy Hours, written long ago on my knees, is
indeed extremely suggestive and eloquent.
In fact, these pious and somewhat mystical pages are very far from being a mere literary work or a sacred
song. They are meant to be an intimate and fervent supplication, expressing our longing for a greater
intimacy with Jesus, offering Him a living atonement for our sins and especially the sins of ingratitude and
the easy-going ways of many formalistic friends. This was His own divine complaint made to St. Margaret
Mary at Paray-le-Monial, precisely when the Sacred Heart requested the sweet consolation of the Holy Hour.
I prayed them a hundred times before I tried to transfer to these written pages the vibration of my soul.
How then are we to explain their success?
Simply because this prayerful hymn corresponds to a very strong Catholic feeling of the American pious elite
that I met and admired during my unforgettable apostolic trip a few years ago. Yes, this hymn has struck the
noble cord of very many loving souls in that America that is falsely sup-
posed to be icy, indifferent, especially in matters concerning the supernatural, the inner Christian life. I
wrote, speaking symbolically, the words, and American Catholics added the wonderful music, the sacred
song.
Many foreigners, if they read this, would probably smile, thinking I am dreaming. But no; this is the touching
fact that struck me the most when discovering the heavenly stuff of which the American Catholic elite is
made. Ah! I will never forget those enormous crowds that overtired me — very happily indeed — when
giving them countless lectures and very often when I prayed these Holy Hours aloud with them in big
churches.
This exterior success was certainly not a bonfire, and once more the best proof is the wonderful success of
this simple little volume: a success, then, that is both yours and mine, dearest American friends and apostles
of the Social Reign of the Sacred Heart in the homes of your dear country.
Stir up this sacred fire everywhere: in parishes, in centers of social apostolate, in religious communities, but
most especially light the lamps of Holy Hours in your Catholic homes, in the faithful Bethanies of the Sacred
Heart.
Know well, you are in the front ranks of the Night Watchers in the home, you Americans!
This is not a mere title given you through admiration, not even out of gratitude; this is, with your Eucharistic
spirit and fervor, really your noblest title. Yes, faithful Americans, valiant, generous sentinels of the night,
you are a great Legion, nay, already an imposing army of Night Adorers in the Home!
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, King of Love, bless and sanctify these Bethanies!
Bless and sanctify and save your dear Americans!
FATHER MATEO CRAWLEY-BOEVEY, SS.CC.
September 1953
Hospital Notre Dame de la Merci
Montreal, Canada
ARCHBISHOP'S HOUSE
SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO
Feast of the Sacred Heart
June 12, 1953
To appreciate truly the value of this book containing the twenty-one Holy Hours by the saintly Father Mateo,
let us go back to the year of 1674, to the convent where St. Margaret Mary is kneeling before the Blessed
Sacrament exposed. The Saint says, "I felt drawn within myself by an extraordinary recollection pf all my
senses and powers. Jesus Christ my adorable Master presented Himself to me all resplendent in glory. His
five wounds shone like five suns. From the sacred Humanity issued flames on all sides, but most especially
from His adorable Breast which seemed to be a furnace. This was opened and disclosed to me His most
lovable Heart, the living source of all these flames."
Among other things He said, "Every night between Thursday and Friday I will grant you to share in that
mortal sadness which I chose to feel in the Garden of Olives. You shall keep me company in the prayer I then
offered to my Father. In order to accomplish this you shall arise between eleven o'clock and the midnight
hour, and remain prostrate with me during the space
of an hour, and so appease the divine anger by imploring mercy for sinners. Thus, too, shall you assuage in
some sort the bitterness I felt at that time because of the abandonment by my Apostles, and which led me to
reproach them for not having been able to watch with me for the space of one hour."
How sacred then is this pious exercise of the holy hour! It has its origin in a divine request from the Heart of
God. He who alone is, beside Whom no one else is necessary, He the beginning and end, the Alpha and
Omega, He the all-perfect, Almighty, all-wise and everlasting, begs the love of His poor little creatures in an
hour of prayer. In truth, such a holy hour is most excellent and most helpful to sanctity!
The night adoration in the home is an hour of reparation. Oh! how badly and urgently we need to make
reparation! How the Heart of our Divine Lord must be offended and saddened by the sight of so many sins
and crimes committed by enemies and friends alike, by nations and by individuals! We can almost hear His
bitter complaint coming from a Heart torn by the ingratitude of those He loves," Why dost thou persecute
me? What have I done to thee?"
And it is an hour of reparation made in the home, in the bosom of the family. In writing about the special
mission of the family in Catholic
Action, our Holy Father Pope Pius XII said, "In our time the family has a special mission. For it is the spirit
of the family that exercises a most powerful influence on the rising generation. As long as the sacred flame of
the Faith burns on the domestic hearth and the parents forge and fashion the lives of their children in
accordance with this Faith, youth will ever be ready to acknowledge the royal prerogatives of the Redeemer
and to oppose those who wish to exclude Him from society or wrongly usurp His rights. When churches are
closed, when the image of the Crucified is taken from schools, the family remains the providential, and in a
certain sense, the impregnable refuge of Christian life."
How consoling to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the reparation made by a family before His enthroned image
during the quiet of the night, in the sanctuary of their homes, when so many offenses and insults are being
proferred Him in other places.
When Our Blessed Lady said to the children of Fatima, "Many souls go to hell because there is no one to
pray for them," She recalled to mind the need of victim-souls, of souls willing to pray for those who pray not
and to do penance for those who practice no restraint of any kind. One has only to look at the hard-faced
young girls and our prematurely old young boys who belong
to an age that has traded on lust so hard and so long that the classic lines of Pope seem so true: "Sin is a
monster of so horrible a mien as to be hated needs only to be seen, but seen too oft, familiar with its face, we
first endure, then pity, then embrace."
The conspicuous absence of purity in our modern world is the reason why the heart grows quickly old in the
world's specious wisdom, and the body is listless before it has quickened to the joys visible only to the clean
of heart. Only the pure know how to love, for chastity is something positive and flaming. It is in the sanctity
of the home, where the King of Purity, the Immaculate Lamb of God, is enthroned, where He is the Master of
hearts, that the blaze of youth will return to modern, hard, young faces and release fragrance down the path
of our stale age.
It is the nature of goodness to diffuse itself, and in quiet. It is the nature of evil to defend itself and most often
with noise. A holy soul has said, "Noise is waste. Silence is strength." We learn nowhere so quickly and so
profoundly as we learn in quiet.
Our Blessed Lady has left us the legacy of Her quiet. If we are to live as children of God, we must be careful
not to substitute a great deal of "doing" for a great lack of "being." In the quiet of the night hour of adoration
in the home
we will learn the secrets of the King and gain open entrance to His Heart. And gradually we will understand
His love and then cry out not only that we love Him, but in simple wonder say, "Oh! how He loves us!"
+EDWIN V. BYRNE
Archbishop of Santa Fe
Holy Hours
21 NEW YEAR
I
Holy Hour
To Begin the New Year in the Spirit of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and for His Greater
Glory
(This Holy Hour may also be made at certain solemn and decisive hours of life; on the eve of marriage; when
one is about to leave home for the cloister, and especially during a retreat, etc.)
The real Sun of peace, of hope, of love which is rising for us all with the dawn of the new year is the Heart of
Jesus, sending forth its rays from the Host.
"Glory to Him in Heaven, glory to Him and to Him alone on earth! . . . Adveniat, adveniat, adveniat regnum
tuum." May His Kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven! . . . May this new year be the beginning of a new
triumph for the Reign of the Sacred Heart of Jesus over society.
22 HOLY HOUR
Let us place ourselves in His presence by a profound act of faith, . . . of adoration . . . The Master is there,
and He wishes to speak to us.
Let us listen to His voice, which fills eternity with happiness! . . .
Jesus: Pax vobis! . . . Peace be with you, My little ones! . . . I bring it to you for your souls, suffering,
struggling, but filled with good will . . . Pax! . . . I bring it for your firesides darkened by sorrow, tried by
misfortunes, unavoidable in this vale of tears . . . Pax! . . . I bring it for society in which you live, a society
which needs so much to be Christianized in order to be more truly My inheritance . . . I bring peace for your
country. Ask of Me that it may one day be My Jerusalem of Palm Sunday . . . Pax! . . . I bring My peace, My
great, victorious peace—for My Church Militant . . . Pray that She may fill My heavenly Father's granaries
with an abundant and rich harvest . . .
Do not fear like the Apostles; come close to Me Your King, your Brother, your Friend, to your Jesus. Come,
come . . . nearer still! . . . I want you to touch the Wounds in My hands,
23 NEW YEAR
in My feet, and especially the Wound in My Side . . . Place your hand therein. O enter . . . remain.in this
dwelling, yours in time, and if you will, yours in eternity . . .
Believe that I am the same Jesus, kind, tender, merciful, who was born of the Virgin Mary . . . I am her Son,
you are My brothers; . . . be not afraid of Me! And now my children, docile and trustful, at the dawn of this
year accept as a gift of My love a divine thought . . . a thought which will serve as the foundation for this new
stage of your life. Empty your souls of all else; let there be complete silence that you may gather this solemn
lesson from My Gospel . . . Beloved souls, meditate now on this saying of your God: A year nearer your
eternal destiny! . . . Ah! pause here, you, My faithful ones, to reflect on the vanity of all . . . of all that is not
Jesus
(Slowly and reflectingly)
Fleeting is youth—-a flower that lives a day . . . and dies,
Fleeting are the fumes of senseless ambition which pass away,
24 HOLY HOUR
Fleeting as the lightning is the passing joy which quickly vanishes,
Fleeting is the gilded and changeable fortune which escapes us,
Fleeting is the splendor of high station which disappears,
Fleeting is pleasure's intoxication which poisons as it goes,
Fleeting is all earthly harmony, all created beauty, which perishes,
Fleeting is human love, which alters, which forgets,
Fleeting is the wisdom of men which deludes and is extinguished—
Vanitas!... .all is but vanity, except your Jesus! . . .
My children, listen to the voice of bygone centuries with their history of glory or of falsehood, of the peoples
who were and are no more. They cry to you, as I do, that all here below is vanity, except your Jesus! . . .
Millions of men, carried away by the whirlwind and flames of fratricidal wars, speak eloquently
25 NEW YEAR
by the silent voice of their ashes; Vanitas! all is vanity here below, except your Jesus!...
And millions of these other wrecked creatures —the broken-hearted mothers, wives, orphans, outcasts, the
ruined, . . . an immense caravan, dragging their shattered souls, cry to you in one piercing moan: Vanitas! . . .
all is vanity here below, except your Jesus! , . ,
(Brief pause)
But be not too disconsolate, be not discouraged, My children, for though the world is naught but vanity, I
have conquered it by the supreme reality of My love. . . Courage then! . . . Lift up your hearts, for I remain
the eternal, the divine Reality of faithful souls here below! . . . I am the only great and lasting Reality . . . and
this Reality is sufficient for you! . . . Do you believe it ?
O, My beloved children, will you give Me the immense pleasure of hearing you proclaim, at the foot of My
altar, that I, your God, suffice you.
26 HOLY HOUR
Friends of My Heart, reflect on the vanity of youth, which lasts but a morning and dies; . . . but in its stead,
what will you rely on?
All: Thee, O Jesus, the one Reality! . . .
Consolers of My Heart, meditate on the vanity of seductive and dangerous ambition which passes away; . . .
but in its stead, what will you substitute ?
Apostles of My Heart, meditate constantly on the vanity of worldly joy, the glitter of tinsel, a dew that
evaporates; . . . but in its stead, what would attract you ?
Confidants of My Heart, reflect without ceasing on the vanity of fortune which corrupts and melts away; . . .
but in its stead, what would you seek?
Disciples of My Heart, think daily of the vanity of pleasure which poisons and passes quickly; . . . but in its
stead, what would you desire ?
27 NEW YEAR
Adorers of My Heart, meditate each moment on the vanity of created beauty which fades and dies . . . but in
its stead, what would you look
for?
Repairers of My Heart, think day and night on the vanity of earthly love which changes; . . . is faithless and
inconstant; . . . but in its stead, what would you depend on?
Children of My Heart, consider, without ceasing, the vanity of human wisdom which goes astray and fails; . .
. but in its stead, what would guide you?
All: Thou, O Jesus, the one Reality! . . .
Yes, Lord, Thou and only Thou, immutable and eternal reality . . .
With Thee, life so void of peace and beauty, will, despite its thorns, its failures, its ruins . . . be peaceful and
bearable . . . but . . . with Thee, Jesus! . . .
28 HOLY HOUR
This year, now beginning, does not dismay us, notwithstanding all the insecurity it brings, for we are at Thy
Side, Jesus! . . .
This world is no longer an earthly Paradise, but what matters that! . . . We have a thousand times more: Thy
Heart which gives light, life, and consolation for eternity! . . . Thou art our Paradise here below, O Jesus! . . .
(Let us ask in a heart-felt prayer the grace of appreciating at its real value this gift of a new year, and let us
promise to use it for the glory of the Heart of Jesus and for a happy eternity for our souls.)
Souls: The Holy Hour is the hour of confidences. Then Jesus, let us tell Thee everything, absolutely
everything that we feel, for we have an overpowering need to pour out our hearts at the foot of Thy holy
Tabernacle . . . Lord! let the vain, the sensual, the worldly, and the frivolous rave over the ruins of their wild
dreams. As for us, who are forearmed by Thy grace, who are more favored than many others by Thy
boundless mercy, we declare that Thou alone suffice us.
29 NEW YEAR
Upheld by Thy adorable Heart, we resolve to begin this new year free from the spell of the passing age, its
false gifts, its lying pleasures . .
At the dawn of this year, a new step toward that eternity which will cast us ultimately into Thy arms, we
promise Thee that henceforward we will desire only Thee, O Jesus! . . .
All: We will desire only Thee, O Jesus! . . .
At the dawn of this year, come to visit us, Lord, and we promise Thee that in illness and in health, we will
see only Thee, O Jesus! . . .
All: We will see only Thee, O Jesus! . . .
At the dawn of this year, come to visit us, Lord, and we promise Thee that in poverty or in riches, we will
bless only Thee, O Jesus! . . .
All: We will bless only Thee, O Jesus! . . .
At the dawn of this year, come to visit us, Lord, and we promise Thee that in sorrow and in joy, we will seek
only Thee, O Jesus! . . .
All: We will seek only Thee, O Jesus! . . .
At the dawn of this year, come to visit us, Lord, and we promise Thee that, whether pros-
30 HOLY HOUR
perous or burdened with crosses, we will adore only Thee, O Jesus! . . .

All: We will adore only Thee, O Jesus! . . .
At the dawn of this year, come to visit us, Lord, and we promise Thee that in life or in death we will love
only Thee, O Jesus! . . .
All: We will love only Thee, O Jesus! . . .

We will love only Thee, O Jesus! . . .
We will love only Thee, O Jesus! . . .
The good Master never allows Himself to be called upon in vain. Here He is close, very close to us. He
comes to pour the life of His Heart into ours . . . Let us listen to Him eagerly:
Jesus: Thank you, O thank you, my intimates, my faithful, for the balm that your ardent love has brought to
My Wounds . . . It is your God and your King, your Father and your Friend, it is I, the Son of the
Immaculate, Who speaks to you, Who comes to you . . . It is My Heart, Sun of Love Which rises on this
altar, bringing you its fire and its light for the year that begins . . . I come to you, overflowing with mercy, to
enrich you, impoverishing Myself if
31 NEW YEAR
that were possible, by confiding to you all My treasures . . . I come to you like a cloud, burdened with a
deluge of graces which I would wish, at the dawn of this new year, to pour out on you and your families, that
this may be a year of grace for you all . . . But I am still awaiting a word from you . . . Come, come; . . . Open
the Tabernacle of My Heart, ask without fear, speak! . . . What grace . . . which one of My treasures do you
implore of My Mercy? . . .
All: For us, Thy Heart! . . .
For Thee, Thy glory! . . ,
Jesus: You say that to Me this evening here at the foot of the altar, but when you are far from here in the heat
of the battle in the world, for what secret of strength and victory will you then ask? . . .
For Thee, Thy glory! . . .
Jesus: And if the world, infuriated, mock you because of Me . . . if it force you to choose between us, what
will your choice be then? . . .
32 HOLY HOUR
All: For us, Thy Heart! . . . For Thee, Thy glory! . . .
Jesus: But, if the struggle grows harder, if pain and crosses crush you, what will be the cry of your souls? . . .
Jesus: What noble sentiments are yours? . . . Are they also the feelings of all your family, and of all your
friends? . . . What do you ask for them this year? . . .
For Thee, Thy glory! . . .
Jesus: But, perhaps, at your fireside there are some who do not love Me. Poor wretched souls! . . . Speak to
Me on their behalf. What request do you make for them? . . .
Jesus: Oh! you will save your loved ones by your faith, by this great prayer of the Holy Hour . . . but for
yourselves, what diadem of
33 NEW YEAR
glory do you request for the hour of eternal
justice? . . .
(A hymn to the Heart of Jesus here)
While the Celestial Princes bring to Jesus-King offerings worthy of heaven; He, in love with earth, thinking
of us, stoops down to us, comes to meet us, carrying presents from Paradise: three precious gifts taken from
the Treasury of His Sacred Heart . . . Let us consider in three scenes from the Gospel the inestimable value of
these gifts , . .
(LET US PRAY WHILE MEDITATING! . . . LET US MEDITATE WHILE LOVING! . . .)
I. The Gift of Light
The blind man cries, "Lord, that I may see!" But there is another who does not speak thus, and who,
nevertheless, is still blinder— Nicodemus! . . . O! the conquering glance of
34 HOLY HOUR
the Master at their first meeting! . . Imagine the turmoil provoked in this blind soul by the words and
nearness of Jesus! How irresistible the attraction of our Lord's eyes and His Heart, revealed in each luminous
word . . . Jesus advances like the sun toward the darkness of this soul . . . And certainly, in spite of his good
will, Nicodemus felt a profound shock, a secret struggle . . . Above all, human respect had to be opposed with
all his might . . . A meeting is planned, but for night . . . Look at them together . . . Jesus and Nicodemus . . .
Upon separating, the Savior probably insisted: "I will go to your home . . . I love you!" . . . Another interview
again brings face to face darkness and light . . . A glowing light bursting forth from the divine lips of Jesus as
from a sparkling sun . . . softly but deeply the light penetrates the darkness; . . . it melts the ice of this
rabbinical soul . . . it softens the flint . . . the sun triumphs . . . Nicodemus is vanquished! And in the measure
that this Master in Israel forgets himself and strips himself of his prejudices, of his passions . . . of
himself . . . the great light inundates him . . . So it will be for us . . . for we cannot become the children of
35 NEW YEAR
light except by immolation . . . that is to say, through the cross of Jesus, and also through our own crosses . . .
It is always, with some modifications, the renewal of the story of Saul on the way to Damascus. The
goodness of Our Savior throws us violently to the ground; . . . then, humiliated and suffering, we hear in the
depths of our soul these words of ineffable light: "I am Jesus of Nazareth!" . . . O, if there are timid, faltering
souls among us, let them come close to the Master; let them not tremble in His presence; let them not dread
Him; and, above all, let them not resist His loving appeal . . . If, fearing Love and fleeing from It, they go
their own way, the road of Damascus, Love will throw them down, will wound them, that they may see the
light . . . Happy those hearts that the Master causes to bleed, those souls that He causes to weep in order to
manifest Himself to them in all the splendor of His ravishing beauty! . . .
This wholesome and providential rain of tears clears the sky veiled by thick clouds, makes the scales fall
which obscured our vision, and brings us face to face with Jesus: "See . . . it is I,
36 HOLY HOUR
the Light," He says, "Follow Me and you will no longer walk in darkness!" . . .
All: Lord, that I may see! (3 times)
Lord Jesus, God of Light, let me see Thee! (3 times)
In all my crosses, may I see Thee, O Jesus! (3 times)
(Pause)
II. Gift of Mercy
Let us apply the parable of the Good Samaritan to the conduct of the Heart of Jesus towards souls . . . It is the
story of all of us . . .
On the highway lies a man . . . stripped of everything, wounded . . . travelers pass him by with indifference;
they do not deem themselves responsible for his misfortune . . . they merely cast a glance at him and that is
all . . . they go their way . . . They think him guilty—reduced to this condition through his own fault; . . . let
him then in that way expiate his sin; . . . thus does the world pretend to administer justice . . .
37 NEW YEAR
But here at last comes One, enveloped in a soft light, Who stops by the wounded man . . . He is wrapped in a
majesty, sweet and captivating, there is pity in His glance, immense kindness in His expression of Heavenly
beauty . . . He appears as a man on the verge of tears. He, Who at the same time is a God of infinite
tenderness!
Yes, it is He . . . it is Jesus! . . . The Man-God Who knows all sorrows, Who is full of mercy! . . . A God of
majesty treading the path of Angels! . . . A God of pity, walking the highway of men, His brothers . . . Look
at Him lovingly. He goes down to the wounded man . . . He leans over . . . No, He kneels beside him, He
gives him His tears to drink, He wraps him in His own garment! . . . O, how wonderfully kind He is: He takes
him gently in His arms, and then He runs, He hastens with His treasure, whom He begins to reanimate and
heal by the warmth of His Heart! . . . Does He take him to an inn? No . . . to His house, into His own
home! . . . and there, He entrusts him not to servants, not even to angels . . . O, no! Then what does He do?
He places him in the arms of
38 HOLY HOUR
Mary, His Mother, entreating her to do for this poor wounded man what she did for Him in the Crib and on
Calvary . . . At the same time Jesus remains beside the Queen of Love . . . He rests from His mission as
Savior neither day nor night; helping Mary, He Himself dresses the wounds, placing in them the oil and wine
of His Blood . . . the balm of His kisses . . . He washes and purifies him in the font of His Heart! When he is
convalescent, He dresses him like a prince . . . when cured, He keeps him in His home, makes Him His heir,
treats him as an intimate friend, as a spoiled child . . . Is that not the story of each one of us? Ah, there is only
one Jesus, only one, but He alone is sufficient! . . .
Now let our grateful love burst forth, praising His infinite pity, glorifying the boundless mercy of Jesus'
Heart with ardent, enthusiastic prayer.
Souls: Jesus-King, Jesus-Brother, Jesus-Savior and Friend, Thou hast come that we might have life and that
we might have it more abundantly. Thou hast gone down to the hopelessly ill, to those who were perishing,
to those maimed by Life, to give them back healed, beautiful, and
39 NEW YEAR
happy to Thy Father Who confided them to Thee . . . Alas! . . . Adored Master, we have often been—
the lost sheep . . .
the prodigal son . . .
the lost groat . . .
the bruised reed . . .
the smoking flax . . .
the insolvent debtor . . .
the servant who killed the king's son . . .
the rock impervious to the seed watered by Thy Blood . . .
Pardon, O God our Savior!
Pardon, O God of Love!

40 HOLY HOUR
Pardon us, O Father of infinite mercy, for the many infidelities of our past life . . . We have so misused the
inexhaustible treasures of Thy untiring mercy . . . Pardon us!
To make a return for the divine pity of which we have been the object, we wish with holy violence to wrest it
from Thy clemency for countless others . . . they are our brothers, Jesus . . . they are Thy children—
struggling in the midst of the briars and thorns of the world and of sin . . .
Hearken to us, O sweet Savior!
Have pity on those children whose innocence and faith have been wrecked by unhappy home life!
Through the Queen of Love, Heart of our divine King: Be to them a Jesus!
All: Be to them a Jesus!
41 NEW YEAR
Have pity on the youth who are already snatched away from Thy Heart and tossed in the dangerous
whirlwind of corruption and unwholesome pleasures without ever a look toward Heaven!
Through the Queen of Love, Heart of Jesus, beloved Brother: Be to them a Jesus!
Have pity on so many unhappy families who, unaided by the light of faith, live mere natural lives, who
struggle, who sing, who weep without the support of Thy love! . . .
Through the Queen of Love, Heart of Jesus our Friend: Be to them a Jesus!
Have pity on the myriads of blinded ones, who have never had, either at home or in school, the incomparable
grace of hearing about Thee, of knowing Thee . . . Have mercy, above all, on the voluntarily blind, who,
having seen Thee only from afar, have never known how good Thou art! . . .
42 HOLY HOUR
Through the Queen of Love, Heart of Jesus-Savior : Be to them a Jesus!
Have pity on sinners who are in their agony during this hour, especially on those who have not been
malicious, but weak, ignorant, and deluded! . . . Have pity on those who have been charitable to the poor and
the suffering . . .
Through the Queen of Love, agonizing Heart of Jesus: Be to them a Jesus!
(Brief pause)
III. Gift of His Sacred Heart
And now as if the gifts of light and of mercy were not sufficient for our Lord's generosity, He gave all in the
gift of His adorable Heart.
Let us have recourse to the Gospel, for its divine beauty surpasses all that human wisdom or eloquence could
give us by way of fruitful instruction.
What a picture to ravish the angels, that of John at the Last Supper! . . . Jesus is about to
43 NEW YEAR
institute the Holy Eucharist . . . A shadow of anguish, almost of agony, passes over His face. Judas is there;
he has on his person the silver he received for betraying his God.
John seems to have read all in the eyes of his Divine Friend, and as if to make reparation for it, he presses
close to Jesus, and with simplicity and confidence which astonish the angels, he leans his head on the Heart
of Jesus!
And Jesus, in this solemn hour, rests His Heart on that of John, His well-beloved disciple; Jesus gives John
His Heart, and by this gesture of surrender they are united by a bond stronger than death, and beyond . . .
Had John a right to this privilege?
It is true, he was pure, chaste in mind and heart, but he had only begun to love . . .
And yet he had neither the opportunity nor the time to love his Master unto Martyrdom . . .
Ah! But Jesus in loving him unto death, anticipated His intimate friend! . . .
Only Jesus could love to such an extent and offer such a gift so completely unmerited.
44 HOLY HOUR
"But", you will cry in discouragement, "rare are those who like John, have remained always pure, generous,
and docile!" . . . That is true; . . . nevertheless, do not fear, for in the Gospel there is another very consoling
scene which completes the teaching of the picture just described . . .
There on Calvary . . . beside John, very close to him, but closer still to the Immaculate, to the Queen without
stain . . . behold Mary Magdalen.
Both John, whose purity has never been lost and Magdalen, whose purity has been regained, receive equally
in the presence of the most pure Mother of God, the gift of Jesus' Heart . . .
Which of the two had the better part, which the more intimate? . . .
No one knows but Jesus! . . . And this secret is His profound and pressing call to both innocent and penitent
—that vast army of souls, climbing the hill of Calvary toward the eternal Tabor.
Therefore, let our joy and gratitude break forth in a prayer, which Jesus would wish to be a real canticle of
praise, of exultation, of thanksgiving—a hymn of pure love to His loving Heart:
45 NEW YEAR
O Jesus! Thou hast blessed us as Thou didst never bless the flowers of the field and the lilies of the valley
when Thou didst pass them by . . . and we have been the briars and the thorns of Thy crown.
Do not grow weary of us... Have mercy on us always! . . .
O Jesus! Thou hast blessed us as Thou didst bless the fields of corn and the gardens of Galilee and we have
often been the guilty tares in Thy Church! . . .
O Jesus! Thou hast blessed us as Thou didst never bless the birds of heaven, the flocks of Bethlehem and of
Nazareth . . . and we have wounded Thee by our lack of confidence in Thy infinite goodness! . . .
That is why, in loving reparation, we wish to conclude this Holy Hour exclaiming with the
46 HOLY HOUR
Prophet: "Angelic spirits, celestial court of the Lord, praise His mercy toward us" . . .
Hosanna to the Creator, Who has become creature and Host through Love.
All: Hosanna to the Prisoner of Love!
Stars, moon, and sun, spread your mantle of light over His Tabernacle, holier than that of Jerusalem . . .
Tabernacle filled with the sweet majesty of the Word made Flesh and food of mortals . . . Praise His mercy to
us . . .
Hosanna to the Creator, Who has become creature and Host through Love . . .
Light of dawn, morning dew, clouds of fruitfulness, praise the fecundity of the Lord's grace. Bless His, mercy
to us . . .
Ocean serenely calm, tempest-tossed ocean, chant the magnificence of the Lord . . . Bless His mercy to us . . .
Hosanna to the Creator, Who has become creature and Host through Love!
47 NEW YEAR
Quiet breezes, raging storms, floods and torrents, chant the glory of the Lord, bless His mercy to us . . .
Snows, forests and harvests, volcanoes, hills and valleys, chant the power of the Lord, bless His mercy to us .
..
All creation, hasten to our aid, make up for our inability to thank, to bless . . . Come, stifle blasphemy with
your songs . . . Make amends for the silence and for the coldness of ungrateful and guilty man . . . Bless, O
bless the mercy of the Lord toward us . . .
Hosanna, hosanna to the Creator, Who has become Child, Victim, and Host through Love!
48 HOLY HOUR
A Pater and an Ave for the agonizing and for sinners.
A Pater and an Ave for the world-wide triumph of the Sacred Heart, especially by daily Communion, the
Holy Hour, and the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart in families.
A Pater and an Ave for the particular intentions of all present.
A Pater and an Ave for our country.
Act of Consecration of the Human Race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
(Leo XIII)
Most sweet Jesus, Redeemer of the human race, look down upon us, humbly prostrate before Thy Altar. We
are Thine, and Thine we wish to be; but, to be more surely united with Thee, behold each one of us freely
consecrates himself to-day to Thy most Sacred Heart. Many indeed have never known Thee; many too,
despising Thy precepts, have rejected Thee. Have mercy on them all, most merciful Jesus, and draw them to
Thy Sacred Heart. Be Thou King, O Lord,
49 NEW YEAR
not only of the faithful who have never forsaken Thee, but also of the prodigal children who have abandoned
Thee; grant that they may quickly return to their Father's house lest they die of wretchedness and hunger. Be
Thou King of those who are deceived by erroneous opinions, or whom discord keeps aloof, and call them
back to the harbor of truth and unity of faith, so that soon there may be but one flock and one Shepherd. Be
Thou King of all those who are still involved in the darkness of idolatry or of Islamism, and refuse not to
draw them all into the light and kingdom of God. Turn Thine eyes of mercy toward the children of that race,
once Thy chosen people. Of old they called down upon themselves the Blood of the Savior; may It now
descend upon them a laver of redemption and life. Grant, O Lord, to Thy Church assurance of freedom and
immunity from harm; give peace and order to all nations, and make the earth resound from pole to pole with
one cry: Praise to the divine Heart that wrought our salvation; to It be glory and honor forever. Amen.
(Five times in honor of the Savior's five wounds) Sacred Heart of Jesus, Thy Kingdom come!
50 HOLY HOUR
II
Holy Hour
for the First Friday of January and for the Feast of the Sacred Heart
"Behold this Heart which has so loved men! . . .
My children, contemplate It weighed down with opprobrium in this divine Host . . . Listen to the throbbing of
Its love . . . Behold the flames of charity which devour It. Here is My Heartf all inflamed with love . . . for
you . . . and for you alone. And not being able to restrain any longer the burning desires which consume It, It
has willed to be delivered up even to those who with the cruel sword -- the sword of the blackest ingratitude
have pierced that Heart through and through. In thus confiding to you My Heart, I am making the supreme
sacrifice for the salvation of the world.
Behold this Heart, beloved apostles, I give it to you in exchange for your wretched and un-
51 FIRST FRIDAY OF JANUARY
grateful hearts! . . . O, if you knew the thirst of love, of infinite love which consumes Me in the Sacrament of
the holy Altar!
Until now I have often been a King in a vast desert, . . . a Monarch too often forsaken . . . nay . . . ignored . . .
But behold the hour marked by Providence for My victory has arrived. I come now as conqueror, . . . and in
spite of Satan and his satellites I will vanquish the world by the omnipotence of My adorable Heart. Will you
pay homage to it, My friends? . . . O, then stretch forth your hands . . . Open wide your hearts to receive the
supreme gift of My redemptive mercy . . . Remember that I came on earth and that I returned to Paray to
enkindle the fire of holy love, that living fire which will beget a life of sanctity and sacrifice . . . And what
would I but that it be enkindled? . . .
Fix your eyes on the Wound of My Side . . . Through this divine opening contemplate the Heart which has
loved you unto the unspeakable abasements of Bethlehem . . . even to the renouncement and humiliations of
Nazareth . . . nay more . . . to the agony of a Calvary of shame and of woe . . . Yes, My children, it
52 HOLY HOUR
is this same Heart which, ceasing to beat on Calvary, never ceases to love you. Behold It is all yours in the
holy Eucharist -- the inextinguishable burning bush of the holy Altar.
Alas! . . . My love . . . My great love is not loved! . . .
That is why, sorrowful unto death, I again experience the pangs of the agony I suffered in reaping the harvest
of thorns brought forth by My dearly loved vineyard. O souls devoted to reparation, during this Holy Hour
draw out the thorns encircling My Heart! . . . It is an hour of happiness for you, but above all an hour of glory
for Me, Captive-God, ever offering My love, yet awaiting and demanding yours in return!
I die of love! . . . Come near and sustain Me in My mystic agony . . . I have been enduring it on the holy Altar
for you for twenty centuries. Will you this evening be angels of consolation to me for one hour?
Ah! You do not know how ardently I love you! . . . But too well I know what little love I receive in return
from my favored children.
Alas! the world wilfully ignores all My goodness . . . It will have none of My tender caresses . . . It abuses
My mercies.
Behold, wherefore My soul is sorrowful unto death. Come . . . See, here is the Heart which has never ceased
loving you . . . Hasten eagerly, for I wish to confide It to you as a pledge of resurrection.
Come, and in exchange for this Divine Heart give Me yours, consecrate to Me your souls, your entire life,
with your joys, and your sufferings. Give Me all... ! I am craving only your love: "Love Me and I will forgive
you!" . . .
I await this word of love from you . . . You will say it to Me this very moment, . . . and in accepting the
incomparable gift of My Heart you will acknowledge Me as your King of Love!"
(Pause)
(We are certainly very unworthy of such a gift, but since it is His boundless mercy which offers it to us, let us
accept it with all gratitude and humility for our own sanctification and for His glory.)
Souls: Lord Jesus, our hearts are too poor; we dare not offer them to Thee; . . . But they
54 HOLY HOUR
are Thine, take them, but in exchange, give us Thy adorable Heart forever!
(Aloud) All: Give us Thy adorable Heart forever! . .

In the name of the Virgin Mary, O Jesus, give us Thy Heart in our hours of fervor when we feel the desire to
love Thee and suffer as the Saints did . . .
All: Give us Thy adorable Heart forever! . .
In the name of Saint John, the Beloved, give us, O Jesus, Thy Heart in hours of peace when we enjoy the
sweet calm of an innocent or a pardoned conscience . . .
In the name of Thy friends of Bethany, give us, O Jesus, Thy Heart in hours of care and pain when our souls
feel the tortures of affliction! . . .
In the name of the privileged Apostles of Tabor and Gethsemane, give us, O Jesus, Thy Heart in our
moments of joy and our hours of agony! . . .
In the name of the penitent Magdalen and of the compassionate women of Jerusalem give us, O Jesus, Thy
Heart in our hours of human weakness and when touched by the grace of repentance! . . .
In the name of Holy Church, give us, O Jesus, Thy Heart during those hours of combat when the tribute of
our zeal and of our sacrifices are asked of us! . . .
In the names of Saint Bernard, Saint Augustine, Saint Francis de Sales, Saint Mechtilde, and Saint Gertrude,
happy forerunners of this admirable devotion, give us, O Jesus, Thy Heart, to make good resolutions when
Thou wilt demand greater fervor from us! . . .
In the name of Thy spouse and first Apostle, Margaret Mary, give us, O Jesus, Thy Heart, in every moment
of life and especially in the agony of death! . . .
56 HOLY HOUR
O, yes! Jesus, give us Thy Heart as a source of life, as an oasis of rest, as a foretaste of Heaven . . . In spite of
our unworthinsss may It be ours, O Jesus, with all Its treasures of light, of peace, and of strength, for in this
divine sanctuary we wish to learn to love Thee, . . . to glorify Thee . . . Jesus, Thou hast already given us the
Cross, . . . Thou hast given us Thy Mother, . . . Thou hast given us Thy Blood. O, give us then the paradise of
Thy Heart for time and for eternity! . . .
Having It we desire nothing more either in Heaven or on earth.
(Pause or hymn)
(Let us ask for fidelity, for generosity in order to make some return for this incomparable gift from our
Savior . . . Implore Him to give us during this Holy Hour greater light to appreciate the loveliness and infinite
bounty of a God, Who offers us the source of His own life . . . to communicate new life to us . . . Let us
humble ourselves . . . Let us love Him Who has loved us so much...Listen to His voice...)
Jesus: You call Me Master and Lord and you say well, for so I am... But listen, I am happy to have become
the slave of man
here in the Tabernacle out of love for ungrateful man . . . Has it ever occurred to you that in calling you to
My Altar . . . in eagerly soliciting your love . . . in confiding to you the treasure of My Heart, . . . in seeking
you, little flowers of the fields, arid sands of the desert, I, Lord of Heaven and Master of earth, I sought My
delights, I looked for consolation? . . . And why? Ah! . . . Because I love you, my little ones, with such a
great love that I have made you, in a way, necessary to Myself so that without you My Heart suffers.
O, yes, believe Me . . . Without you, who have so often forgotten Me, . . . without you, who have oftentimes
preferred the vanities of earth to Me, . . . without you, the prodigal children of My Heart, I, Jesus, could not
live after having tasted your love, were it only the love of one faithful soul! . . . Ah! I must see you in Heaven
in the eternal companionship of men redeemed by My Blood so that My glory there be complete! . . . Do not
forget this, for the most beautiful jewels in your Savior's crown must be the ransomed souls of His brothers . .
. Ah! You have cost Me so much! . . .
58 HOLY HOUR
Acknowledge it during this Holy Hour, at least you, My privileged, My spoiled children . . . Admit it to Me
this evening, for since the world refuses to believe that I have loved it and still love it to this extent, I need to
hear you say it. Therefore, for My consolation, for My triumph of love, for My rightful glory . . . tell Me, yes,
tell Me that you accept the gift of My Heart.
Affirm that you accept this treasure of paradise that you accept it because you are determined to render Me
this testimony of faith in My love; . . . because you firmly believe that I, God of the Tabernacle, have created
the heart of man, your heart, to make it a living Tabernacle, the garden of My delights . . . Even though I am
God from all eternity, My Heart needs you in time!
Come, My faithful friends, draw close to My Heart, for I am sorrowful . . . I am wounded by love . . . Do not
tarry . . . I languish with the desire of finding a shelter of exquisite tenderness, of ardent faith and of burning
charity in all your souls . . . Thrill with joy, for it is I. It is Jesus Who says to you: I hunger for you!
Speak to Me now . . . Open, open wide your souls to receive Me; above all, tell Me that you really love Me . .
. that you love Me with a love beyond measure!
(We have come to speak to Him, to open to Him our souls, and to give Him those souls aglow with love . . .
What an admission Jesus has made! . . . telling us that He needs us! begging for our love which is His due! . .
. Let us answer Him by an ardent profession of love, for it is our heart which needs Him.)
Souls: O Jesus, beholding Thee so approachable and so good, unlike the Apostle who cried: Depart from us,
because we are sinful men, we run to Thee in order that the sweet bonds of intimacy which unite Thy Heart
and ours may be strengthened.
Come, Jesus, come and be refreshed, taking delight in our hearts, when those who rule over others scorn Thy
Law and curse Thy Name. Remember that we are Thine, that we are consecrated to the glory of Thy divine
Heart! . . .
Come, Jesus, come and be refreshed, taking delight in our hearts, when the multitudes led by satanic powers
profane Thy sanctuaries and
60 HOLY HOUR
clamor for Thy Blood. Remember that we are Thine, that we are consecrated to the glory of Thy divine
Heart! . . .
Come, Jesus, come and be refreshed, taking delight in our hearts, when the deceitful and worldly wise, whose
pride Thou hast patiently but firmly condemned, grieve Thee by the insults and outrages they heap upon Thy
Holy Church. Remember that we are Thine, that we are consecrated to the glory of Thy divine Heart.
Come, Jesus, come and be refreshed, taking delight in our hearts, when thousands of Christians, unmindful of
Thy adorable Person, wound Thee cruelly by the sword of their indifference . . . Remember that we are Thine
. . . Turn on us Thy sad and suppliant glance . . . Do not forget that we are Thy children, consecrated forever
to the glory of Thy divine Heart! . . .
On the altar of our sacrifice, we will chant to Thy glory: Honor to Thy Sacred Heart, O beloved Master! Thy
Kingdom come! . . .
(If you feel remorse for some secret fault, for a relapse into sin, especially for a lack of generosity, which, as
you know, grievously wounds our Lord, ask His pardon . . . He knows all . . .
but He wants a protestation of love and repentance from you . . . Let not discouragement weary you; come
back to listen to the words of our sweet Master.)
Jesus: My greatest desire, My little ones, is to see you relish My Life . . . I have given it to you by My Blood,
and I wish you to live it . . . I give it to you as the source of new life in giving you My Heart. I wish to live in
you because you need Me to calm your troubled conscience, to sustain you in your weakness, to confirm
your resolutions.
Come, you the elect of My Eucharist . . . I alone am Your Strength!

(Slowly with unction)
Delight in My Life; . . . I give it to you, in giving you My Heart. I give it to you for that moment when you
must endure the brunt of violent temptations . . . Do not lose heart; do not yield to the suggestions of the
enemy of your salvation . . . Be strong; keep yourselves in My grace; . . . do not forsake Me lest you would
be alone in the strife. Remain united to Me so that you may keep your soul in peace . . . Come, you the elect
of My Eucharist . . . I alone am your Victory!
62 HOLY HOUR
Delight in My Life; . . . I give it to you in giving you My Heart. I give it to you for that moment when, bowed
down under the weight of sin, your wretchedness will reproach you; for that moment when the threat of My
justice will overwhelm you like the crushing burden of a revengeful mountain. Rise up again, do not without
hope weep over that guilty fall! Come . . . come all, the needy, the infirm, the sinner . . . Be forever Mine,
children of My great mercy! . . . Came, be the elect of My Eucharist . . . I am the Pardon of God . . . I alone
am Love!
Delight in My Life; . . . I give it to you in giving you My Heart. I give it to you for that moment when you
feel the thick cloud of sadness and the bitterness of grief weighing on your heart . . . Life is sad and full of
uncertainty. Curse it not, nevertheless, nor lose the precious treasure of your tears . . . groan not in the
dangerous and dark path of isolation. Come . . . O, come . . . delay not . . . be the elect of My Eucharist . . . I
am the balm that heals all wounds . . . I am the great Consoler . . . I am your Jesus!
(He gives us His Heart, not only to seek for
Himself consolation in us . . . but above all to strengthen us, to infuse new life into us, and to give us fresh
proofs of His great mercy . . . Let us thank Him . . . Let us implore Him to leave us His Heart as a pledge of
love during life, at the hour of death, and for eternity.)
(Pause)
Souls: Thank Thee, Lord Jesus, for the tender mercy with which to ward off from us great evil, Thou offerest
us the sovereign remedy of Thine Own Heart. Thank Thee, Jesus, for the delicate yet incomprehensible
interest which Thou takest in our concerns when Thou shouldst have been unmindful of them as a just
punishment for our own neglect and for all our many offenses . . . Thank Thee, O thank Thee a thousand
times, gentle and kind Jesus of the Tabernacle! . . .
And now, Lord, as evidence of sincere and lively gratitude on the part of the favored ones here present, and
in reparation for our ingratitude and for that of our fellow men, we wish during this Holy Hour with all the
anxious solicitude of burning love to concern ourselves with Thy dearest and most sacred interests . . .
Adorable Master, there are so many conspirators who plot deicide by blasphemy and the
64 HOLY HOUR
public and social negation of Thy divine Kingship! . . .

Alas, O Jesus, numerous also are those compromisers who condemn Thee by their hypocritical silence, those
who disdain to pronounce Thy Name, or what is still more wounding, those who pretend not even to know
Thee!
They do not consider Thee worthy, Lord, of even a passing glance, but . . . they strike Thy adorable Face . . .
Thou art not only an Unknown . . . the phantom of a legend of the past . . . But they have the audacity to
disregard Thee, in order to safeguard, say they, liberty of conscience and social peace, for reasons of justice
and for the welfare of civilized nations on the march towards progress . . . Thou art condemned to
banishment and death . . .
That shall not be, O King of Love, a thousand times no! Rather with Thee they will crucify us also! . . .
Adorable Jesus, behold this phalanx of friends drawing its ranks closer around our threatened Master Who
presides over this Cenacle . . . Vivified by the fire of a new Pentecost--that of the divine Eucharist, we protest
against this legal deicide of our apostate day.
Fired with ardent zeal for the glory of Thy cause, we proclaim Thee in the face of Thy enemies, Conqueror of
Light and King of Love! . . .
And since Thou art Conqueror and King by divine right . . . since Thou art a faithful God, we will not leave
here until Thou hast again promised us Thy victory . . . that victory already promised to armies whose
battlecry is: "Thy Kingdom come, O Heart of Jesus!"
O, yes, Jesus-Savior, Thou wilt reign over us and Thou alone Jesus Crucified! . . .
Draw near, sweetest Master, and here among Thine own, surrounded by Thy children, receive from their
hands the crown of royalty . . . a crown which those who are nothing but dust, yet consider themselves
powerful, would snatch from Thee, because recognizing the depths of Thy humility, they believe they can
insult Thee from their pretended heights!
Advance triumphant in this fervent gathering of true brothers . . . Efface not the wounds of Thy hands and of
Thy feet . . . Adorn not, embellish not Thy Head already so beautiful, empurpled by Thy Blood . . . Ah!
above all, close not . . .
66 HOLY HOUR
leave wide open the deep and celestial Wound in Thy breast . . . Thus, O bloody King, clothed with this
purple of love and with the tunic of opprobrium . . . without transfiguring Thyself, O Jesus . . . just as Thou
wert, the same Jesus of that appalling night of Holy Thursday, present Thyself, come and receive the
Hosanna of this guard of honor which keeps vigil for the glory of Christ Jesus, its King! . . .
All: Hail, the Heart of Jesus our King!
Kings and rulers may trample under foot the tables of Thy laws, but while they fall from their thrones into the
tomb of oblivion, we, Thy subjects, will continue to acclaim Thee:
All: Hail, the Heart of Jesus out King!
Lawmakers will say that Thy Gospel is a drawback, and that it is a duty to discard it in favor of progress . . .
but while they disappear into the tomb of oblivion, we, Thy adorers, will continue to acclaim Thee:
The proud, the worldly, the unworthy rich, may decree that Thy moral law is for bygone
ages, that Thy complete refusal to compromise kills liberty of conscience . . . but while they are lost in the
tomb of oblivion, we, Thy children, will continue to acclaim Thee:
Those athirst for honors and riches, who sell to the nations a false greatness and a misleading liberty, will fall
against the rock of Calvary and of Thy Church; . . . and while they go down annihilated into the tomb of
oblivion, we, Thy apostles, will continue to acclaim Thee:
The heralds of a materialistic civilization, aloof from God and in opposition to the Gospel, will one day die,
poisoned by their false doctrines . . . and while cursed by their own children, they sleep in the tomb of
oblivion, we, Thy consolers, will continue to acclaim Thee:
The Pharisees, the proud, the impure, will have grown old planning the ruin, a thousand times decreed, of
Thy Church . . . and baffled, will
68 HOLY HOUR
lose themselves in the tomb of oblivion . . . But we, Thy ransomed ones, will continue to acclaim Thee:
O, yes, honor to His Sacred Heart! . . . And while Lucifer, angel of darkness, retreating from firesides,
schools, and societies, will bury himself, eternally chained, in the abyss, . . . we, Thy friends, will continue to
acclaim Thee forever and ever:
Honor to Thy Sacred Heart in the triumph of Thy Eucharist and of Thy Church! . . . Love and glory forever
to Thy Sacred Heart! . . .
(Pause or hymn)
Lord, we have to say farewell to Thee . . . but, in leaving Thee, we confide Thee to the Angels who will adore
Thee in our place . . . and to Thy Immaculate Mother who will sing Thy praises in the name of her children . .
.
We are going, Jesus, but we leave Thee our hearts plunged in the depths of Thy Sacred
Side . . . Before parting, Lord, permit us on this evening, more beautiful than the most radiant of dawns, . . .
permit us one last prayer, . . . Jesus our Savior . . . Jesus our Brother, . . . Jesus our Friend; . . . remember
those wretched ones who are not here, and who, sad to say, regret it not, for they live in the byways of a
guilty life of sin . . . O God, annihilated by love . . . they have abandoned Thee . . .
Thou art so sweet, Eucharistic Jesus! Shine with a light triumphant over so many blind ones who wish not to
see the marvels of Thy love nor to recognize that Thou art the only . . . the true Way . . . Grant this miracle of
light through love for Thy Immaculate Mother and for the glory of Thy Sacred Heart! . . .
Thou art so tender, Eucharistic Jesus! Give to the multitude of misguided ones that peace they vainly seek in
the joys of a seductive world . . . a world which, singing, sells them tears and death . . . Be their hope! . . .
Grant this miracle of tenderness out of love for Thy Immaculate Mother and for the glory of Thy Sacred
Heart! . . .
70 HOLY HOUR
Thou art so compassionate, Eucharistic Jesus! Satisfy this thirst for love, for boundless love, which has
caused the loss of so many prodigals . . . They suffer, they languish far from Thy Altar, the only source of
happiness . . . Lead them near Thee . . . that they may recognize that Thou and Thou alone, O Jesus, art Peace
and Love! . . . Grant this miracle of pity for love of Thy Immaculate Mother and the glory of Thy Sacred
Heart! . . .
Thou art so loving, Eucharistic Jesus! Dry the tears of despair shed by those who, bearing painfully the
shocking deceptions of life without the help of Thy grace, have poisoned their existence. Far from the joys of
the earthly paradise, farther still from the eternal Paradise, they are plunged, these unhappy ones, into an
abyss ol endless suffering . . . Bend down even to these unfortunates, O Jesu-Hostia . . . Seek them, go to
meet them, . . . speak to them those loving words that thrill the earth and make torrents, infinite oceans of
inexpressible jubilation break forth in the eternal domains . . . Grant this miracle of love for Thy Immaculate
Mother, for the glory of Thy Sacred Heart!
What have I, Lord Jesus, that Thou has not given me?
What do I know, that Thou hast not taught me?
What can I do, if Thou dost not help me?
And what am I, if not united to Thee?

Pardon . . . O! pardon my faults that have so wounded Thee.
Thou hast created me without any merit of mine,
Thou hast redeemed me without my co-operation . . .
Thou hast done much in creating me,
And still more in redeeming me,
Wilt Thou he less powerful
Or less generous in forgiving me?
For all the Blood Thou hast shed
And the cruel death Thou hast suffered
Were not for the profit of the Angels who adore Thee,
But to my benefit and that of the sinners who implore Thee.
If I have then denied Thee, let me praise Thee.
If I have outraged Thee, let me love Thee.
If I have offended Thee, let me serve Thee.
For, to live without loving Thee,
72 HOLY HOUR
And to love without suffering for Thee,
O Jesus , . . that would be death without Thee.
(Pause)
(Mention here those in whose conversion you are particularly interested.)
And now, Lord, keep us in the depths of Thy Sacred Heart, there where Thou hast kept the treasure of Thy
Mother's tears . . . and do not allow creatures to carry us away, Jesus, by forcing us from this regained
Eden . . .
Call us to Thee, meek and patient Jesus, in our hours of dangerous hesitation between the world and Thy
rights, command us to come to Thee . . .
And since through Thy immeasurable mercy we have received the grace of knowing more intimately the
sweet charms of the Heart of Jesus our Brother, our Savior-Friend, the King of Love, . . . of knowing Thee,
the God of charity, we wish to dwell in Thy Heart for ever . . . Therefore, adorable Master, write without
delay at this very moment while we adore Thee in this sweet Tabernacle, write our names for time and
eternity in Thy Sacred Heart! . . .
Lord, with a sweet violence keep us, Thy children, Thy intimate friends within the heavenly prison of Thy
Sacred Side. It is there we ask to live in adoration and love . . . It is there that we would live and die singing
eternally the glory and the ineffable mercy of Thine adorable Heart! . . . Thy Kingdom Come! . . .
A Pater and an Ave for the agonising and for sinners.
A Pater and an Ave for the world-wide triumph of the Sacred Heart, especially by daily Communion, by the
Lord Jesus, we have been able to watch one hour with Thee at Gethsemane, and we would be happy to stay
chained to Thy Tabernacle forever if Thou wouldst consent . . . We leave Thee, taking away peace, great
peace, divine consolations, and new life, . . . but also and above all with the satisfaction of having given
Thee, our Master so ardently loved, consoling proofs of
74 HOLY HOUR
faith, and of the love which makes the reparation that Thou didst ask for with tears of Thy confidante,
Margaret Mary . . .
Harken, Lord Jesus, so kind and sweet, to our last prayer:
Triumph, agonizing Heart of Jesus . . . Be the perseverance in innocence and faith of children who receive
Thee in Holy Communion . . . Be their Friend! . . .
Triumph, agonizing Heart of Jesus . . . Be the consolation of the heads of Christian homes. Be their Life! . . .
Triumph, agonizing Heart of Jesus . . . Be the love of the multitude who suffer . . . of the poor who toil . . .
He their King! . . .
Triumph, agonizing Heart of Jesus . . . Be relief and sweetness to the afflicted . . . to souls plunged in
desolation . . . Be their Brother! . . .
Triumph, agonizing Heart of Jesus . . . Be the strength of tempted souls . . . of the feeble. Be their
Victory! . . .
Triumph, agonizing Heart of Jesus . . . Be
the fervor and constancy of the lukewarm . . . Be their Love! . . .

Triumph, agonizing Heart of Jesus . . . Be the center of the militant life of the Church . . .
Be its triumphant Labarum! . . .
Triumph, agonizing Heart of Jesus . . . Be the ardent and victorious zeal of Thine Apostles. Be their Master! .
..
Triumph, agonizing Heart of Jesus . . . In the Eucharist be the holiness and the anticipated Heaven of
souls . . . Be their Paradise of love. Be their All! . . .
And while awaiting the eternal happy day when we will sing Thy glories, let us, sweetest Master, suffer,
love, and die in the heavenly Wound of Thy Side, murmuring in that Wound of Thy loving Heart, this word
of triumph: Thy Kingdom come!
Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Most Pure Heart of Mary
I give and consecrate to the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ my person and my life,
76 HOLY HOUR
my actions, afflictions, and sufferings, no longer wishing to use any part of my being except to honor, love,
and glorify Him. It is my irrevocable intention to be all His and to do all for His love, renouncing with all my
heart anything that might displease Him.
I take Thee therefore, O Sacred Heart, for the only Object of my love, the Protector of my life, the Pledge of
my salvation, the Remedy for my frailty and inconstancy, the Atonement for all the faults of my life, and my
sure Refuge at the hour of death.
Be my justification, most kind Heart, with God the Father and avert from me the darts of His just wrath. O
Heart of Love, I place all my trust in Thee, for I fear all from my malice and weakness but I hope all from
Thy goodness! Destroy in me all that may displease or resist Thee. May Thy pure love imprint Thee so
deeply in my heart that I may never be able to forget Thee or be separated from Thee. I implore Thee, by all
Thy goodness, that my name may be written in Thee, O Sacred Heart, for I wish all my happiness and glory
to consist
in living and dying as Thy friend and Thine apostle!
And thou, O Heart of Mary, closely and inseparably united to the Heart of Jesus, my desire is to see thee
occupy after Jesus, your Son, the first place in my heart which, from now on, I give and consecrate to thee.
Thou wilt always be the object of my veneration, my love, and my confidence. I will strive to conform my
feelings and affections to thine, and the continual effort of my life will be to imitate thy virtues.
O blessed Mother, deign to open thy heart to me, and to receive me there in the company of thy true children
and faithful servants! Obtain for me the grace I need to imitate thy admirable heart as thou, thyself, hast
imitated the Heart of Jesus. Rescue me from dangers, console me in my griefs, teach me to draw profit, as I
should, from the good things and the evils of this life; protect me always, especially at the hour of death.
O Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, I consecrate myself to Thy service! Grant that now and always I may be
Thy faithful child! Amen.
78 HOLY HOUR
Five times, in honor of the Five Wounds of our Savior: Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Thy Kingdom come!
Three times: Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us!
Once: Saint Joseph, pray for us!
Saint Margaret Mary, pray for us!
79 FIRST FRIDAY OF FEBRUARY
III
Holy Hour
For the First Friday of February
O! What happy solitude one enjoys near the Holy Tabernacle! . . . How well the soul rests in the shadow of
the Beloved Whom she adores, . . . flooded in the light of Him Who is the Light . . .
Putting aside the world with its vanities, illusions and deceptions, let us rest close, very close to the divine
Reality, Jesus, . . . in the very intimacy of His Sacred Heart, that Paradise of delights . . '. The sweet Master is
there . . . barely a step away . . . He is calling us . . . With boundless confidence pray Him to turn His Eyes
from our faults and during this Holy Hour, to open wide to us the Divine Wound in His Side . . . Let us enter
there without fear, for it is the source whose virtue ransoms poor
W HOLY HOUH
sinners, sanctifies the just . . . sweetens the great sorrows of life and drives away the fear of death.
(Pause)
(Ask Him to accept this Holy Hour as a prayer of reparation for all our families.)
Heaven in amazement interrupts its canticle of glory, and the Angels are filled with emotion when they see
Jesus Christ, their King, weep through love, over guilty man! Those tears were not lost . . . Mary collected
them and this evening she presents them set as a crown of pearls around this divine Host which claims the
grateful adoration of the faithful friends of her Divine Son . . .
O, if each tear of Jesus had been repaid by a soul! . . . and if each groan had had as a living echo the conquest
of one family forever! . . . However, there is still time for Him to enter into possession of this ungrateful
world which He came to save . . . O, the principal grace, obtained through this Holy Hour, must be to hasten
the triumph of His adorable Heart!
(Let us then do a holy violence to our Master's Heart in order that He hasten the promised advent of His
Kingdom by the pressing and decisive victory of His Love . . . Let us speak to Him without delay and with all
the fervor of our souls!)
Beloved Jesus, drawn to Thee by the piercing cry of Thy Heart, moved to pity by Thy loneliness, and above
all, thirsting for the coming of Thy Kingdom behold us, beloved Master agonizing in Gethsemane, saddened
by Thy sadness unto death, and forgetting the world in retaliation for its forgetfulness of its most lovable
Savior . . .
Yes, behold us here, Lord, such as Thou knowest us in our great moral wretchedness: weak in faith, infirm
and faltering in mind, . . . prone to the inevitable anxieties of existence disillusioned with life and with
ourselves . . . behold us, weighed down with profound grief. Stretch forth to us, O Jesus, a helping hand!
Notwithstanding these failings, and wishing to be worthy of the title of faithful friends, we ask of Thee this
evening for our share of anguish and of suffering in the grief and anguish of Thy Heart. In order to taste it,
Jesus, in all its
82 HOLY HOUR
bitterness, and also in order to place the balm of sweet consolation in Thy divine Side during this Holy Hour,
open to us, Lord, this precious, inebriating Wound . . . Open it, and fortified by its power we promise Thee
that in the battle for Thy cause we will give Thee immense glory in the social triumph of Thy Sacred Heart . .
. O, hasten, Jesus! . . . and by the cruel agony in the Garden of Olives, delay no longer the coming of Thy
Reign of Love! . . .
(Let us make some reflections on the loneliness and the suffering of Gethsemane and the Tabernacle . . .)
Pious souls, enter in spirit this garden filled with traitorous shadows for our Lord. Ah! Let an act of living
faith encourage and enlighten us . . . The same Jesus of Nazareth Whom we see falling to the ground under
the weight of indescribable agony in the Garden of Olives is there in the Host, mute, still, a Victim, but
always Redeemer by love . . .
Let us surprise Him, if you will, in His Eucharistic agony, for we have more right there than the Angels . . .
Contemplate our Lord in mystical agony! He suffers, sad unto death, and O grief! He suffers always alone!
His enemies conspire against Him; the indifferent, all taken up with their common interests, have neither love
nor time for Jesus; . . . His friends, His favorite apostles, with rare exceptions, are weary of the battle; . . .
many are asleep while the Master waits saddened and outcast for betrayal and death! . . .
Not so with you, pious souls, who come during this hour to share the bitterness of His solitude . . . Soothe it
by a canticle the sweetness of which will make Him forget the ingratitude of men . . .
(Make an act of solemn thanksgiving to the Lord, and while kneeling, bless Him with fervor for the
inexhaustible bounty of His rejected love.)
For the gratuitous and inestimable gift of faith:
(Aloud)
All: Infinite gratitude to Thy most lovable Heart! . . .
84 HOLY HOUR
For the treasure of grace and the virtue of hope which shows us Heaven, the end of this life's tribulations . . .
For the saving Ark of Thy Church, persecuted, but always victorious . . .
For the incomprehensible mercy with which Thou dost pardon all sin through the Sacraments of Baptism and
Penance . . .
For the tenderness that Thou dost lavish on suffering souls who praise Thee in their trials and crosses . . .
For the marvelous devices of Thy love in the conversion of the most hardened sinners . . .
For the blessings of peace or trials, of sickness or health, of riches or poverty, often misunderstood, by which
Thou dost ransom innumerable souls . . .
For the signal benefits Thou dost accord so many ingrates who misuse their position, their fortune, their
talents, which they owe to Thee alone . . .
For the wonderful privilege granted us on Calvary, when Thou, Jesus gavest us Thine own Mother as our
Mother and she adopted us as her beloved children . . .
For Thy Holy Eucharist, for Thy captivity and Thy companionship imbued with all delights,
86 HOLY HOUR
promised us until the consummation of the world . . .
Finally, Jesus, for this unhoped-for Paradise which Thou hast revealed to us through Thy servant, Margaret
Mary . . . for the wondrous, incomprehensible gift of Thy Sacred Heart . . .
(Meditate a few moments on the captivity of our Lord on Holy Thursday and on that which continues
through the centuries in the divine Eucharist . . .)
Consideration: You have often read this phrase: "Jesus a Captive, Jesus the Prisoner of Love in the holy
Tabernacle!" These simple words contain one of the greatest mysteries of the Catholic belief. Do you ever
meditate on them? . . . Let us do so this evening! . . .
With eyes illumined by the light of a strong faith, look through the grating . . . pierce the
walls of this Tabernacle: Jesus is the gentle Prisoner, vanquished, chained there by His own Heart . . .
It was Holy Thursday, twenty centuries ago, that towards the middle of the night, He allowed Himself to be
led, bound, from the Garden of the Agony to the dungeon to which He was condemned by a wicked judge . . .
And that night of ignominy and horror, of deadly loneliness caused by the abandonment of all those who
loved His Heart, . . . yes, that night is prolonged in all the Tabernacles of the world . . .
Blasphemy, denials, indifference, impurity, pride, sacrilege . . . all the outcries of deicides, and all the torrent
of vileness and ignominy have the awful privilege of reaching Jesus' feet, of rising to His face and profaning
it as it was profaned by Judas' kiss.
And Jesus Christ does not go away! . . . He is love's captive, betrayed by His own Heart . . . He is there,
crushed by the outrages of men . . . He is there, seated on the criminal's bench . . . He has committed a great
crime, the sublime crime of loving man with divine passion.
88 HOLY HOUR
And see how man repays Him—by neglect and loneliness! . . .
Souls: O most lovable Captive, shackle also these souls who wish to share Thy prison's solitude! . . . They
ask that their captivity, like Thine, be eternal . . . They beg Thee to give them as a prison during their life and
at death the fathomless abyss of Thy wounded Side . . . Yes, immerse us all in Thy Heart, as hostages for the
great sinners, for those who deny Thy Eucharist, for those who blaspheme Thy Cross. We would have them
saved for the glory of Thy Name . . . Redeem them, Jesus in the Eucharist, especially the torturers of this
Golgotha where Thou livest to pardon their sins! . . .
Divine Savior of souls, completely covered with confusion, I prostrate myself in Thy presence, and as I fix
my glance on the lonely Tabernacle and see the neglect in which Thou art left by so many ransomed souls, I
feel my heart oppressed.
But since with so much goodness Thou dost permit me during this Holy Hour to unite my tears to those Thou
didst shed, I pray Thee,
Jesus, for those who do not pray . . . I bless Thee for those who curse Thee . . . and with all the ardor of my
soul I praise and adore Thee in union with the universal prayer which rises from all the sanctuaries of the
world.
Accept, Lord, the cry of expiation which sincere sorrow draws from our grieved and repentant souls: we ask
pardon of Thee . . .
For our sins, for those of our relatives and friends, . . .
(Aloud)
All: Pardon, Divine Heart!
For infidelities and sacrileges,
For blasphemies and the profanation of Sunday,
For licentiousness and public scandals,
For those who corrupt childhood and youth,
90 HOLY HOUR
For deliberate disobedience to Thy holy Church,
For the crimes of families, for the faults cf parents and children,
For criminal attempts against the Sovereign Pontiff,
For disturbers of peace in Christian society,
For abuse of the Sacraments and outrages to Thy Holy Eucharist,
For vile attacks by the press and for the machinations of secret societies,
Finally, Jesus, for the good who falter and for the sinners who resist grace,
(Pause or hymn)
(Meditate on the condemnation of Jesus and on the ignominy that He endured when He was treated as a
madman, a mystery of love and suffering which is perpetuated in the Sacrament of the Altar.)
We have kept silence a moment and there is silence in the depths of this poor Tabernacle . . . Alas! The
world, by the hateful cries of its own sins, has gone on and will go on proclaiming the condemnation of the
Prisoner of Love . . . If it consents to free Him, it is only to exhibit Him as a fool and then to drag Him to the
desert of human forgetfulness . . . and from there to the atrocious death of the Cross! . . . Draw near your
sweet Jesus; see Him as at the moment when Pilate presented Him to the infuriated people . . . The God-Man
in the Eucharist wishes to complain to you His friends. Listen to Him with faith, with fervor, as did John the
Beloved when he heard the anguished throbbing of this Heart, torn by suffering, transpierced by love . . .
Speak to us, Master!
92 HOLY HOUR
(Slowly and impressively)
Voice of Jesus: Well-beloved soul, look at My countenance. Judgment pronounced by one of My creatures
has marked it for death . . . My love is infinite; . . . yours is very lukewarm . . . Have you not also passed that
sentence against Me? . . .
Look at My hands bound by those who love unrestrained liberty . . . Have you not also had now and then
your hours of license and sin? . . . Have you not also forged these chains for Me? .
Look at Me clothed in the white garment of fools. I have loved the world so much that it has accused Me of
madness . . . In very deed I suffered from the folly of love on Calvary . . . I am still possessed by that love in
the Host on the Altar . . . Have you never blushed at the redeeming madness of Jesus? Have you, too, not
wounded Me by human respect? . . .
See how grossly insulted I am because I wished to give peace to the world . . . See how forsaken I am! . . . I
am the shame of the wise, the scandal of the powerful, the laughing-stock of the
crowd, the scapegoat of rulers, . . . but if they weep over their offenses I pardon them all, I am Jesus! . . . Tell
Me, have not you, too, been unfaithful? . . . Have you not wounded Me? Have you not forsaken Me? . . .
Have you always followed Me during My passion? . . . Answer Me . . . I wish to give you in this Holy Hour
the kiss of peace and pardon . . . Answer Me . . .
(Reflectingly, with great impressiveness)
What have I, Lord Jesus, that Thou hast not given me?
Pardon . . . O! pardon my faults that have so wounded Thee.
Thou hast redeemed me without my cooperation . . .
And still more in redeeming me,
Wilt Thou be less powerful
Or less generous in forgiving me?
94 HOLY HOUR
And the cruel death Thou hast suffered
But to my benefit and that of the sinners who implore Thee.

If I have then denied Thee, let me praise Thee.
For, to live without loving Thee,
O Jesus . . . that would be death without Thee.
(Pause)
(Consider the loneliness of Good Friday continued in the Tabernacle.)
How gloomy must have been the twilight of Good Friday on Calvary and in the Holy Sepulchre—there on
Golgotha's mount the stains of divine Blood trampled underfoot with hatred; farther down in the cave of the
tomb dreary silence, the icy cold of the unfeeling rock and of death . . .
Christians, . . . contemplate Golgotha; behold it—the Altar! . . . Look once more; see this Tabernacle. Is it not
the Holy Sepulchre? . . .
How good it is to find this sublime argument, proving for us that Jesus remains our Victim of love! . . . The
tempest of denial and blasphemy howls outside . . . By a moment of prayer we try to make reparation for
those outrages . . . But in a few seconds this Holy Hour will be ended . . . and the doors of this temple closed,
and Jesus will remain alone with the Angels, for love of whom this mysterious tomb was not dug. And in the
silence of this mystic sepulchre the good Master will wait, hoping that the dawn will bring Him the echo of a
loving word from men, His brothers! . . .
Ah! If we could penetrate the secrets of the Heart of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament! . . . His is a life of
incessant prayer, a life of perpetual immolation for His ungrateful children! The thought of us besets His
mind and makes His Heart beat . . . Let Him tell us Himself . . .
96 HOLY HOUR
(Reflectingly)
The Voice of Jesus: My little ones, bitter anguish crushes My Heart . . . I come to you, wounded and
weeping, inconsolable over the irreparable misfortune of a cherished soul . . . I come from afar, the Wound in
My Side reopened, bleeding . . . I have just been scornfully driven away from the deathbed of an unhappy
man in his agony . . . He spurned Me, saying he was an upright man and pretending he had no need of his
Savior! . . . He said with presumption that he died easy in mind, but far from Me . . .
The wretched being . . . O the ingrate! He did not allow Me to clasp him in My arms to tell him that I, his
offended God, pardoned him . . . He died without a glance at My Cross, without blessing My Wounds . . .
With his last breath he repulsed Me! . . . O piercing grief! . . . and yet I had loved him so much . . . I had shed
all my Blood for him, . . . and he gave Me neither his last glance nor the last throb of his heart . . .
You who love Me, bind up this cruel Wound. Make amends to Me, console Me by praying for the agonizing!
...
Pray for the agonizing.
Come nearer Me; let Me feel the burning love of your faithful souls . . . My Soul is bathed in the cold dew of
night from waiting for so many of your brothers . . .
Another pang: I waited in vain for some one to offer Me hospitality . . . at least the hospitality one never
refuses the poorest pilgrim . . . I rapped on the door . . . I offered divine peace. Ah! I knew how much they
needed it . . . And here I am, returning with My treasures . . . All I met with was a bitter refusal, . . . and yet,
that soul, that beloved family, which is suffering so horribly, would have relished My peace . . . Peace! It
exists . . . and so does happiness, consolation, and love wherever My Heart sheds its light and radiates its
mercy . . .
(Pause)
My children, offer Me your love and your fervent prayers . . . give Me the holocaust of your generous
sacrifices in order to conquer so many souls who struggle against the outpouring tenderness of My Heart
which pleads without truce or rest . . . Count, if you can, the bloody thorns of My Crown . . .
98 HOLY HOUR
Perhaps you will find there the well-beloved name of some one from your own family circle. How many
consolations and thoughtful kindnesses have been rejected by these, dear to your heart and Mine! . . . Perhaps
they are not wicked, . . . but they live forgetful of Me, carried away by the cares and the pleasures of the
world.
Pray, faithful souls, pray all together that the patience and infinite mercy of My Heart triumph over their
resistance, and that one day I may win a great victory here in My Eucharist, where My love awaits them . . .
I thirst with a burning thirst to see Myself surrounded in this Host by a happy and numerous phalanx of
returned prodigals, of lost sheep who have been found, of sons converted by the sweetness of My reproaches,
by My tears, and by the choice graces promised and granted through the Holy Hour and through the fervent
celebration of First Fridays . . .
Why are you waiting? . . . Ask, dear apostles, ask with faith, for the God of Love Who is here, has willed His
captivity on the Altar only to give
happiness to the world . . . Knock with perfect confidence, knock again on the Wound in My Side, and the
doors of My Heart will open wide to you . . .
Demand, insist, My children, for I wish to be Jesus in carrying out My promises to you . . .
(Pause)
Souls: O good Jesus, plunged in the consideration of Thy sorrows, and confounded at the sight of Thy
loneliness and Thy great sadness, I have forgotten while absorbed in Thee my own petitions and the urgent
needs of my poor soul . . .
Thou knowest already, Lord, the great weakness and the most secret wounds of Thy servant. My afflicted
family hopes also during this Holy Hour for a special blessing from Thy agonizing Heart . . . 1 do not ask
Thee, Jesus, to take suffering away from me if it is Thy Will that it should benefit me . . . do not dry the
source of my tears . . . All that I ask is that Thou wouldst draw near my dear ones to teach them the science
of suffering while loving Thee, with their eyes fixed on Thy divine face, and
100 HOLY HOUR
their sorrowing souls immersed in the cruel anguish of Thy Soul.
Above all, Lord Jesus, make my home truly a Nazareth . . . and the faithful Bethany of Thy Sacred Heart!
And now, beloved Master, let me remind Thee of my dear ones who are gone. Remember in this Host the
treasures of our hearth which death has taken from us . . . our King and our Friend, bless the departed of our
family and give them now Thy Heaven's eternal rest . . .
You know, Jesus, how much we have suffered from these heart-rending separations, but seeing Thee in
agony out of love for us, we have in spite of our tears and with holy resignation said from the depths of our
heart, "Thy Will be done!" . . . O Jesus, faithful Friend of Bethany, do not forget our cherished dead!
(Pray for the Dead)
Remember also, adorable Nazarene, those who are orphans in their hearts, I mean those who have always
lived deprived of affection and tenderness and who, alas, are so numerous! . . .
Remember, Lord, those whom creatures always forget in the hour of rejoicing . . . Thou greatest of kings,
Who never forgettest anyone, remember those whom the proud world disdainfully forgets.
Remember the forsaken, the despised who thirst after justice, Thy justice, . . . who thirst ardently for love,
Thy love, Jesus . . . Ah! Thou knowest by bitter experience, Lord, how piercing and painful is the wound
received from an ungrateful brother . . . Take pity on them all, Jesus, in Thy infinite mercy! . . .
(Pause)
There is much more I would ask of Thee, Jesus, because my poverty is great! . . . But I am certain that Thou
wilt see to all my needs, Thou Who watchest lovingly over the little flowers of the field and the birds of
heaven! . . . I wish to close this Holy Hour forgetting myself, so that my last prayer will bring Thee the
consuming desire, the passionate ambition of my soul for the triumph and the Reign of Thy Sacred Heart . . .
102 HOLY HOUR
Thy mercy, Lord, is not enough for us . . . Thy interests are ours; we want Thy Kingdom to come! . . . So we
demand of Thee, Jesus, that Thou wouldst carry out for us the promises Thou hast made to Thy confidante,
Margaret Mary, in favor of those souls who adore Thee in the indescribable beauty, the ineffable tenderness,
the incomprehensible love of Thy Sacred Heart.
Accordingly we ask Thee with Holy Church, we beg Thee by Thy Virgin Mother, we demand for the
inviolable honor of Thy Name that Thou wouldst establish, that Thou wouldst hasten the Reign of Thy
Divine Heart! . . .
(Aloud)
All: Triumph by the reign of Thy Sacred Heart!
Hasten, Jesus, to reign soon, before Satan and the world wrest consciences from Thee and in Thy absence
profane all states of life! . . .
Come forth, Jesus, and triumph in homes, reigning there by the unalterable peace promised those who have
received Thee singing, "Hosanna!"
Do not delay, beloved Master, for a great many homes suffer from bitterness and evils that Thou hast
promised to cure . . .
Come, because Thou art omnipotent, because Thou art the God of life's battles . . . Come, showing us Thy
lacerated Side as a pledge of heavenly hope in the agony of death! . . .
May Thou Thyself be the end promised to our labors, Thou alone the inspiration and reward of all our
undertakings . . .
And do not forget that it was especially for sinners, Thy favored ones, that Thou hast revealed the
inexhaustible tenderness of Thy love . . .
104 HOLY HOUR

Good Master, there are so many lukewarm, so many indifferent whom Thou shouldst set on fire with love by
this admirable devotion. . . .
"Here is the source of life," Thou sayest, in showing us Thy transpierced Side; . . . therefore, Jesus, let us
draw from It the fervor, the holiness to which we aspire . . .
According to Thy request, Thy image has been enthroned in many homes . . . In the name of those families, I
beg Thee to continue to reign there as most beloved Sovereign! . . .
Give words of fire, and persuasion, irresistible, victorious, to those priests who love Thee and who extol Thee
as did John, the Beloved Apostle . . .
And for those who teach this sublime devotion, for those who proclaim its ineffable wonders, keep a place in
Thy Heart, O Jesus, very near to where Thy Mother's name is written! . . .
And finally, Lord Jesus, give to us the Heaven of Thy Heart, to us who have shared Thy agony during the
Holy Hour; and by this hour of consolation . . . by First Friday Celebrations, fulfill in us Thy unfailing
promise . . . We ask this of Thee at the decisive hour of death . . .
All: That Thou mayest triumph by the Reign of Thy Sacred Heart!
(Pause or hymn)
We must leave Thee, Jesus. This hour, a thousand times sweet and holy, during which we have enjoyed Thy
ineffable companionship, is ending . . . O come with us into the intimacy of our home, where Thou wilt be
the Spouse, the Father, the Brother, the Friend, the King of our
106 HOLY HOUR
family . . . Come, . . . but before leaving Thy sanctuary, let us make Thee a last entreaty: hearken to it, good
Jesus!
When the Angels of the Sanctuary are blessing Thee in the most holy Host and I am in my agony, may their
praises be mine . . . Lord, remember then this poor servant of Thy Divine Heart.
When loving souls on earth acclaim Thee . . . and I am in my agony, . . . may their compassion and their tears
be mine . . . Remember then this prodigal conquered by Thy Divine Heart!
When priests, virgins of the temple, and Thine apostles, proclaim Thee their Sovereign, preach Thee to souls
and enthrone Thee in the world and I am in my agony, . . . let their zeal and their ardor be mine . . .
Remember then the apostle of Thy Divine Heart! . . .
When Thy Church, praying and lamenting before the altar is with Thee redeeming the guilty world . . . and I
am in my agony, . . . her sacrifice and prayer will be mine . . .
Remember then the faithful friend of Thy Divine Heart! . . .
When during the Holy Hour Thy chosen souls, by loving, suffering and atoning make Thee forget perfidy
and betrayals . . . and I am in my agony, . . . their intimacy with Thee and their consolations will be mine . . .
Remember then this altar and this victim of Thy Divine Heart! . . .
When Thy heavenly Mother adores Thee in the Holy Eucharist, thus making reparation for the innumerable
crimes of earth . . . and I am in my agony, . . . her adoration will be mine . . . Remember then the child of Thy
Divine Heart! . . .
Or rather, Lord, forget me if Thou dost wish, provided that at the hour of my death, Thou wilt forget me
forever in the Wound of Thy most lovable Heart! . . .
(Pause)
What have I, Lord Jesus, that Thou hast not given me? . . . Strip me of all, even of Thine own gifts, but set
me afire with the ardent love of Thy Divine Heart! . . .
108 HOLY HOUR
What do I know that Thou hast not taught me? . . . May I forget all human and earthly science if I but know
Thee better, O Divine Heart! . . .
What can I do without Thy help? . . . and what am I unless united to Thee . . . Unite me to Thee then, by an
everlasting bond . . . I renounce even the delights of Thy love, that I may completely possess that other
Paradise, Thy sweetest Heart!
And there, bury, O yes, bury the faults which I have committed against Thee . . . and avenge Thyself, while
wounding with a dart of burning charity that one who has so offended Thee . . .
And if I have denied Thee, let me acknowledge Thee in the Eucharist where Thou art hidden . . .
If I have offended Thee, let me serve Thee in an everlasting slavery of eternal love, . . . for it is rather death
than life not to spend oneself in loving and making loved Thy sweet, compassionate Heart, so forsaken! . . .
Sacred Heart of Jesus, Thy Kingdom come! . . .


(Leo XIII)
Most sweet Jesus, Redeemer of the human race, look down upon us, humbly prostrate before Thy altar. We
are Thine and Thine we wish to be; but to be more surely united with Thee, behold each one of us freely
consecrates himself today to Thy most Sacred Heart. Many indeed have never known Thee; many, too,
Thy Sacred Heart. Be Thou King, O Lord, not only of the faithful who have never forsaken Thee, but also of
the prodigal children who have abandoned Thee: grant that they may quickly
110 HOLY HOUR
return to their Father's house, lest they die of wretchedness and hunger. Be Thou King of those who are
deceived by erroneous opinions, or whom discord keeps aloof, and call them back to the harbor of truth and
unity of faith, so that soon there may be but one flock and one Shepherd. Be Thou King also of all those who
sit in the ancient superstition of the Gentiles, and refuse not Thou to deliver them out of darkness into the
light and kingdom of God. Grant, O Lord, to Thy Church, assurance of freedom and immunity from harm;
give peace and order to all nations, and make the earth resound from pole to pole with one cry: Praise to the
Divine Heart that wrought our salvation; to It be glory and honor forever. Amen.
Five times, in honor of the Five Wounds of our Savior: Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Thy Kingdom come!
Three times: Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us!
Once: Saint Joseph, pray for us!
111 FIRST FRIDAY OF MARCH

IV
Holy Hour
For the First Friday of March
and for the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Eucharistic Jesus, we adore Thee in union with the nine choirs of Angels who chant Thy praises in
Paradise . . .
Jesus in the Eucharist, we bless Thee in union with the Seraphim and Saints who adore Thee in the solitude
of the Eucharistic sanctuary . . .
Jesus in the Eucharist, we glorify Thee, above all, in union with Mary Immaculate, Queen of Heaven, and, at
the same time, Sovereign of this earthly paradise, Thy Tabernacle . . . We offer Thee, through her, the
homage of boundless love and fervent reparation . . . Yes, adorable Jesus, it is in union with her that we come
today to sing Thy infinite mercies; with her we wish to weep over Thy mystic agony in the Tabernacle,
forsaken by the ingratitude of so many!
112 HOLY HOUR
Desiring to transform Thy Via Dolorosa into a glorious highway of divine victories, we will strew the hill of
Calvary with the immortal glories of Mary Immaculate and with the flowers of our consoling love.
During this Holy Hour, in filial union with the Immaculate Heart of Mary, we wish to convert Thy Calvary
into a Tabor and to make of it a glorious throne for Thy adorable Heart . . .
Beloved Jesus, notwithstanding twenty centuries of Thy nearness and intimacy, we have not as yet
penetrated, as we should have, the mystery of love in Thy divine Eucharist . . . Oh, in reparation for this lack
of understanding, we offer Mary's intimacy, her adoration, and the ecstacy of love of her maternal Heart . . .
Adorable Jesus, we owe Thee yet another apology. We feel remorse for not loving Thee with the burning
charity with which we should repay Thy love . . . Notwithstanding Thy generosity and Thine ineffable
tenderness, our love is still far too measured . . . O Jesus, forgive us and, as compensation for our guilty
coldness, accept as ours—for are we not her children ?—the
glowing love of our Blessed Mother on the day of her Annunciation.
Jesus-Hostia! Love of our love and Life of our life, turn away Thine adorable Eyes from our failings and our
lukewarmness; turn them away from the forgetfulness of our good resolutions, from the weakness that
prevents us from keeping our repeated promises to become better—to become saints . . . For love of Mary,
Thy Mother and ours, pardon us, Jesus! . . . As reparation for our coldness, we offer Thee the Immaculate
Heart of Mary; take It, accept It as the most perfect adoration on our part.
And, Jesus, because Thou hast not forgotten Mary's maternal care, in her honor and also to give testimony of
Thy filial gratitude and to glorify the Queen of Nazareth, we pray Thee, O King of Love, to forget all our
failings and our numerous violations of Thy Law . . . During this Holy Hour we come to weep over our faults
and those of our guilty brethren and we offer our tears in the chalice of Mary's Immaculate Heart.
O Jesus, Thou wilt not refuse these tears, thus presented! . . . By them, and above all through the Blessed
Virgin Mary's tears, we dare to
114 HOLY HOUR
implore of Thee a promise: that henceforward Thou wilt reign over our souls and over our families through a
greater intensity of faith and love, of humility and purity. We ask it, O Lord, by the love and martyrdom of
Mary's Sorrowful Heart!
(Pause)
(And now, tell Jesus that you love Him with a great love, and that you wish to love Him still more in
exchange for His Adorable Heart which claims yours. But because your spiritual poverty is so great, offer
Him the incomparable and heavenly gift of Mary's Heart . . . Ask her to obtain for us the grace of graces, the
grace to love with a flaming love the Heart of Her Son, Jesus, and by our burning zeal to make It loved
everywhere . . .)
Voice of Mary: Certainly, no one more than Mary has the right to speak of the intimate sentiments of the
Heart of Jesus, and nobody better than she, as co-redemptrix, can tell us of the agony of her own Immaculate
Heart. Let us listen to her with filial love: "My little children, I became the Mother of Fair Love the very
moment the Angel of the Annunciation visited me . . . And since that time I have wished that all souls might
be aglow with the flames that devoured my soul. From that sublime and blessed hour of March twenty-fifth,
when Jesus' Heart and mine were united by the bonds of the same blood and the same life, I have thought of
you who call me your Mother, and rightly, for so I am.
(Very slowly and brokenly) "Children, if you had seen your Mother, bathing with her burning tears the
cheeks of Jesus, as He lay sleeping in His Crib at Bethlehem! If you had heard me singing as I rocked Him in
my arms! . . . And all the while my Heart divined and foresaw the crime of deicide, which, until the end of
time, would transpierce by sin's dart, the Heart of my Child, Your Savior!
"Ah! . . . but then I, His Mother, raised Him in my arms and I offered Him to the Father for the salvation of
our ungrateful children . . .
(Very slowly and reflectingly) "Oh! . . . how I kissed those little hands which caressed me, even then making
amends for the wounds by my kisses!
116 HOLY HOUR
"How my lips clung to His feet in a rapture of love to make up in advance for the hurt of the nails . . . How
often I anointed His divine Brow with the unction of my tears . . . Ah! how many times my head, obsessed
and tortured by the vision of Calvary, my lips, burning with an insatiable thirst for love, have I found rest and
all I craved for in the Sacred Side, my own Heaven . . . There, on His Heart, a garden of delightful
bitternesses, we both, Jesus and I, vowed to love and suffer together for the resurrection of prodigals, for the
salvation of numerous apostates from the Cross and from the Altar" . . .
(Brief pause)
Consideration: Contemplate Jesus lying in His Crib, wrapped in the might of divine peace and redemptive
suffering . . . Mary, kneeling, enraptured, in ecstasy, watches over the Child, over the Eternal One. She
meditates on another Bethlehem, on quite another Crib, a crib of apparent repose, but of real and perpetual
immolation, the Altar! . . .
Looking ahead through the centuries to come,
the loving Queen, the sorrowing Virgin contemplates this lasting Bethlehem, indestructible through the ages,
where this same adorable Child will be born thousands of times upon the Altar. She sees Him placed, like a
mild Prisoner, between the walls of a humble and silent Tabernacle . . . Glancing down at hef sleeping Child,
she beholds this same Jesus—her God—humbled even more in each ciborium . . . than He is in the manger.
The vision of Bethlehem has become reality . . . On every altar Jesus-Hostia seems to sleep, and Mary still
continues to guard this Eucharistic crib from which Jesus constantly watches over us.
(Pause)
Souls: Yes, Jesus, we believe that close to the golden ciborium which holds Thee captive, is Thy Mother; and
it is she, it is her Heart which gives us Thine in the adorable Host . . . Bless her, Jesus, in our name, since
Thou owest to her the great joy of having realized Thy vehement desire to dwell, and to find Thy delights
with the children of men . . .
O Jesus, with the Angels of the Sanctuary sing to Thy beloved Mother . . .In union with
118 HOLY HOUR
the Angels of Paradise sing her praises, O King! But, above all, divine Master, with us Thy brothers, with the
exiles, who like Thee, call her their Mother, sing her glory, O Lord! . . .
Oh! Thou canst not refuse anything to this Queen, Thy Mother. Therefore, in her name, we ask the Reign of
Thy Sacred Heart through the Holy Eucharist. Thou canst not permit that Mary's expectation, also ours,
should be vain . . . Prove to us once more that she is all-powerful when the interests of Thy glory are in
question.
Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, reign over the afflicted; become their great Consoler through this consecrated
daily Bread, the Gift of the Queen of Sorrows . . .
Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, reign over children, the very little ones, through this consecrated daily Bread, Gift
of the Queen of Virgins. Be the germ and the divine preservative of their perfect innocence and naive
candor . . .
Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, reign over the poor and the outcast, through this consecrated daily Bread, the Gift
of the humble Queen of Bethlehem's shepherds. Be their supernatural
relief in the innumerable sufferings they endure.
Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, reign over priests, and through this consecrated daily Bread, the Gift of the Queen
of the Cenacle, be the sacred fire of their sacerdotal holiness and of their burning zeal! . . .
Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, reign over the families of Bethany, and through this consecrated daily Bread, Gift
of the Queen of Nazareth, be the sun of a vivid faith that will enlighten victoriously the souls of parents and
children.
Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, reign over Thy Church; inspire the Catholic Episcopate and especially the
Sovereign Pontiff, Thy Vicar, and through this consecrated daily Bread, Gift of Mary Mediatrix, become
their Pentecost of consuming fire! . . .
Most lovable Jesus, adorable Infant-God of the Bethlehem of our Tabernacles, repay the eager care, the
kisses of infinite tenderness, the outbursts of glowing love of the Heart of Mary praying and suffering beside
the poor and cold little Crib. Recompense Thy Immaculate Mother by crowning her brow with the triumphs
120 HOLY HOUR
and glories of Thy Eucharistic Heart in the Sacrament of Thy Love! . . .
(Pause)
Mary's Plaints: Mary's plaintive voice is that of a mother whose heart is cruelly wounded and who asks pity
and consolation of her faithful children . . . Alas! they have to make up for the bitter guile which has been her
portion from so many prodigals—unnatural children of whom she is the most loving mother . . . ingrates,
who smother her Immaculate Heart with grief. Never forget that Nazareth's divine story is not ancient
history, the history of two thousand years ago. Oh, no! Nazareth still lives. It is the marvelous story of the
sorrows interlaced with thorns that unite the Hearts of Son and Mother by indissoluble bonds.
Listen! the Queen of Martyrs will tell us of her sorrows: "My children, meditate on this beautiful and
touching lesson: A foreign and hostile country, an idolatrous people, opened the doors to the Infant-God, a
fugitive in Egypt. It offered a peaceful refuge to my Son. I dared to think that the sun tempered its heat,
because the sands were less burning under our footsteps, and
the pitying oasis of the desert offered us cool springs and a rest that was refused us by the ungrateful
Nazarenes! . . ."
"Let me tell you, my children, of the deep wound made in the Heart of Thy God by the envious rancor of
those whom He loved as His own . . . Even there, in His fatherland, there, where they should have hailed Him
with palms in their hands, they plotted against Jesus with anger in their souls, they wished to stone Him, to
bury Him, yes, to bury Him and His glory!"
"What bitter tears we then wept together, Jesus and I! But they were fruitful tears, ransoming the infidelities
of our own people the insulting, haughty scorn of Nazareth—Nazareth, the never to be forgotten sanctuary of
the most sublime memories!"
"While I was in exile the Angel of solitude was a compassionate companion, but at home our fellow
countrymen plaited for both of us our first crown of thorns . . . My dear consolers, there in Nazareth where
the divine Child played, and I watched Him grow as a Youth of enchanting grace and beauty, there where I
often contemplated Him among the flowers of the
122 HOLY HOUR
hillside, there where, while echoing the angelic choirs, I sang His divine Beauty, yes, even there, I had to
hear curses against Him! . . . And there my broken Heart atoned with its tears for the denial which so cruelly
outraged the sweet Redeemer!
"Ah! but our grief became a thousand times more piercing at the thought that in the course of centuries, a
great army of unhappy children, of proud and renegade Christians will ignore, in their turn, in the very bosom
of the Israel of the Church, the Lord's Law of Grace and Truth . . , I saw them, new Nazarenes, much more
guilty than the others, fleeing from the Shepherd's fold, . . . far in mind and heart from their Father's
House! . . .
You, my little ones, younger brothers of Jesus, my First-born, you, who have come this evening to His
adorable Heart, draw near Him, make up for His abandonment, console this divine Outcast. And that your
reparation may be perfect, take my Heart, all its love, all its tenderness, all its immolations, and present it to
Him, on His altar as your own offering . . . He will take it as a holocaust of perfect reparation . . . And, now,
I your Queen, ask of you an intimate, ardent prayer . . . Begin it, and the Immaculate Heart of your Mother
will unite itself to your hearts."
Say this prayer in union with Mary
Souls: Jesus of Nazareth, come back from exile, come back as a conqueror and, bound by chains of love,
remain with us, for Thou must be our King! . . .
The world does not want Thee. In our times it utters the cry of deicide which wounds Thee, and it rejects
Thee with Satanic pride . . . But we pray Thee, Jesus, do not go away! Return victoriously from exile; and
bound by chains of love, stay with us, for Thou must be our King! . . .
Turn Thy gaze from those who curse Thy Name and deny Thy Gospel, and look down on us, Thine intimates
. . . Penetrate our hearts; read them, for they take an oath of loyalty to Thee today . . . Because of us, Thy
friends, we pray Thee, Jesus, do not go away! Return victoriously from exile, and bound by chains
124 HOLY HOUR
of love, stay with us, for Thou must be our King! . . .
If Thou goest away, Lord, what will become of the world without Thee, Who art its peace, without Thee,
Jesus, Who art its Heaven? Oh, then, how it will lament in vain over the chains imposed on it in just
punishment! How it will regret having banished Him Who is the Author and the guarantee of its holy
liberty! . . . Forgive, Lord, those unhappy ones who offended Thee by this great sin; forgive them, for they
knew not what they did. We pray Thee, do not go away, return victoriously from exile, and bound by chains
of love, stay with us, for Thou must be our King! . . .
Fortunately, Lord, the very ones who, like the faithless Nazarenes, have put Thee out of Thine own Kingdom
and Thine own House, will one day miss the life-giving warmth which is found only in Thy Sacred Heart, the
only Heart that can redeem and that always pardons . . . Ah! then they will remember, and it is never too late,
that Thou art the one Master who has sowed Truth, the only Judge who has taught Justice, the only King who
has been prodigal of infinite
mercy . . . Oh, then, how many guilty ones will turn their gaze on Thee, and, with tears in their souls and
eyes, will urge Thee to come back! . . . Return victoriously from exile, we pray Thee; do not go away but
bound by chains of love, stay with us, for Thou must be our King! . . . Thou wilt never leave us again; Thou
will remain with us forever, Beloved Master . . . Therefore in the name of all the ingrates of earth and also of
the friends Thou dost see before Thee, we implore the gift of Thine adorable Heart . .,.
(Aloud) All: Entrust to us Thy Heart, O Jesus!
Good Master, there are many sick souls. There are very many, too, who waver through weakness between the
yawning abysses of sin and hell. In their name and ours, Lord, we cry to Thee: "Entrust to us Thy Heart, O
Jesus!"
All: Entrust to us Thy Heart, O Jesus!
Good Master, we are thinking of poor souls in their agony, especially of those who insulted Thee during their
lives, of those who forgot Thee during long years and wounded Thy Heart so cruelly . . . Have pity on them,
yes, have pity
126
HOLY HOUB
on those unfortunates who need Thy boundless mercy so much . . . In their name and ours, we cry to Thee:
"Entrust to us Thy Heart, O Jesus!"
Good Master, imploringly, we draw near to Thy Tabernacle thinking of so many fathers who have often
forgotten their duties toward Thee; thinking, also, of so many poor mothers who suffer anguish because they
fear for the eternal destiny of their husbands or their children. In their name and ours, Lord, we cry to Thee:
"Entrust to us Thy Heart, O Jesus!"
Good Master, drawn by Thine infinite mercy and filled with firm confidence, we come without hesitation to
ask Thee for those great miracles, those wonders of grace, promised to Thy consolers in the Holy Hour and
Thine intimates in daily and frequent Communion. We come to implore Thy victory of love in the striking
conversion of many great sinners. In their name and ours, Lord, we cry to Thee: "Entrust to us Thy Heart, O
Jesus!"
Good Master, it is Thy Immaculate Mother who, this evening, leads us to Thee, and it is she, herself, who
inspires a very special supplication for Thy friends, for Thine apostles, for priests, and for all consecrated
souls who have given Thee their solemn promise to become saints . . . In their name and ours, Lord, we cry to
Thee: "Entrust to us Thy Heart, O Jesus!"
Good Master, listen, finally, to our supreme prayer. We ask Thee for the glorious, worldwide triumph of Thy
divine Heart in Holy Church, through the Eucharist, through the Gospel, and through Thy Vicar, the Pope.
Cast a look of mercy on children and on those who govern, on the rich and the poor, on the powerful and the
weak, on Christians, on heretics, and pagans. Reign over all, Jesus, over all without exception! In their name
and in ours, Lord, we cry to Thee: "Entrust to us Thy Heart, O Jesus!"
128 HOLY HOUR
Yes, King of Love, entrust Thy Heart to us without delay in the name and for the love of Mary's Heart!
(Pause)
Mary's Teachings: A Holy Hour should be a meditation on love, leading us to the knowledge of Jesus Christ,
Who is the Source of love. Who could better guide us there than His holy Mother, the sweet Virgin Mary?
To-day we are living hours of heavy darkness, of religious ignorance and brazen sin; therefore, let us give an
attentive ear to the grave lessons of our lovable Queen. It is she, most certainly, who can point out the
treacherous ambushes of this world, she who crossed it carrying, safe and sound, in the ark of her arms and
her maternal Heart, Jesus, her Son. O listen to her!
"Children begotten of my love and my sorrows, harken to your Mother: in reality there is only one grave evil,
an evil with eternal consequences; that is to lose Jesus, for His Heart is the never-failing source of all life. To
possess that Heart is already to possess Paradise.
I, His Mother, know from experience, for I

lost Him for three days at Jerusalem and I suffered then inexpressible agony . . . Jesus gone . . . to live
without Him . . . not to see or enjoy Him, no longer to possess Him, oh, what atrocious torment! . . . After
having delighted in Him and pressed Him to my Heart, after having given Him all my soul in a thousand and
one kisses of immense tenderness! . . . Yet there is still something more cruel . . . Draw near, my children, let
me unveil to you, as much as words can express the rendings of my maternal soul, the supreme farewell of
the Mother and her Son on the evening of Holy Thursday . . .
"Draw very near to contemplate and share my sorrow, like to no other sorrow, when at the first glimmer of
Good Friday I had the frightful vision of His flagellation and of the opprobrium with which they had covered
Him . . . Vision of blood and thorns, cries of blasphemy and hatred, cries of death . . . that was the
heartbreaking scene that God, the Father, allowed to be placed before my eyes, the most sorrowful of
Mothers."
"O my little ones, God grant that you may never taste the deadly bitterness of this chalice
130 HOLY HOUR
that of crucifying, of losing by mortal sin, Jesus, that heavenly treasure of Life which my maternal Heart has
entrusted to you."
"O, especially you, happy souls, who have kept intact your innocence, spare your most lovable Jesus that first
hour of revolt, of deadly pleasure. Turn away your lips, refuse to drink the first drop of the first mortal sin!
"But, if, alas, you have already soiled the beauty of your soul, I beg you not to delay in washing away with
your tears, the insult with which you have covered the adorable Face of Jesus . . . Oh, then search for Him at
once, hasten to His Feet; embrace them lovingly, promising Him loyalty and trust!
"And you, mothers of a Christian home which should be the Lord's blessed sanctuary, listen to this sorrowful
Mother: be watchful and loving, that the spouse and the children who have been confided to you may never
lose by your negligence or lukewarmness, the friendship of my Son, your King. Live in such a way that, by
your fervor, He may reign over them all! . . . Yes, that all may be His: father, mother, children, thoroughly
His in time, His in eternity. May He dwell
with them in hours of anguish, may He dwell with them in the springtime of Christian joy! . . .
Jesus in the Eucharist is here listening to us: let us speak to Him ourselves.
Souls: Jesus, under Mary's protection and sustained by Thy grace we will be faithful to Thee in life and in
death. But knowing our great weakness we beg Thee, adorable Savior, to bind us very closely to Thyself by
Thine infinite mercy . . .
Heart of Jesus, draw near us when the unleashed hurricane of temptation, like a famished lion, prowls around
our souls to make them hell's prey. Do not abandon us then, Lord. Oh, do not let us abandon Thee, Jesus!
Heart of Jesus, draw near us in the hour when great weakness threatens our hearts of clay, so easily seduced
by human love. Do not abandon us then, Lord. Oh, do not let us abandon Thee, Jesus!
Heart of Jesus, draw near us when grave misfortunes distill a hopelessness into the soul, parch its virtue,
overwhelm it, and make it ill
132 HOLY HOUR
with a mortal disease . . . Do not abandon us then, Lord. Oh, do not let us abandon Thee, Jesus!
Heart of Jesus, draw near to us in the hour of great desolation, when friends of a day make a void round us,
when this isolation from creatures, who know not how to live as Thee, embitters our heart. Do not abandon
us then, Lord . . . Oh, do not permit that we abandon Thee, Jesus!
Heart of Jesus, draw near to us; come down even into the abyss where our frequent relapses throw us . . .
Draw near us especially in those hours of great discouragement caused by the sight of our immense weakness
. . . We feel so reluctant when Thou demandest sacrifice! Do not abandon us then, Lord. Oh, do not let us
abandon Thee, O Jesus!
We implore Thee, Lord, for love of the Blessed Virgin Mary, to stay beside us, to watch over us in the fragile
bark of our heart, so weak when storms arise . . . Remember then our love!
(Aloud)
All: Sacred Heart of Jesus, we place our trust in Thee!
Be our hope in the hour of bitterness,
Be our hope in the hour of moral exhaustion,
Be our hope in the hour of faltering suspense,
Be our hope in the hour of lassitude and when weariness affects the heart,
Be our hope in the hour when conscience seems to forget grave duties.
Be our hope in the hour of discouragement in dthe service of Thy cause,
Be our hope in the hour of great frailty and lamentable falls,
Be our hope in the hour of poignant doubts and dangerous illusions,

134 HOLY HOUR
Be our hope in the hour of illness,
Be our hope in the decisive, final hour of our last agony,
O Jesus, only Love of our life, supreme Love of our loves, we place, once for all, our existence and our
tribulations as well as the assured hope of a promised Heaven in Thy Heart, the source of infinite mercy! . . .
(Pause)
Mary's unutterable Sorrows: The inner passion of Mary was bitter and deeper than the water of the ocean. If
the tears shed by her soul, Virgin, Mother, and Martyr, could be transformed into light, they would form a
constellation of splendid suns. Let her tell us herself. Queen of Martyrs, holy Mary, speak:
"My sorrows are ineffable because they did not have their origin in my own Heart . . . It is the Heart of Jesus
that poured into my heart the ocean of torment that broke forth in His . . . Thus it is the infinite sorrow of a
God who is my Son that causes the suffering which tortures me beyond measure . . ."
"And it could not be otherwise when I saw Him bathed in His Blood, surfeited with opprobrium, loaded
down with curses, trampled underfoot by the proud, soiled by the mire of the highway, He who is at the same
time my Son and my Lord, my God and my All! . . ."
"Ah, it was not only on Good Friday, Calvary's hour, that I saw Him on the Via Dolorosa, crushed and sad,
His Soul disconsolate . . . Alas! no! . . . Enlightened from above I saw another Via Dolorosa perpetuated
across the centuries, and on it My Jesus bending under the burden of a living cross, the cross of all human'
treachery.
"Yes, I have seen Him afar, down the ages, long after His mortal Life and Passion. I have seen Him dragged
along by a vile mob, as on Good Friday, His divine Sovereignty ignored, His Majesty mocked at, His Head
crowned with thorns, and that adorable Face, whose beauty enraptures Heaven in ecstasy, sacrilegiously
profaned by the crowd's spittle . . .
"Still more, my children: I saw my Jesus on the steep slope that leads to this perpetual Golgotha; I saw Him
followed and surrounded
136
HOLY. HOUR
by the great army of hypocrites and of the impure, traitors and blasphemers . . . And all, with rage in their
soul and with the gall of hatred on their lips, insulted Him while He suppressed His moans to bless them and
forgot His agony to pardon them . . .
"My children, drain the chalice of my passion: O what a sorrow! I saw Him in thousands of forsaken
tabernacles . . . searching from the depths of this prison of love, searching with His glance for a friend, a
brother, a faithful consoler, an ardent spouse, a devoted apostle . . . And how often, alas, His eyes and His
Heart have found nothing but silence and the forgetfulness of human hearts, have encountered nothing but
coldness of souls!
"Oh, the great Wound in His Heart is then reopened, deep and bleeding . . . Oh, if His Calvary had at least
brought returns! . . . Ah! I have seen Him die, and die uselessly for a great number of wretched beings, guilty
persons, and of children who had become renegades to the Cross, to the Altar, and to His Law! . . .
"You, at least, the friends who, like the faithful and valiant Veronica, come this evening to
bring a veil of purity and love, you who have known Him more intimately, come, approach together; borne
on the arms of His Mother, climb up to His open Side, and with your soul afire place therein a burning kiss . .
. Come, let us weep together over so many ingratitudes; come, my children, let us unite our hearts to love
Him in place of an iniquitous world which tearing itself away from Him by blackest ingratitude puts Him to
death" . . .
(Pause)
Consideration: Never forget this: the horrible story of Holy Thursday night and of the Way of the Cross is
renewed repeatedly . . . Our forefathers without doubt went before us to Calvary, the executioners of
Jerusalem had indeed their large share of responsibility, but following them we have finished their criminal
work.
We must then atone and if necessary wash out in blood the personal affront which is our own sin. Offer
Jesus-Hostia a prayer of glowing reparation.
Souls: Remember, Lord, that Thou hast come that we might have life and have it abundantly. Relying on Thy
words, we come sweetest Jesus,
138 HOLY HOUR
to beg of Thee in the name of Mary Immaculate and of Thy compassionate Heart, that at the hour of death
Thou wilt be our Savior and not our Judge.
(Aloud)
All: Be our Savior and not our Judge.
Sweetest Jesus, remember that Thou hast said that Thou hast come to look for the lost sheep of Israel. Ah, do
not abandon them in the brambles of the road to perdition! In the name of Mary Immaculate and of Thy
compassionate Heart we beg of Thee at the hour of death to be our Savior and not our Judge.

Sweetest Jesus, remember that Thou hast promised to celebrate in the Home of Thy Heavenly Father the
glorious feast of Mercy at the return of the prodigal, whom the angels greet with exultation and canticles. In
the name of Mary Immaculate and of Thy compassionate Heart we beg of Thee at the hour of death to be our
Savior and not our Judge.
Sweetest Jesus, remember the invitation given Thee by your enemies, the publicans; remember the
condescension with which Thou didst accept to eat at their table in order to win them by the power of Thy
speech, always inspiring hope, and full of pity . . . In the name of Mary Immaculate and of Thy
compassionate Heart, we beg of Thee at the hour of death to be our Savior and not our Judge.
Sweetest Jesus, remember the delicate partiality of Thy Heart toward those lying in the lowest depth of the
abyss; remember Magdalen, the Samaritan woman, the Good Thief, and a great many more sinners who
drained every drop of the chalice of Thy mercies . . . In the name of Mary Immaculate and of Thy
compassionate Heart, we beg of Thee at the hour of death to be our Savior and not our Judge.
And finally, sweetest Jesus, remember that in Thy redemptive immolation on the altar of sacrifice, Thou didst
deliver Thyself to death for the ransom of guilty man; remember also that when
140 HOLY HOUR
dying Thou didst appoint Paradise as Thy meeting place with the thousand-times blessed thief, who had
sweetened Thine agony and won his Heaven by a word of humble repentance . . . In the name of Mary
Immaculate and of Thy compassionate Heart, we beg of Thee at the hour of death to be our Savior and not
our Judge.
So may it be, Jesus, especially for all those who, faithful to Thy demands, have rendered Thee a homage of
consolation and of public amends by the Communion of reparation and by this great and fruitful prayer, the
Holy Hour . . . In them and in their families carry out generously Thy promises of boundless mercy!
(Pause)
Triumphs of Jesus and His Mother's glories—The Sun of glory which shone resplendently one day on the
broken tomb, opened by its power, illumines with brilliance the Cross, the Church, the Tabernacle, and above
all, casts its splendor on His Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary . . .
Now the crucified Savior's triumph is before

all an inward and mysterious victory, an interior and secret victory like the action of grace on souls . . . But
this victory is, at the same time, Mary's glorification. Yes, the Blessed Virgin, whose Immaculate Heart has
shared so intimately the anguish of her Son, must also participate in the ineffable gladness of His glory and
triumph.
(Brief silence)
Let us end this Holy Hour then by a prayer of praise, the Hosanna of an immense joy.
Souls: Adorable Jesus, Thy hour has come, the hour when Thine altar is to be the Tabor of Thy glory. Thou
didst promise this to Margaret Mary when Thou didst disclose to her the secrets of Thy Sacred Heart which
wills to reign, and Thou art divinely faithful to Thy word.
Thy Vicar, the Pope, and the clergy of the whole world, burning with a new, irresistible zeal . . . Thy Holy
Eucharist kindling a fire of love never hitherto seen . . . the practice of the Holy Hour and the Enthronement
of Thine Adorable Heart in families, transforming them into so many sanctuaries of Thy love . . . all, in a
language of fire assures us, Jesus, that the
142 HOLY HOUR
Labarum of Thine adorable Heart advances conquering, irresistible, winning back this world which shed Thy
Blood . . . Advance O King of Love, from victory to victory establishing Thy Reign over individuals and
society! . . . It is especially in the arms of Mary that we find Thee sweet and easy of access . . . that is why, in
the name of her Immaculate Heart, we implore Thy victory of love . . .
Sacred Heart of Jesus, Thou knowest all, Thou knowest that we love Thee: forgive us then and pour forth
over the whole world those wonderful promised graces by which Thou dost encourage and strengthen this
sublime devotion: Thy Kingdom come!
All: Thy Kingdom come!
Sacred Heart of Jesus, Thou knowest all, Thou knowest that we love Thee; forgive us and diffuse to the ends
of the earth the fruitful breath of Christian regeneration that Thou Thyself dost offer to souls in love with
Thine infinite love: Thy Kingdom come!
Sacred Heart of Jesus, Thou knowest all,
Thou knowest that we love Thee; forgive us and establish the Kingdom of Thine infinite tenderness over
homes, over the happy families who acknowledge that they have received in Thine adorable Heart with Thy
peace a foretaste of Paradise: Thy Kingdom come!
Sacred Heart of Jesus, Thou knowest all, Thou knowest that we love Thee; forgive and encourage us; inflame
Thine Apostles who desire but one glory, that of seeing Thee crowned by a diadem of souls conquered by
Thine infinite love: Thy Kingdom come!
Sacred Heart of Jesus, Thou knowest all, Thou knowest that we love Thee; forgive us, and in homage to Thy
Mother, bless and confirm the work of Thine Apostles with that promised virtue which will give them the
power to enthrone Thee victoriously wherever they find a soul or a family in need of Thy great mercy: Thy
Kingdom come!
Oh, yes, Lord Jesus, establish Thy Reign of love over homes, schools and parishes . . . over
144
HOLY HOUK
peoples and their rulers; reign, reign by Thy Sacred Heart . . .. We implore Thee, Jesus, by the tears and for
the honor of the Queen Immaculate, spread over the Church and the world tne Reign of Thy Sacred Heart:
Thy Kingdom come!
A Pater and an Ave for those in their agony and for sinners.
A Pater and an Ave for the world-wide triumiph of the Sacred Heart, especially by daily Communion, the
Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Most Pure Heart of Mary
I give and consecrate to the Sacred Heart of our Lord Jesus Christ, my person and my life, my actions, griefs,
and sufferings, wishing no longer to use any part of my being except to honor, love, and glorify Him. It is my
irrevocable intention to be all His, and to do all for
His love, renouncing with all my heart anything that might displease Him.
I take Thee, therefore, O Sacred Heart, for the only object of my love, the protector of my life, the pledge of
my salvation, the cure for my weakness and fickleness, the reparation for all the faults of my life, and my
assured refuge at the hour of death.
O kindest of Hearts, be my justification before God and Father and avert from me the darts of His just wrath!
I place all my trust in Thee, O Heart of love, for I fear all from my malice and weakness but I hope all from
Thy goodness. Therefore destroy in me all that may displease or resist Thee. May Thy pure love imprint
Thee so deeply in my heart that I may never be able to forget Thee or be separated from Thee. I implore
Thee, by all Thy goodness, that my name may be written in Thy Sacred Heart, for I wish all my happiness
and glory to consist in living and dying as Thy slave.
And you, O Heart of Mary, closely and inseparably united to the Heart of Jesus! After Jesus, your Son, I wish
you to occupy the first place in my heart, which from now on gives and
146 HOLY HOUR
consecrates itself to you. You will always be the object of my veneration, my love, and my trust. I will strive
to conform my feelings and affection to yours, and the constant effort of my life will be to imitate your
virtues.
O blessed Mother, deign to open your heart to me, and to receive me there in the company of your true
children and faithful servants. Obtain for me the grace I need to imitate your admirable Heart as you yourself
have imitated the Heart of Jesus. Rescue me from dangers, console me in my griefs, teach me to draw profit
as I should from the good and evil of this life; protect me always and especially at the hour of death!
O Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, I consecrate myself to Thy service! Grant that now and always I may be
Thy faithful child. Amen.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, Thy Kingdom come. (5 times)
Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us, (3 times)
Saint Joseph, pray for us.
Saint Margaret Mary, pray for us.
147 FIRST FRIDAY OF APRIL
V.
Holy Hour
For the First Friday of April
During a silent hour of interior prayer like this, Jesus in the Eucharist confided the ardent desires of His
Sacred Heart to His disciple and first apostle, Margaret Mary . . . O, what a moment when the earth heard
once more the suppliant voice that had resounded on Samaria's plains and on the mountains of Galilee; a
moment when it listened to the God-Man's voice reverberating, ardent, lamenting, and begging our love as at
Gethsemane and on Calvary! . . .
Yes, on that night at Paray-le-Monial, a night glorious and radiant, He asked us for our love, but offered us in
return not only the treasures already given . . . O, no! . . . He offered us a gift more beautiful than the heavens
. . . Heaven itself, the source of the redemptive treasures of Calvary . . . He gave us forever His adorable
Heart!
148 HOLY HOUR
Let us sing: "Hosanna in the heights of Heaven . . . Hosanna!" For henceforth the Heart of Jesus is all ours!
And you, the poor, the sick, the sad, the weak, sing too: "Hosanna, Hosanna on this sinful earth!" . . . The
Heart of Jesus belongs to us mortals. It is ours for life . . . It will be ours beyond the shadows of death! . . .
Hosanna!
Let us pray, my brethren! . . . and if we truly love Jesus, let us ask Him in great outbursts of faith and of
boundless love that He disclose to us. during this Holy Hour the providential designs of His Sacred Heart . . .
Lord, only Thy loyal and intimate friends are here present . . . Reveal to us, then, as Thou didst to Thy
favored Confidante, Thy vehement desires and the wonderous power of divine conquest that Thou hast
willed to attach to this sublime devotion . . .
Speak, O Master, what dost thou ask in order to reclaim with authority Thy Sovereign right, to exact as King
the realization of Thy plans? . . . Thou Who dost read to the innermost recesses of the heart, behold the souls
of Thy
friends athirst for Thy words . . . Thou hast honored us with the vocation of consolers of Thy Sacred Heart.
We therefore wish to offer Thee in each of our hearts a bed of fragrant flowers, where Thou mayest rest Thy
bleeding Head. Yes, accept us as a consolation; accept our arms stretched out to Thee in Thine agony as a
feeble support, just as Thou didst accept at Gethsemane strength from the Angel . . .
Jesus, look at us this evening more lovingly than Thou didst look at Veronica, for in offering our reparation
we offer Thee something richer than a veil, we offer Thee our souls.
We are alone with Thee, Lord Jesus, Thy tried and faithful friends, those on whom Thou canst henceforward
depend in the hour of agony. Open Thy Divine Lips, beloved Master; speak, Jesus, for all those who
surround now the Golgotha of Thine altar come to implore the grace, the honor . . . still more than that, the
unmerited reward of carrying in Thy place, like loving Cyrenians, the gibbet of Thy Cross.
Heart of Jesus, in this moment of intimate confidence tell us of Thy promise to extend Thy
150 HOLY HOUR
spiritual Kingdom . . . Tell us of Thy wish to be enthroned in our rebel world . . . Order us to die for Thy
cause and Thy love, and we will die! . . . Speak to us through the Wound in Thy Divine Side, that especially
during the last three centuries is conquering the world by tenderness and mercy . . . Let creatures keep silence
. . . but Thou, O Jesus, in the Eucharist, speak and we will live!
(Pause)
(Ask of Him the great grace of hearing His Divine Voice.)
Jesus: Draw near, beloved soul. It is I, be not afraid! Do you see? I have despoiled Myself of the splendor of
Majesty which would have made you tremble. Look at Me! . . . I come to you poorer than yourself . . . I come
alone . . . stripped of all . . . I have only kept the glory of My Wounds, and no other treasure but My Heart
which has loved you so much . . .
Look at Me closely . . . the Nazarene Who was born in a stable, the Child of common folk, Who comes to
meet you . . . I was the
humble, poor craftsman in the workshop of Joseph, the carpenter . . . I have gone barefoot, and I have known
the uncertainty of what the morrow would bring; I have known all the disappointments of the poor, and I
have endured all that out of love for the humble . . . O, I wish to reign over them! I am by birth and My own
choice their Sovereign . . . Yes, I wish the poor, the workmen, and all those who labor, to accept the benign
and consoling kingdom of My divine Heart . . . I long to see them at My Feet completely conquered by My
Crib and My Cross . . . I claim for Myself, as My chosen heritage, the multitude who weep, who suffer
hunger for truth and thirst for justice. O, the happy day will come when I shall at last see them kneeling and
singing to Me their faith, their hope, their love! .. . .
You, My intimate friends, make ready for Me this great Easter; make ready the throne and the crown for the
glorious day . . . Implore this grace here before the altar; pray without ceasing to obtain it . . . O, bring back
to Me those souls which have been stolen from Me by the renegades who by their malignant efforts strive
152 HOLY HOUR
to rob me forever! Make the poor come unto me; enthrone Me in their homes, for I am Jesus, the divine Poor
One of Nazareth, their Friend.
(Pause)
Souls: Yes, Jesus, Thou wilt reign over the poor. The people won by the goodness of Thy Sacred Heart will
proclaim Thee their King! Receive the prayer, which at Thy demand will immediately echo in the depths of
Thy silent Tabernacle . . .
By the tears Thou didst shed in the humble grotto of Bethlehem . . .
(Aloud)
All: Reign, Heart of Jesus, over Thy friends, the poor! . . .
By the tears Thou didst shed in secret in much loved Nazareth . . .
By the tears Thou didst shed at the death of Thy friend Lazarus . . .

By the tears wrung from Thee by the ruin of Thy people and of Thine ungrateful fatherland . . .
By the tears of blood which wet the thousand-times blessed Garden of Gethsemane . . .
By the bitter tears the treason of Judas made Thee shed . . .
By Thy tears of deep sadness over Peter's thrice-repeated denial and the abandonment by Thine Apostles . . .
By the tears of desolation Thou didst weep in seeing Thy Mother's Heart crushed by sorrow on the way to
Calvary . . .
154 HOLY HOUR
By the last tears Thou didst shed in bidding farewell to earth and especially to the poor, Thy friends . . .
(Pause)
Jesus: Cherished souls, My Heart blesses you for the consolation you have just given Me by your ardent
supplications! . . .
Yes, I will triumph, for I am King . . . I came to save the world, ruling over it by the love of My Heart . . .
Like a stormy sea this ungrateful world rejects Me with rage . . . In My bark, the Church, I cross the
centuries, offering men calm, liberty, peace . . . Alas! the tempest redoubles its fury . . . There are rulers who
desire the shipwreck of the Church, the ark of salvation . . . There are many rich, learned, powerful, who,
following the example of the iniquitous Sanhedrin of Jerusalem, plot against Me, working to destroy my
Priesthood and to ruin My Church . . . My Vicar is persecuted
My Sovereignty is almost everywhere officially ignored . . . The hurricane of hate has scattered My Apostles
and My friends . . . This hate has dared to profane many sanctuaries of retreat and prayer and has trampled
underfoot My Rights and My Law! . . . Nevertheless, I am and I remain King, because I am Jesus, the Son of
the living God! . . .
Ah, you who truly love the glory of My Name, at least you, My friends, ask Heaven for the victory of Holy
Church . . . Do not forget that her anguish is Mine . . . Those who outrage her outrage Me and wound My
divine heart! . . .
(Pause)
Souls: Lord, we have heard the outcry of blasphemies against Thee and Thy Holy Church. We have also
heard the cry of sorrow wrung from Thy Heart by the ingratitude of nations who owe their culture and liberty
to Thy holy Gospel . . . and by the ingratitude of the powerful who, nevertheless, derive from Thee alone all
their authority . . .
Pardon, O scorned King; overwhelm and convert Thy enemies . . . We ask this with all our heart:
156 HOLY HOUR
By the poverty and forlornness of Thy wondrous birth . . .
All: Divine Heart, triumph in Thy Church! . . .
By Thy flight into Egypt and the sufferings of Thy exile, under the persecution of implacable enemies . . .
By so many years spent in Thy obscure and dearly-loved workshop of Nazareth . . .
By Thy life of retirement, prayer, and penance during the forty days passed in the solitude of the desert . . .
By the suffering which the contempt of Israel's doctors of the law caused Thee, and the gross insults with
which they received Thy Gospel of light . . .
By the piercing wound of ingratitude made by so many men who had been loaded by Thee with blessings and
favored with striking miracles . . .
By Thy sorrow caused by the incomprehensible blindness of Thy people, who in return for Thy favors
demanded the death of the Cross for Thee . . .
(Pause)
Jesus: Fervent souls, if sad and persecuted I could at least find shelter in the warmth of the family hearth in
the home! Alas! this sanctuary will fall in ruins if Satan and the world succeed in driving Me from it, I who
am the Life of Love! O! ask Lazarus, ask Martha, ask Mary, My friends of Bethany if there is an evil not
cured, a sorrow not sweetened, a wound not healed . . . when I, Jesus, establish My Kingdom
158 HOLY HOUR
of love in a home which adores and loves Me! . . .
Fathers, dragging on a wearisome life darkened by the weight of anxieties and responsibilities, let Me enter
your home . . . I am the Sun of peace and strength; I am the soul of a new life . . .
Mothers heavily burdened . . . who suffer for yourselves and your children; afflicted mothers, like My own
sweetest Mother . . . why do you not invite Me to bless the dawn and the twilight, the peace and tribulation,
the joys and tears of your beloved home?
You, the privileged witnesses of the mystic agony of My Heart in the Tabernacle, know that your apostolate
could open to Me the doors of the homes which are often so criminally closed before Me . . . Watch and pray
that My family and social rights may be acknowledged . . . Ask that in spite of Satan, My Heart may triumph
and rule the family.
(Brief pause)
Souls: Jesus, adorable Pilgrim, wandering in search of love, stay, but not on the threshold of
our homes: Thy Hair and garments are damp with the dew of night . . . Come in . . . Be in spirit and truth the
King of our families who love Thee. Yes, Jesus our Spouse, Jesus our Brother, Jesus our Friend . . . Come!
Reign in all our homes . . . we implore Thee! . . .
By the filial love Thou dost bear Thy blessed Mother, by the tender cares and the vigils of her Immaculate
Heart . . .
All: Triumph in families, O King of Love! . . .
By the affection Thou didst show the humble carpenter whom Thou callest Thy father, and by the holy
intimacy in which Thou hast lived with him . . .
By the love of predilection which bound Thy Heart to that of John, the Apostle of Thine ineffable
confidences . . .
160 HOLY HOUR
By the sympathy Thou hast always shown for the little ones of the flock, the children, Thy very faithful
friends . . .
By that enviable and delightful friendship of Bethany, where only one unbearable suffering—Thy absence—
was dreaded . . .
By the delicate kindness Thou didst show at the marriage of Cana and by Thy tenderness to penitent
Magdalen . . .
By the deference Thou didst show Zaccheus and Simon the Pharisee . . . And, finally by the thirst for justice
that Thou didst create in the soul of the happy Samaritan woman . . .
(Pause)
Jesus: Since you came to console Me, do not end this Holy Hour without recalling here at My Feet those
favorites of My merciful Heart, the fallen, the prodigals, those astray from the sheepfold . . . Numberless they
pass before this Host which veils Me from your eyes! . . . How they march by, the haughty who insult My
annihilation! the blasphemers, who cover Me with opprobrium! the apostates and the impious, who come up
to Me with the gall of sarcasm on their lips! . . . Alas! How great the legion of ingrates, of those who make
Me suffer by their icy indifference! . . . Who can count them? I see them from My Tabernacle; among them,
too, are those My one-time friends . . . traitors and disloyal ones . . . And there are also children! Listen to
Me, mothers! Yes, there are children who betray the Heart of Jesus, their great Friend!
My Soul is sorrowful unto death at the loss of so many poor sinners . . . O, at this very hour, many are in their
agony . . . Therefore, you My apostles, fall on your knees and by a fervent prayer shut the doors of Hell, and
open
162 HOLY HOUR
to them the Heaven of My Heart which awaits them with Its pardon and Its infinite mercies . . , Save them! . .
. They are souls that belong to Me . . . I entrust their salvation to you! . . .
(Pause)
Souls: Thank Thee, good Jesus, for letting us share Thy concern over these strayed souls. We will cherish
them as our treasure; we will love them for the tears they have cost Thee . . . They must not be lost forever so
long as the divine Wound in Thy Heart is not closed . . . Ah, that Wound the source of pardon must, like
Heaven, remain open! . . . Receive, then, in Thy never-failing goodness, this prayer, which we offer Thee
through the Sorrowful Heart of Mary, in favor of wretched sinners . . . and, above all, Jesus, forget not those
of our own homes . . .
All: Convert the sinners, O Sacred Heart! . . .

By Thy Hands pierced because they blessed and pardoned us . . .
By Thy divine Feet pierced through and through because they left on earth, prints of peace and mercy . . .
By Thy Lips which spoke the language of mercy and felt a burning thirst for our sickly souls . . .
By Thy divine Eyes, illuminated with the light of Paradise, which shed so many tears to wash away our faults
and obliterate them forever . . .
By Thy Sacred Body which became one living wound to give life to a world transgressing Thy divine Law . .
.
By Thy pierced Side in which we wish to take
164 HOLY HOUR
refuge during life, at the hour of death, and for all eternity . . .
(Pause)
Jesus: Do not go away from My Tabernacle, friends of My Sacred Heart, for I wish to repeat an ever
poignant complaint, I mean the bleeding Wound that a sin of yours made in My Side . . . Ah, a Wound cruel
above all, because made by the good who call themselves My friends . . . O, how they stab Me to the Heart in
measuring out to Me their love!
Ah, if you knew the tears of anguish that I weep when the children of My own household treat Me with
indifferent courtesy and respectful coldness like a distinguished foreigner . . . They dare to act in that manner
toward the God of love, the merciful Savior Who invites them to sit daily at the banquet of all bounty and all
graces . . . It is a whole army, thousands of souls who would now be saints if they had plunged generously
into the abyss of My Heart. Alas, how little My love is understood and how badly repaid by them.

All these souls belong to Me by right, by the most sacred of rights, but lukewarmness halts them and
paralyzes the flight of their hearts . . . They are beautiful souls, but they do not vibrate to the interests of My
glory. For want of generosity they lack zeal in their love . . . They see Me weep on the Cross, but through
lack of meditation and prayer they have no source of tears to weep with Me . . . They see Me bound and
alone in My Eucharistic prison, but My solitude does not appeal to their hearts; on the contrary, it bores
them, and they can not find a word of tenderness for the hidden God of the altar . . . How unhappy are those
poor souls! A glacial cold kills them and wounds Me at the same time . . . And not knowing what to say to
their Prisoner of Love . . . they go off and, like the Apostles, leave Me alone with My agony and My
angels . . .
But you others, athirst for My glory, you like Veronica atone this evening for the cruel Wound made in My
Heart by the lack of delicacy, of generosity, and of zeal in so many of My own children . . .
To dispel the sadness which they cause, sing
166
HOLY HOUfi
Me hymns of ardent, reparatory love . . . Because of you I wish to forget the offenses of My spoiled children .
. . Look once more at this wide, deep Wound, made by those of My own household . . .
You who burn with a heavenly flame of love and zeal, have pity on Me, your Jesus, because I search
everywhere for faithful souls and apostles in whom to confide but do not find them. Do you know why? It is
because I preach, redeem, and sanctify souls on the cross. Now the greater number of My friends hold this
Cross in horror; ah! but you who love Me sincerely, afford Me great consolation by your fervor, your spirit of
sacrifice, and by your desire for holiness . . .
(Pause)
Souls: Lord Jesus, I have also been one of the lukewarm keeping at a distance from Thy Heart for fear of
sacrifice . . . I also have been afraid of the holy demands of Thy love and tenderness . . . I feared I might be
caught in the net of Thy love . . . and I fled at the thought of falling into Thine Arms and of being obliged to
give myself up forever and without reserve to
Thine irresistibly conquering Heart . . . O, Jesus, forgive that cowardice!
Forgive, too, and forget that guilty apathy, that lack of generous love, that irresolution in sacrifice, of so
many of Thy friends whom Thou hast destined for sanctity and great glory . . . Forgive us, Jesus, and
triumph, sanctifying the just!
By Thy first words of tenderness which in Thy babyhood made Thy Mother smile with happiness . . .
(Aloud)
All: Heart of Jesus, reign, sanctifying the just! . . .

By Thy words of promise in the Sermon on the Mount . . .
By Thy words of consolation and sweet intimacy spoken to Thy dear friends and disciples . . .
168 HOLY HOUR
By Thy words of zeal which linked to Thee the twelve Apostles, future foundation and hope of Thy
Church . . .
By Thy words of ineffable blessing for childhood, always so dear to Thy Heart . . .
By Thy words of charity and hope heard by the sick, the afflicted, and the poor . .
By Thine incomparable promises for earth's unfortunate, humble, and forlorn . . .
By Thy words of farewell, words of infinite sweetness in leaving Thine own, Holy Thursday evening . . .
By Thy seven last words spoken on Calvary to bequeath Thy Spirit to us and to give us Thy Mother . . .
(Pause)
Jesus: I am come to cast fire on the earth; and what will I but that it be kindled . . . That you may realize My
design, look and see here in this Host, the Heart which has so loved men, loved them unto the perpetual
sacrifice of the altar, of the Eucharist! . . . For you I have chained Myself to the earth . . . But earth has
relegated Me to quite another captivity . . . that of indifference, disdain, and cruel neglect! . . . O in that
prison I suffer from deathly cold . . . Where are those whom I have ransomed? . . . Where are the souls I have
consoled and delivered from death? . . . Where are those whom I fed with miraculous bread in the desert? . . .
What has become of the blind souls, the leprous hearts cured in the miraculous pool of My transpierced
Heart? . . . Ah, lament with Me, you My friends, who have come to interrupt by your praises the sorrowful
silence
170
HOLY BOUR
of this My prison . . . I am your Prisoner and you have come to visit Me! . . . O do not leave Me any more,
make Me the Captive of your loving hearts! . . . And then going into the world make known to it My love and
the abandonment in which I am left . . . Bring it here . . . let it come to Me, this unhappy world, so needy and
eager for consolation . . . Lead souls to Me; excite in them the thirst for Holy Communion!
Preach My Eucharist, and glorify the Host in which I, the same Jesus of Nazareth, of Bethany, and of Calvary
live! . . . Come to Me, in this Sacrament; honor Me under the Eucharistic veils . . . Love . . . and make Love
beloved!
(Pause)
Souls: O Jesus in the Eucharist, our only ambition is to draw souls, many souls, to Thy Tabernacle . . . and
that we may inspire them with such a love that they will seek eternal shelter in Thy Sacred Heart. To this end,
we place in the Immaculate Heart of Mary, a prayer which will sweeten the bitterness of Thy prison. Hearken
to us, Jesus in the Eucharist:
By the ineffable love which made Thee endure the outrages in the Garden of Gethsemane and the perfidious
kiss of Judas who betrayed Thee . . .
(Aloud)
All: Heart of Jesus, reign by the Holy Eucharist! . . .
By Thy meekness when Thou didst receive the cruel blow which profaned the beauty of Thine adorable
Face . . .
By Thine infinite patience under the ruthless mockery and the cutting irony, of which Thou wert the object
the entire night of Holy Thursday . . .
By Thine admirable sweetness in the ignominy of the scourging, a punishment reserved for slaves, to which
Pilate's cowardice condemned Thee . . .
172 HOLY HOUR
By Thine adorable silence under the awful outrage inflicted on Thy divine Person when clothed and treated
as a madman . . .
By Thine incomprehensible humility when Thou didst submit to the odious affront of being compared to the
vilest criminal, who was preferred to Thee by the mob . . .
By the excess of Thy supreme charity which made Thee accept the gall of our Ingratitude presented to Thy
dying Lips . . .
(Brief pause)
Lord, in spite of Satan and his agents, Thou wilt reign by Thy divine Heart; yes, Thou wilt reign according to
Thy promise.
The people will be Thine; Thou wilt dominate them by Thy scepter of meekness and mercy, and in calm or
storm, they will not cease to hail Thee and proclaim Thee their King . . . Hasten, Jesus, the hour of triumph
promised by Thine all-loving Heart! . . .
Lord, Thou wilt reign glorified by Thy Holy Church . . . She will place on Thy Brow a diadem of souls and
Thou wilt be exalted above all the powers of Heaven, of earth, and of the abyss . . . Hasten, Jesus, the hour of
triumph promised by Thine all-loving Heart!
Lord, Thou wilt reign, praised and blessed by the homes founded by Thy sufferings and sanctified by Thy
Mother. Thou wilt be enthroned there as King; Thou wilt remain as a Friend in return for Thy tender
caresses. Hasten, Jesus, the hour of triumph promised by Thine all-loving Heart!
Lord, Thou wilt reign, by drawing to the source of Life, to Thy Heart, hardened sinners who refuse Thee the
tribute of their repentance and adoration . . . Thou wilt break their chains and give them liberty in making
them the happy
174 HOLY HOUR
captives of Thy love . . . Hasten, Jesus, the hour of triumph promised by Thine all-loving heart! . . .
Lord, Thou wilt reign in the Host; Thou wilt conquer by Thy radiant Tabernacle; Thou wilt dominate the
earth by the lovable omnipotence of the Holy Eucharist . . . Yes, thanks to the Holy Eucharist, Thou wilt
draw to Thyself, anew, men whom Thou didst conquer, loving them unto blood, unto the death of the Cross,
unto the extremity of Thy Eucharistic Immolation . . . Hasten, Jesus, the hour of triumph promised by Thine
all -loving Heart!
Final Act of Consecration
Beloved Jesus, ihe divine flame Thou didst come to bring to earth is kindled in our souls so that they know
not how to desire or to ask for any good other than Thy glory in the Reign of Thy Sacred Heart.
Thou didst say, Lord Jesus, to Saint Margaret Mary that this merciful revelation is the supreme and last effort
for our redemption.
So, relying on Thy words, we come to Thine
altar in quest of lessons of eternal life. We draw near Thine adorable Heart, eager to drink the water promised
to the Samaritan woman, the divine water which will regenerate the world.
O, be the King of so many ingrates who look on Thee as the dethroned Sovereign of their unhappy souls.
Take back and confirm Thine empire over them, Jesus, by the scepter of pardon.
Reign over the apostates who, renewing the outrage of Holy Thursday evening, call Thee King in derision,
and who, mocking and scornful, pretend to abolish Thy divine Kingdom . . .
Give them back the light of their lost faith, and, Jesus, Friend that Thou art, revenge Thyself for their
offenses by pardoning their betrayals.
Be King, O Jesus, of those crowds, who from sordid interests and the bribes from numerous modern
Sanhedrists who despise Thee, have rioted and urged an insurrection against Thee. Calm with a gesture of
pity this furious ocean of perverted and bewildered souls . . . Reconquer through Thy Gospel Thine empire
176 HOLY HOUR
over the people; regain once more the hearts of these unfortunates; make a glorious conquest of them by
Thine all-loving Heart!
Be the King of so many virtuous and good souls but often, alas, too timid, lukewarm, apathetic, and mean in
their love, because they fear to exaggerate the debt of charity that they above all owe Thee.
Melt the ice in those hearts. Rouse the many careless Christians from the fatal sleep in which they are
indulging while the world hurries to judge Thee and struggles to see Thee condemned . . .
Be the King of families . . . in all the splendor of Thy glory, in all the munificence of Thy love. Animate the
life of those homes, their life of work, of love and of suffering. Repay thus, Lord, the place of honor, the
spiritual throne which the piety of these families has offered Thee . . .
Finally, be the King, the real King of the Tabernacle! . . . O Jesus, the time has come when a vibrant, world-
wide hymn, a hymn of families, of societies, of nations, but above all
a hymn of love, interrupting the silence of Thy Eucharistic prison, will be sung to Thee on earth from pole to
pole: "Praise to the divine Heart which has wrought our salvation! . . . To It, alone, be glory and honor
forever and ever! . . . Thy Kingdom come! . . ."

Sacred Heart of Jesus, Thy Kingdom come! (5 times)
Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us. (3 times)
178 HOLY HOUR
VI
Holy Hour
For the First Friday of May
We adore Thee and we bless Thee, Jesus in the Eucharist, because by the all-powerful graces of Thy Sacred
Heart Thou dost perfect the redemption of the world.
Save us, Lord, we perish; save us as Thou hast promised Thy confidante, Margaret Mary; save us for the
honor of Thy Immaculate Mother.
(Kneeling and with great interior recollection, ask Jesus for Light to know His Divine Heart and to work for
Its glory!)
(Pause)
Jesus Speaks in Confidence: It is not you who have chosen Me . . . but it is I Who have chosen you. It is I
alone who chose and selected you from a thousand others to participate, during
179 FIRST FRIDAY OF MAY
this Holy Hour in the intimacy, and in the confidences, in the love, and the special graces that I have reserved
for you in My divine Heart. Draw near, then, without the least fear; stretch forth your arms to Me; take away
the thorns from My crown of sorrow and offer Me your tenderest consolation for I feel in agony from love
and sorrow . . . Come nearer still; do not linger . . . I have loved you so much . . . ah! so much!
If today, close to the King of Angels, you have the happiness to partake of the delicious Supper of My
Charity . . . if you warm yourself in the fire of My Heart, it is because I have preferred you, gratuitously
indeed, to many others . . . O yes, you who are present here, you are truly Mine! And if yesterday you were
but servants, from today on I consider you My children and My friends . . . Come then, and in the shadow of
this new Gethsemane . . . share generously with Me the bread of My sorrows . . .
Because tears are not shed in heaven, and because angels know not sadness, it is to you that I must open My
Soul, for I long to disclose to
180 HOLY HOUR
you in great intimacy the secret source of My tears . . . Whether you can always sound the depths of this
abyss of divine anguish matters little, for in your own heart is there not, also, a fiber that seems to remain
unknown until it is revealed to you through a new storm that makes it vibrate? Remember, your pangs are but
the pangs of a poor creature! . . . I am the Man-God!
The angelic spirits came to support Me in the garden of the agony . . . But you are much nearer than the
Angels to the abyss of My desolations . . . you can drink long draughts of the torrent of My tears; you are
allowed to join Me in My Passion and to mitigate it by sharing My sorrows . . .
But once here at My Feet, as My sweet consolers, forget the world, its lies, and its vain dreams, to lament
with a Captive God who awaited you this evening to let you participate in this crucified love, which on the
Cross gave peace and life to the world.
(Pause)
Souls: Lord Jesus, that I may see . . . let
me taste the bitterness of Thine infinite sadness give me the grace to penetrate by living faith into Thy
sorrowful Soul . . .
O Divine Sufferer, although I am a sinner, permit me, in Thy goodness, to bring my soul during this holy
hour near to the chalice of Gethsemane; let me quench my thirst in the source of Thy love—in Thy Heart! . . .
I thirst! I thirst for Thee, Jesus in the Eucharist!
(Brief pause)
Voice from the Tabernacle: You know Me, My little ones, because you listen to My words of eternal
life . . . and in knowing Me you also know My Father, because I am the Way which leads to Him! But
consider that there are millions of your brothers created to adore Me and redeemed to bless Me who hurl
against Heaven this cry of blasphemy: "There is no God." That cry of hatred, the echo of Lucifer's rebellion,
rises to My throne of peace, to My altar of clemency . . . Those very ones who deny Me are living the life I
have given them . . . they move and have their being in the ocean of My goodness; but, they expel Me by
their words and repulse Me by their works . . . I alone do not
182 HOLY HOUR
exist for them . . . My Name troubles them . . . Though My yoke is soft, it frightens them . . . My Calvary
exasperates them . . . unhappy wretched ones, they blaspheme Me! . . .
(Brief pause)
They seek peace . . . what peace can they have who do not adore, who do not hope, who do not love Me, I
Who am Life? . . . See with what indifference they treat Me . . . how they hold Me aloof in all the events of
their life! . . . There are many homes where I have no part in the mothers' tenderness, in the fathers' cares, in
the children's affections . . .
They completely exclude Me as an intruder from the family joys . . . Even when death comes knocking at
their doors, these families refuse Me so much as a vague remembrance in their mourning . . . they forget Me
entirely in their undertakings, in their plans, in their anxieties, and in their many misfortunes . . . Can you
believe this, My beloved ones? In the minds and hearts of thousands of men, I, their Creator and Redeemer,
occupy less space than the birds and flowers of their dwellings . . .
Ah! This is the way I am repaid by the world, the world for whose love I delivered Myself to the death of the
Cross, and, even more, to the immolation of the Eucharist.
(Recite, aloud, with ardent faith, THE CREDO, in solemn reparation for the denial of God and Jesus by so
many unbelievers.)
(Pause)
For centuries I have borne in My Heart a dolorous Calvary and My Soul has been drenched in tears . . . How
many souls are there that have been redeemed by My Blood, yet definitely lost! . . . Although destined to be
consumed in the fires of My Love they have already fallen by thousands into other terrible and avenging
flames. Yet they belonged to Me! . . . Listen to them. From the depths of hell they curse the Crib of
Bethlehem, My poverty, and My appeals to the world . . . They curse the blood-stained Cross imprinted on
their conscience . . . They curse My Church which offered them the treasures of Redemption . . . They curse
My Eucharist, they who would have spent eternity in bliss if they had been nourished by the Bread of im-
184 HOLY HOUR
mortality, in the Blessed Sacrament . . . Ah, how many of those reprobates at times came as you to prostrate
themselves at My feet . . . and afterwards . . . yielding to the world they chose for themselves their Hell . . .
I called them constantly . . . I ran after them until I was breathless . . . I embraced them with the tenderness of
a God . . . but one day they broke their golden chains, they pulled themselves violently away from My
embrace, and in their mad frenzy, chose a moment's gratification at the price of endless woe! . . .
At this very moment they curse Me with a curse that will now be eternal! . . . And, sorrow of sorrows, they
were Mine! . . . It was especially because of them, at the sight of their irrevocable loss, that My soul was rent
in the Garden of Gethsemane, for they were all My children! . . .
They were mine, these innumerable legions of souls, condemned to undergo the torment of the divine
avenging wrath . . . And to think that I have pressed them here, on My Breast, against My Heart . . . to the
very brink of the abyss of My Love . . . Alas, another abyss has claimed them forever! . . . Where are those
cherished souls today? . . . Ah, they are tears of fire wrung forever from My Eyes! Poor creatures, exiled
forever from their Fatherland, from their Creator's Kingdom . . . Unhappy children eternally banished from
the heavenly family! . . . Behind them the gates of hell have closed with a crash—never to be reopened . . .
Look, beloved souls! From the intensity of this unspeakable anguish, the Wound in My Heart is open and
will remain open . . . yes, open, that you who love Me may find there superabundant life, a Heaven . . . Life
eternal! . . .
(Pause)
Souls: I kiss Thy pierced Hands, Jesus, and by Thine agony in the Garden of Olives, I ask Thee to save the
consolers of Thy Heart from the flames of Hell . . .
I kiss Thy pierced Feet, Jesus, and by Thine agony in the Garden of Olives, I ask Thee to save the friends of
Thy Heart from eternal damnation . . .
I kiss Thine open Side, Jesus, and by Thine agony in the Garden of Olives I ask Thee to
186 HOLY HOUR
save the apostles of Thy Heart from eternal damnation . . .
(Brief pause)
The Master's Voice: Do you know the easiest way to final damnation? . . . It is the path of ingratitude . . .
the path taken by those who wrong a God of Love . . .
Often recall, My children, that My Name is Jesus, which means Savior, for above all I wish to be merciful
and to bring mercy . . . That you may strengthen your trust when you feel the sting of those miseries which
may cause your eternal loss, keep Jesus before your eyes always, Jesus who came for those who need
healing, strength, and peace . . . especially for those who need pardon, limitless mercy, and much, O! very
much love . . .
I am this Jesus! . . . To these leprous souls I show the marvelous well of My Heart which cures all evil
because it pardons all . . . because it always pardons . . . O, I have never refused forgiveness to any one who
asked Me for it with humble contrition . . . never!
And because My goodness is infinite, because
I await the prodigal with unvarying patience . . . because, when he comes back, I forget his wanderings . . .
because I welcome with rejoicing the sheep who return all covered with blood to My fold, yes, that is why so
many heap up the measure of their ingratitude, and condemn themselves by abusing the absolution which I
give them . . . Enter not, My children, on this path of black ingratitude, but weep over the blindness of so
many of your brothers who, it seems, offend Me, precisely because I am for them Goodness itself, a most
benign Jesus! . . .
(Let us ask His pardon for the misuse of His mercy and especially for the abuse of the Sacraments of
Penance and Holy Eucharist, saying to Him from the depths of our souls)
Pardon . . . O! pardon my faults that have so wounded Thee!
188 HOLY HOUR
Thou hast created me without any merit of mine.
Thou hast redeemed me without my cooperation.
And still more in redeeming me.
Wilt Thou be less powerful or less generous in forgiving me?
And the cruel death Thou hast suffered, were not for the profit of the Angels who praise Thee,
But to my benefit and that of the sinners who implore Thee . . .
If I have then denied Thee, let me praise Thee,
For to live without loving Thee,
O Jesus, that would be death without Thee.
(Pause)
Jesus: I have still another loving confidence to disclose to you . . . Listen to it with filial affection for I wish
to speak of My sweet Mother . . .
The dear remembrance of Mary was never absent from My Heart . . . Her very name made it throb with joy
and filled it with tenderness in My many hours of solitude and agony . . . How I thought of her in that hour of
Gethsemane. I saw her even then weeping bitterly over the death of her Son and her God and of so many of
her adopted sons . . . Sorrow filled to overflowing My bitter chalice . . . And what shall I say to you of the
time when, bound to the pillar, I saw that the torturers, in scourging My flesh, also scourged the flesh of the
Immaculate Virgin who had given Me a mortal body that I might become your Brother . . . And while those
tormentors splashed the prison walls with My Blood, I saw down through the centuries those iniquitous men
who would offer outrages to My Mother by refusing her the prerogative of her divine maternity, striking thus
by the same blow the Son and the Mother . . . And I saw
190 HOLY HOUR
others, who, while entirely neglecting Mary would pretend to adore Me, thus wounding to the quick her Son's
Heart . . .
Yes, Mary is your incomparable Mother . . . Love her fervently and make her loved by making Me loved . . .
Do you want to give Me great consolation? . . . Then during this Holy Hour unite all My tears to those of My
sweetest Mother, and offer them as a ransom for many dear sinners!
(Ask pardon of our Savior Jesus for the sorrow caused Him by so many Catholics who are indifferent to His
Mother . . , By so many dissenters and Protestants who refuse her love, since they ignore or deny the dignity
and prerogatives of the Blessed Virgin Mary.)
(Brief pause)
And now, favored children, whose names are written in My divine Heart, it is your turn to speak in
confidence . . . Speak to Me in words coming from the depths of your souls, which are already so closely
united to Mine by bonds of sacrifice and love.
If you have sorrows, confide them to Me . . . If you feel the weariness of life and, perhaps, at the same time
are in terror of death, tell Me about it . . . Above all tell Me of your just and holy ambition to see Me
consoled . . . of your ardent desire to contemplate Me, enthroned as King, acknowledged as King of Love in
the mercy of My Sacred Heart and in the full exercise of My inviolable rights. Speak! Your God listens to
you . . .
Souls: Lord Jesus, in our turn we bring Thee a very sweet complaint, the complaint of a heart that loves Thee
. . . Listen to us, good Master and King of Glory! . . .
Behold us before Thee, truly laden with the weight of Thy gifts, and overwhelmed by Thy graces, while
Thou, Divine Benefactor, art exhausted, agonizing . . . crushed under the cross of our iniquities . . . Ah, Lord,
it is not right that Thou shouldst give to the guilty the precious burden of Thy bounty and the delicious nectar
of Thy tenderness, and keep for Thyself the bitter dregs of the chalice of agony . . . and the gall of neglect
and countless treasons! . . . O, no! . . . If, during this Holy Hour, Thou
192 HOLY HOUR

dost look on us as Thy friends, Jesus in the Eucharist, share with us Thine overwhelming sorrow . . . And
although we do not deserve it, we insist that Thou deignest to accept us as Cyrenians of atoning love on that
desolate and sorrowful Way that leads to Calvary . . . And because we have at least a sacred right to it . . . and
because Thy love urges us on, we accept this glorious share of bitterness, not only with simple resignation as
just expiation of our faults and our brothers' sins, but with supernatural joy and deep gratitude.
Yes, Lord, we thank Thee for the thorns Thou hast strewn on our path in a mysterious design of mercy.
O, good Jesus, Thou wilt know how to appreciate this expression of faith, for Thou dost not ignore the fact
that our poor nature instinctively revolts against the sufferings of illness . . . of ingratitude . . . of poverty . . .
of neglect by creatures . . . of weariness of living . . . of calumny . . . of sadness and constant suspense. This
evening we are speaking to Jesus of Nazareth, the meek Son of Mary and our Brother, whose Heart of
flesh . . . O, delightful
and divine weakness . . . wished to feel all the lack of strength inherent in human nature . . .
We bless Thee in particular, Lord, for those daily disappointments that detach us from creatures and draw us
more closely to Thee! . . . Ah! . . . Jesus, how often dost Thou let us make advances to creatures where our
heart finds a momentary passing consolation in their lawful affection; then, in designs of Thy wisdom which
we do not always at once understand, Thou dost break those ties and rend our souls . . . How great and good
Thou art in Thy love! Thou dost prove it by a divine jealousy which wants the whole of our poor heart! . . .
Thank Thee a thousand times, Lord, for Thy divine and lovable austerity! . . . And, as Thou dost break man's
heart for Thy glory in sanctifying him, so also, irresistible Sovereign, dost Thou act toward Thy children
when, in trying them by illness, Thou dost draw from their bodily suffering the health of their soul . . . In this
way Thou dost transform material ruin into a splendid supernatural fortune of faith . . . And from hunger and
misfortune Thou bringest forth Resurrection and Life! . . .
194 HOLY HOUR
Therefore be a thousand times blessed, always provident Heart, so kind and willing to help, whose merciful
power knows how to draw from our desolation torrents of peace, ineffable sweetness, and celestial delights . .
.
Divine Lord agonizing in Gethsemane, we bless and praise Thee for the trials and tribulations by which Thou
hast willed to associate us with the glories of Thy Calvary . . .
Thorns of the Heart of Jesus, plait the royal crown to encircle our hearts too!
Tortures and agony of the Heart of Jesus, divinely quench our intemperate thirst for earthly affection and
happiness! . . .
Cross, pain, and fires of the Heart of Jesus, crucify our sensuality and our pride! . . .
Bleeding Wound in the Heart of Jesus, let us enter the enclosed garden of the agony of our sweet Savior . . .
the sanctuary of fair love . . . the altar of the most sublime holiness!
(Pause)
The terrifying anathema of divine Justice, which snatches from Thy love forever so many
unfaithful souls, wounds Thy Heart, beloved Savior . . . it wounds ours, too, because we ardently desire to
glorify Thee, to see Thy Name hallowed and Thy precious Blood make the universe fruitful in the
sanctification of the just and in the conversion of sinners.
How happy we should be if, during this Holy Hour, our prayer of reparation, prevent, were it one soul from
falling into Hell! . . . Receive this prayer, O Lord, and save the great number of souls who are on the brink of
the abyss.
All: Convert them, Jesus, by Thy divine Heart!
Convert the proud, the unbelievers who deny the existence of God, Creator of heaven and earth and of all
things . . .
Convert those unfortunates who deny the marvel of Thine Incarnation and who do not wish to acknowledge
Thee our Brother by Thy human nature . . .
196 HOLY HOUR
Convert all those who, by spreading these denials, make them the password to combat Thy Gospel and Thy
sovereign rights . . .
Convert the blind, who, seduced by these insidious doctrines, apostatize and deny Thy love . . .
Convert those who, with infernal rage, undermine Christian institutions; those who have sworn Thy ruin in
that of Thy Holy Church . . .
Convert those who, out of hatred for Thine adorable Person, work to make Thy Cross vanish from the
conscience of the child, from the soul of the people, and from the heart of the family . . .
Convert those who, under cloak of science, and with forms of hypocritical delicacy, work to
eliminate Thee without violence from every walk of life . . .
Convert those who, by deplorable ignorance, pay no heed to Thy words, and live in apparent tranquillity far
from all faith and the inspirations of grace . . .
Finally, Jesus, convert those thousands of souls who, in far-off lands, live, act, and appear to rest peacefully
in the shadow of paganism, heresy, and death.
(Pause)
Thou hast entrusted the Virgin's Immaculate Heart to us, Jesus, that we might make up for the sorrow caused
Thee and Thy heavenly Mother by those pretended Christians who outrage Thee by rejecting Thy last word
to Saint John on Calvary: "Son, behold thy Mother!"
Lord, overcome with confusion by Thy goodness, we accept the gift; and in gratitude for this
198 HOLY HOUR
celestial gift and also in reparation for the sin of these ingrates we offer Thee the sufferings, cares, tears, and
prayers of all the Christian mothers who adore Thee on earth and with joy proclaim Mary as their beloved
Queen . . .
Good Master, Thou knowest the abyss of faithful love in the heroic souls of mothers . . . Thou knowest their
worth . . . how they pray, with what power they love . . . how they suffer . . .
By the remembrance of Mary Immaculate . . . by the tears Thou didst shed in seeing her weep over Thine
absence and over the ignominy of Thy sorrowful Passion . . . we pray Thee, Jesus, to listen to the
supplications of mothers who help Thee to save souls by suffering for them at Thy bleeding Feet . . . See with
what ardent faith they implore the salvation of their families. Hearken to those who acclaim Thee their
beloved King at their children's cradle and their husband's tomb. By those tears and prayers they ask Thee for
the decisive victory of Thy Sacred Heart . . . They confide to that divine Ark all the treasures of their love . . .
Alas! There are too many who have reason to
fear for the Christian future of their children those who already suffer from the sad consequences of the first
downfall . . . Very many with tears in their eyes perceive also that worldly gatherings, dangerous friendships,
and frivolous reading dull the consciences and endanger the eternal salvation of their children . . .
Good Jesus, Thou hast confided to them the souls of their husbands and children; they have laid them with
trusting love on the altar of Thy Sacred Heart . . . King of Mercy, during this Holy Hour remember Thy
Blessed Mother as Thou certainly didst remember her in the Garden of Gethsemane . . . and in gratitude for
her tenderness, as reward for her sublime virtues, and as compensation for her sorrows save the home, O!
save the Christian family . . .
Lord, if the prayer of a single mother had the power to touch Thy Heart and obtain the resurrection of her
child, may the supplications of so many sorrowing mothers obtain during this hour of exceptional grace the
salvation . . . still more, the sanctification of the family sanctuary which Thou Thyself dost claim as Thy
throne, O King of Love!
200 HOLY HOUR
(Let us ask this grace with all the fervor of our souls.)
(Pause)
Most lovable Prisoner of the altar, Thou hast asked for the Holy Hour and hast wished it to be the great
reparatory prayer to Thy suffering love . . . Behold us, Lord, vanquished by Thy love! . . . All, all have come
eagerly to implore the coming of Thy Reign . . . What art Thou waiting for, Jesus, before presenting Thyself
as showing us Thy Wounded Side as a pledge of Thine irresistible love has already struck? . . . But,
Eucharistic Jesus, before Thou dost re-enter the sweet shadow of Thy sacramental prison . . . permit us to cry
out with a note of victory, a note which will be the prelude to the triumph of Thy love:
(Aloud)
All: Triumph by the Reign of Thy Sacred Heart!
Hasten, Jesus! Reign quickly before Satan and the world wrest consciences from Thee, and in Thine absence
defile all states of life! . . .
Come forth, Jesus, and triumph in homes; reign there by the unalterable peace promised those who received
Thee while chanting Hosanna! . . .
Do not delay, beloved Master, for a great many homes suffer from evils and bitterness that Thou hast
Come, because Thou art omnipotent, because Thou art the God of the battles of life . . . Come, showing us
Thy Wounded Side as a pledge of celestial hope in the agony of death! . . .

May Thou Thyself be the reward promised to our labors, Thou alone the Inspirer and the Recompense of all
our undertakings . . .
Do not forget that it is especially for Thy favored ones, the sinners, that Thou hast revealed the inexhaustible
tenderness of Thy love . . .
202 HOLY HOUR
Good Master, there are so many lukewarm and so many indifferent whose love Thou shouldst enkindle by
this admirable devotion . . .
"Behold the source of Life," Thou sayest, showing us Thy transpierced Side . . . therefore, Jesus, let us draw
from it the fervor, the holiness to which we aspire . . .
As Thou hast asked, Thine image has been enthroned in many homes . . . In their name, I entreat Thee to
continue to reign there as beloved Sovereign! . . .
Give words of fire and a persuasion, irresistible, victorious, to those priests who love Thee and who preach
Thee as did John the Beloved . . .
And for those who teach this sublime devotion, for those who publish its ineffable wonders, keep Jesus, a
place in Thy Heart very near to where Thy Mother's name is written! . . .
And finally, Lord Jesus, give the Heaven of Thy Heart to us who have shared Thine Agony during the Holy
Hour; and by this hour of consolation . . . by First Friday Communions, fulfill in us Thine infallible promise .
. . we ask Thee at the decisive hour of death . . .
All: That Thou triumph by the Reign of Thy Sacred Heart!
(Pause or hymn)
Lord Jesus, by Thy grace we have been able to watch an hour with Thee at Gethsemane, and we would be
happy to stay forever chained to Thy Tabernacle . . . We leave Thee now carrying away with us great peace,
divine consolations, and new life . . . Above all we leave with the satisfaction of having given Thee, Master
so ardently loved, the consoling testimony of reparation, of faith, and of love that with tears Thou didst ask of
Thy confidante, Margaret Mary . . .
204 HOLY HOUR
Lord Jesus, so good and kind, listen to our last prayer:
Agonizing Heart of Jesus, triumph . . . and preserve in faith and innocence the children who receive Thee in
Communion . . . Be their Friend! . . .
Agonizing Heart of Jesus, triumph . . . and be the consolation of parents and of Christian homes . . . Be their
Life! . . .
Agonizing Heart of Jesus, triumph . . . and be the love of the multitude who suffer . . . of the poor who labor .
. . Be their King! . . .
Agonizing Heart of Jesus, triumph . . . and be the consolation and sweetness of the afflicted, of souls plunged
in desolation . . . Be their Brother! . . .
Agonizing Heart of Jesus, triumph . . , and be the strength of tempted souls . . . of the weak. Be their Victory!
...
Agonizing Heart of Jesus, triumph . . . and be the fervor and constancy of the lukewarm . . . Be their Love! . .
.
Agonizing Heart of Jesus, triumph . . . and be the heart of the militant life of the Church . . . Be
its conquering Labarum! (triumphant standard.)
Agonizing Heart of Jesus, triumph . . . and be the ardent and victorious zeal of Thy apostles. Be their Master!
...
Agonizing Heart of Jesus, triumph . . . and in the Eucharist be the Holiness and Heaven of souls . . . Be their
Paradise of love . . . be their All! . . .
And, sweetest Master, awaiting the happy day when we will sing Thy glories, let us suffer, love and die in
the heavenly Wound in Thy loving Heart, murmuring these words of triumph: Thy Kingdom Come! . . .
(Saint Margaret Mary's)
O Jesus, infinite love, I wish to consecrate myself to Thee with all the fervor of my soul. I offer Thee all my
being on the altar of Thy Heart where Thou dost sacrifice Thyself for love of me. I offer Thee my body
which I will respect because it is the temple in which Thou dwellest; my soul, which I will cultivate as a
garden where Thou mayest come to take Thy
206 HOLY HOUR
rest; my senses, which I will guard because they are the doors by which the tempter comes in; the powers of
my soul, which I will open to the inspirations of grace; my thoughts, which will no longer fasten themselves
on worldly illusions; my desires, which will reach toward the happiness of Heaven; my virtues, which will
flourish under the shadow of Thy protection; my passions, which I will submit to the yoke of Thy
commandments; my very sins, which I will detest as long as my heart is capable of hatred and which I will
unceasingly weep over as long as I have tears to weep . . . My heart from today on wishes to be all Thine, all
Thine, forever, without fault or lukewarmness as Thou, divine Heart, hast wished to be mine . . . I will serve
Thee for those who offend Thee; I will love Thee for those who hate Thee; I will pray, I will suffer, and I will
sacrifice myself for all those who blaspheme Thee. Thou who dost penetrate the inmost recesses of the heart
and know the sincerity of my desires, accord me grace which gives to the weak, all-powerful strength. Give
me victory in the battle of life, and place on my brow, one day, an immortal crown in the dwelling of Thy
glory . .. Thou wilt be my reward, and the Wound
in Thy most lovable Heart will be my eternal Paradise! . . .
Thy Kingdom Come! . . .
208 HOLY HOUR

VII
Holy Hour
For the First Friday in June specially dedicated to those who suffer
We adore Thee, Eucharistic God and we bless Thee, Redeemer of the world . . . We love Thee, Jesus, in the
sublime beauty of Thy agonizing Heart . . . Thou alone art great! . . . Thou alone art holy, O God, in the
humiliation of the divine Host! . . . Thou only art most high, O God, hidden in the unbloody sacrifice of this
altar! . . .
Glory to Thee, God, King of Heaven, but willing to live in the Gethsemane of a humble Tabernacle . . . Glory
to Thee, Eucharistic Jesus, in the celestial heights, the abode of Angels . . . Praise to Thee on earth, the abode
of men!
O Lord, in the name of these exiles, Thy brothers, and especially in the name of all those who suffer with
love and faith, kneeling before Thee, we adore the tears, the solitude, the anguish, the weariness, all the
bitterness, all the
209 FIRST FRIDAY OF JUNE
agony of Thy Sacred Heart . . . We believe, Jesus, that Thou art the Christ, the God-Man of redeeming
sorrows.
In your own name and in the name of those who suffer, offer this Holy Hour to the agonizing Heart of Jesus,
and in union with Him, as a homage of resignation and love.
(Pause)
(Slowly and with brief intervals of silence)
Souls: O Jesus, we have been irresistibly drawn by the conquering power of Thy love and Thy tears toward
the abyss of Thy Heart! . . . Oh, the celestial beauty of Thy sadness! . . . A Heaven of consolation and glory
for all of us! . . . What an impenetrable mystery and what ineffable solace to be able to say to ourselves that
Thou, too, Jesus, hast wept! What divine eloquence in Thine all-loving words, which came from Thy
trembling Lips and stifled Thy sobs, words of peace which soared from the depths of Thy Soul, sorrowful
unto death . . .
And now, Lord, we are here, calm and serene, laying at Thy Feet the loving offering not only of our own
afflictions, but also the sorrows of so many unfortunate and suffering souls who adore
210 HOLY HOUR
Thee . . . O Jesus, how well Thou knowest this ocean of sorrows whose bitter floods submerged Thy most
holy Soul . . .
First, adorable Master, we will mention those who suffer from poverty or from the cruel sting of illness . . .
Even here, during this Holy Hour, Lord, among those who have come to watch with Thee, or among their
dear ones, there are perhaps some sick . . . there are certainly some poor . . . Oh, with what great pity Thou
hast always looked on the infirm! . . . With what delicate tenderness Thy kind Eyes searched out the leper,
the paralyzed, . . . the wounded, and the blind, to cure them all with a smile and a loving blessing! . . . And if
these invalids or suffering ones could not come to Thee, . . . Thou didst go to them. Thou didst make a path
for Thyself through the crowd . . . Thou didst arrange for a blessed meeting by passing near the roadside
where they lay . . . Oh, then, . . . Thou didst look at them as only Thou canst look; . . . Thou didst give them
Thy Hand . . . and Thy Heart completed the miracle. They arose with their bodies cured and their souls
healed! . . .
But today, there are more poor than sick . . . There are many who work hard and endure painful privations;
many without bread, without shelter, without solace, without remedies to give relief . . . But what can we tell
Thee that Thou dost not already know about the sufferings of the poor, Thou the poor Nazarene, so winning
in Thy destitution! . . . Yes, Thou hast suffered hunger; . . . but above all, Thou hast had to bear the haughty
scorn and contempt that the world shows those who have neither house nor land nor money . . . Did not Thy
accusers ask, "What can He know? . . . What can He claim in Israel? . . . What can one from Nazareth
pretend to be? . . . one signalized as the son of a humble carpenter." . . .
Recall, Jesus, this evening that humiliation, and cast Thine Eyes on so many poor who sigh, on so many sick
who suffer . . . During this Holy Hour we dare to ask that Thou bestowest on those poor and sick the gift of
Thy peace and the sweet consolation of Thy blessing, which scatters in profusion miracles of tenderness . . .
Jesus, reward their resignation which honors Thee . . . And if it be for Thy greater glory, deign to grant relief
to the sick, the infirm, the poor, and the
212 HOLY HOUR
needy . . . Thou, Who with loving care watchest over the flowers of the field and the birds of the mountain-
side . . . bless with special tenderness, from this divine Host, all the afflicted for whom we beg the living
waters and the treasures of Thine adorable Heart . . .
(Pause) (Slowly and brokenly)
Remember also, beloved Master, those who suffer from disheartening opposition and humiliating
reverses . . .
Lord, with what loving and wise Providence, dost Thou often permit that our plans vanish like smoke . . . and
to our great surprise, that after much care and work, we reap only piercing, cruel thorns . . . How many
vexations and disappointments dost Thou permit for each of our human hopes . . . Thou alone knowest the
reason for the innumerable mishaps that steadily try the family . . . Thou dost not prevent them because they
are really for our good . . . Thou dost not stop the torrent which will carry away the sacred walls of the
home . . . Doing violence to Thy compassionate Heart, as Thou didst with the woman of Canaan, Thou
keepest silence in Thy
Tabernacle when we are threatened by a misfortune, which will, however, in a mysterious way, bring about
the salvation of those whom we love . . . Thou dost see us weep; Oh! yes, Thou takest part in all our chagrin;
and, although invisible, Thou art very close to us in those black and agonizing hours, hours of Gethsemane,
through which all men must go . . . Remembering Thine own agony, Thou drawest near us; and even if we do
not always feel Thy sweet divine embrace, yet, we know that Thou art clasping us in Thine adorable
Arms . . .
Yes, Jesus, by happy experience, we know the tenderness of Thy Heart; that is why we hold without
hesitation that, in the midst of the bitterest mortifications of our lives, that Heart beats with love of us . . .
Accept, Lord, these sufferings in loving reparation for Thy mortal vision in the Garden of Olives, and sustain
on Thy Heart the hearts of those who suffer.
(Aloud)
All: Sustain on Thy Heart, O Jesus, the hearts of those who suffer!
Beloved Master, many on beds of suffering await the visit of the Heavenly Physician.
214 HOLY HOUR
Many sick children, Lord, have lost their mothers . . . Many homeless old people will die without any care
other than that of Thine infinite mercy.
Many of Thy poor have already suffered for long years, having neither human help nor hope!
Enter, Master, the huts and garrets where misery reigns, . . . under the roofs where poor mothers agonize,
with no witnesses other than their little children who suffer from hunger . . .
With the sweet light that shines from Thy wounded Heart, enlighten and console those homes which in the
past knew abundance but now bear want in silence . . .
Be especially merciful, Jesus, to those who suffer from the injustice of man . . . and to numerous others who
have seen their plans for riches and comfort vanish in a day . . .
Lord, Thou art not unaware of the innumerable persons and families who suffer from continual insecurity . . .
In the perpetual conflict of opposing interests, in the inevitable vexations caused by business and the natural
aspirations of life, which are never satisfied . . .
Thou hast suffered, Jesus, from the absence of all human solace; have pity, then, on so many poor, sick, and
disillusioned hearts, who ask for a moment at least of truce and rest . . .
(Brief pause)
Voice of Jesus: You spoke truly: When
216 HOLY HOUR
suffering detaches you from earth I am very near you . . . The cross will always be the bloodstained bridge
which united your afflicted, deluded hearts to my Agonizing Heart! . . .
Behold Me, My loved ones . . . I have hearkened to your prayer for the sick, the poor, and for those attacked
by human opposition . . . At this very moment how many graces have fallen on them all from My throne of
mercy where I guard their lives of labor and weariness . . .
Continue to speak to Me of all that pains you and makes you sad . . . My Heart claims these confidences . . .
Your sufferings touch It to the quick . . . Draw near, then, My children, and while bound together in the same
anguish and enduring the same suffering, let us weep together.
Come nearer to Me and pour forth your souls into My divine Heart.
(Pause or hymn)
Souls: Thine isolation, the icy silence and the solitude which surround Thy forlorn Tabernacle accuse the
world of the sin most keenly felt by Thy Heart—the sin of ingratitude.
(Reflectingly)
To love, O Jesus, as only Thou lovest and not to be loved in return! . . . to bless and be cursed in return . . . to
scatter favors freely and be repaid by forgetfulness or insults! . . . Behold, sweet Savior, the very bitter bread
of Thy voluntary exile in the midst of us; . . . behold the price of Thy sublime captivity in the Tabernacle! In
this way Thy Gethsemane is prolonged through the centuries . . . Ah, in reparation, we insist on having our
share in it.
O Jesus, Thou didst say: "The disciple is not greater than his Master, nor the servant than his Lord." That is
why we, too, are sometimes invited to taste of the chalice of ingratitude . . . We accept it, O Lord, for love of
Thee and only for Thee, because this drink is more bitter than death . . .
Have pity, good Master, on those who succumb at this moment under the weight of such suffering . . .
Have pity on those homes where once dwelt the hopes and joys of the family but which today are desolate
because children have become the cross, yes, even the crown of thorns to their parents.
218 HOLY HOUR
Have pity on unhappy wives, wearied from grieving over faults which wound their hearts . . .
Have pity on so many loyal, devoted, and humble souls who have been betrayed in their friendships, jeered at
and deceived in their own homes, and wounded by those who have begged their charity and their favors . . .
The world pays at first with words and smiles, . . . and then with disloyalty and treachery.
Because we love Thee, Jesus in the Eucharist, only because we love Thee, we thank Thee for this chalice of
bitterness, and we ask Thee to pardon those who open the wound in Thy loving Heart—that same deep
wound which we ourselves have opened by our own ingratitude . . .
(Brief pause) (Slowly and reflectingly)
O good Jesus, have pity on those who suffer from solitude and abandonment! . . .
How many times, beloved Master, after having preached the marvels of Thy love, after having multiplied
Thy miracles in the presence of enraptured crowds, hast Thou seen those multitudes go away from Thee with
distrust and with indifference in their souls. And Thou didst
remain alone, solitary, and forsaken as Thou dost here in the holy Tabernacle where Thy children forsake
Thee . . . Only Thy Father can measure the intensity of Thy suffering in that sorrowful desertion.
Thou knowest, Jesus, that there are many, very many, who have never tasted a tender love—orphans of life.
They wander about in the desert of the world; . . . always homesick for the warmth of a fireside, . . . they live
without affection and with bitterness in their hearts! . . .
Gethsemane and Calvary recall to Thee, most lovable Jesus, the anguish of solitude . . . Oh, how terrible it is
to call and to cry out and feel that our voice is lost in silence! . . . To weep, to suffer, . . . to implore, . . . to
love, . . . and to feel that one remains alone, always alone! . . . No one has known awful desolation but Thou,
O Jesus . . .
Then, . . . from the depths of the soul which suffers thus, rises something of the appalling anguish which
Thou, beloved Savior, hast felt in Thine agony on Holy Thursday: weariness unto death, repugnance, and the
disappointments of life! . . . Then, alas, the poor human heart feels itself overcame . . .
220 HOLY HOUR
These outcasts need Thee, Lord, in this moment of supreme distress; . . . they need Thee, agonizing Heart of
Jesus; . . . If Thou dost not come to their rescue, their despairing souls will cry out for death! . . . But Thou
wilt come to us, as we ourselves have come to Thee this evening to share with Thee this hour of solitary
agony! . . .
And to all who must one day suffer from loneliness and the abandonment of brethren, . . .
(Aloud)
All: Give us the companionship and the shelter of Thy Sacred Heart.
If Thou sometimes dost try us by permitting that our own dear ones forget us, . . .
When age and infirmities isolate us by breaking the ties which we believed would always last, . . .
Perhaps some day poverty may visit our home, —a home which is also Thine; and our friends may leave us
then; . . . O Jesus, do not abandon
us in such an hour of trial, . . . for that hour we now place our trust in Thee alone! . . .
Misfortune follows our every step: if one day it overtakes us and we are forsaken by those we love, . . .
Human injustice is so great! . . . If Thou dost permit that one day it scourge us, forsake us not then, Lord
Jesus! . . .
If even those we greatly love abandon us, . . . in that hour of cruel ingratitude, oh! come then, Jesus, for Thou
art our only hope.
If those who demanded our affection and sacrifices should one day hate us, as Thou, good Jesus, hast been
hated, . . .
222 HOLY HOUR
The calumny of Thine enemies covered Thy divine Countenance with opprobrium . . . When it brands our
brow and humiliates us, do not forsake us; come to us, gentle Master, always calumniated.
And in the hours of deathlike silence when we find ourselves alone, all alone, submerged by the forgetfulness
and cruel indifference of creatures, . . .
(Brief pause)
Voice of the Master: In your hours of solitude and torture, never will you be far from My Heart which loves
you, . . . yes, which loves you infinitely because you love It . . . and because you suffer . . . If, when I was
alone and forgotten, you came to Me, if you consoled Me when I was saddened by those who called
themselves Mine, if you have often broken the ice of indifference which surrounds My solitary prison, . . .
how could I prefer even the song of the angels to the appeal of your souls in
sorrow? . . . Your souls need to rest on My Heart for solace! . . . Here is this Heart, infinitely compassionate
toward your wounds; take It; It is all yours! . . . I, alone, have power to repay with divine generosity, so be
not afraid! I know how to heal the deepest wounds. Come; . . . do not hesitate . . . oh, yes, come! Only I know
to what extent solitude and ingratitude crush the soul. Come! . . . Come weep with Me and you will be
consoled! . . .
(Pause)
Voice of the Souls: Jesus, on our altars Thou dost bear a name which lifts up our hearts when we are
overcome. Thou art there the Host, the Victim . . .
(Very slowly and reflectingly)
Here, in the Host, Thou art ignored and forgotten even by Thine own . . . Thou hast dwelt among us for so
many centuries, wishing to permeate our lives, . . . and still we misunderstand Thee! . . . Thou art always the
One Who is loved but at a distance only . . . Thou art almost a stranger in the midst of Thy children . . . That
is why Thou didst tell Thy servant Margaret Mary, that the greatest of Thy
224 HOLY HOUR
sorrows is not to be known in Thine own house by those who are Thine . . .
(Brief pause)
We thank Thee, beloved Master, when Thou dost make us taste the bitterness of Thy chalice; we thank Thee .
. . Our hearts are cruelly hurt, O Jesus, when the good and even those dearest to us wound us . . . Sometimes
they condemn us in Thy Name, from motives which they believe to be sincere and zealous . . . Ah it is so
human to misjudge others! . . . But Thou, Who knowest all, Thou dost permit this, that we may place our
trust in Thee alone . . . Thou dost permit it, also that we may repair, by this keen suffering, for the lack of
tenderness by which even we who are consecrated to Thy glory have saddened Thy Heart . . . We thank
Thee, then, we thank Thee for those wounds opened in our souls by Thy gentle and loving Hand . . .
We thank Thee, too, for that other inevitable ordeal—death; . . . it rends without pity all mortals, . . . cold and
inexorable it tears from us all those Thou Thyself hast confided to our love . . . Recall Thy sadness, Jesus, as
Thou didst
draw near the house in Bethany where Thy friend, Lazarus, no longer awaited Thee; . . . Happily, Jesus, the
source of those tears Thou didst shed over the death of the friend of Thy Heart is not yet dried up . . . Yes,
Thy divinely beautiful Eyes still seem wet with the tears of the Man-God who wished to love with all the
emotions and tenderness as well as with all the weakness of our heart of flesh . . . And this, Jesus, is Thou,
Thou Thyself present in the Host, Whom we adore here, on our knees . . . Look at us from the depths of the
Tabernacle, and look at those who no longer walk with us along the way; they were like the very fibers of our
heart . . . Now they are gone from us; . . . they have left us . . . What separation is as cruel as the separation of
death! . . .
Thou didst weep at the tomb of Lazarus though Thou didst know Thou wert about to raise him from the
dead . . . Likewise, in spite of the lively faith with which we accept the crosses Thou didst send us, Thou dost
allow our souis to be lacerated when we see our dear ones leave, never to return . . . When we have loved
deeply, these wounds can be soothed, but as Thou well knowest, Jesus, they can never be
226 HOLY HOUR
healed completely! . . . Jesus, come to fill the empty place which pitiless death has made, with Thy
permission, in our hearts and homes. Come to give calm and resignation to us who survive that we may pray
at their grave . . . Come, Master, let us pray together for our dead so dearly loved . . . May the brightness of
Thy eternal light shine forever on them . . . May they rest in peace . . . in the Heaven of Thy Heart! . . .
(Very slowly and with pauses)
Before ending this Holy Hour, we ask Thee, Jesus, to visit the most intimate recesses of our souls, the depths
of the abyss of our sorrows and miseries . . . Thou alone knowest us, Jesus, Thou alone . . . Penetrate our
souls like a ray of light with Thy sweet and profound glance . . . It will never shock or break the frail crystal
of our poor hearts . . . Enter still further, even into the heart's last depths; . . . descend to the abysses where
the secret sorrows kept for Thee alone lie hidden . . . Touch with Thy healing Hands these wounds, so long
bleeding yet unknown to others . . . No one has seen them; and it is better they should be hidden, for no one
but Thou wouldst understand them . . .
That is why, O adorable Savior, in the midst of certain keen sufferings, we do not weep for we do not want
the world to see our tears—that the world would not always understand.
What a relief then it is to talk to Thee like this . . . to talk freely to Thee, Who in Thy Sacramental Life art
made to drink infinite bitternesses that no one can or ever will be able to understand . . . Only Thou, Master,
canst know all, all . . . Cast a look into the very depths of our souls, . . . but a look of pity . . . It was at
Gethsemane, under the violent oppression of Thy Heart, that sprang forth the fountain of Tears, which flowed
not from Thine Eyes, but coursed through Thy Veins as a torrent, bursting forth in a Sweat of Blood.
(Pause)r
(Slowly and with short pauses)
To be silent when one feels himself dying in a hidden, interior agony, to be silent then is to die twice . . . That
sorrow Thou hast also known, O Divine Sufferer of Olivet . . . The forebodings of mothers, . . . the well-
founded unexpected separation of souls, . . . the dark fears, . . . the apprehension of fathers . . . the
228 HOLY HOUR
anguish, disappointments, anxieties of priests, the many overwhelming pains of good souls who keep intact
for Thee alone, O Jesus-Hostia, the virginal beauty of their sufferings, . . . all form part of those, mysterious
sorrows!
The Holy Hour is the hour of confidences . . . and of consolations . . . If we have opened our sorrowful souls
to Thee, Jesus, it is less to complain than to offer Thee as the richest of our treasures those of our most secret
griefs and all those bitternesses which have no name in earthly language . . . Accept them, Lord, from the
hand of the Queen of Sorrows for the triumph of Thy love.
(Aloud)
All: Sacred Heart, sanctify all our sorrows!
Yes, Jesus, sanctify the opposition which we endure from the good, . . . and the suffering caused us by the
frequent injustice of men.
Accept the mortifications that come to us from those from whom we least expect it, . . . and which cause such
sharp disappointments.
Accept, Lord, as a bouquet of myrrh, the
remembrance of our beloved dead . . . Bless them, for they left us only in answer to Thy divine call.
Accept the tears of resignation we have shed on the tombs of those dear to us . . . Remember particularly
little orphans and families in mourning . . .
Come, dearest Savior, to make up for the loss of the prodigals who have gone from their homes . . . They
have left an empty place that only Thou canst fill . . .

See, Lord, the hidden thorns in our souls,—accept these thousand unknown sufferings which no human pity
would know how to console . . .
Accept the anxiety of mothers, . . . the devotedness of fathers, . . . the apparently thankless and often sterile
efforts of so many priests . . . Jesus, take without reserve our sorrowful souls, for they are Thine alone.
230 HOLY HOUR
(Pause)
Voice of the Master: Children of My love, how sweet and consoling this hour has been, this hour during
which you have shown Me the deep hurts which torture your soul, . . . while I have let you penetrate the ever-
bleeding Wound of My Sacred Heart . . . Ah! what a happy similarity of suffering! . . . How we resemble
each other when we mourn on earth the bitter afflictions of earth! . . . That is how Gethsemane becomes for
you, as well as for Me, a sanctuary of prayer and of perpetual redemption . . . Oh! let us love each other as
brothers in suffering . . . Let us love each other, O My friends, that our hearts may meet on the sorrowful way
. . . Let us love each other, O My little children, in the Cross! . . .
(Slowly and with short pauses)
Come to Me . . . all you who suffer from poverty and from illness . . . Hasten! . . . Lay down at My Feet the
burden of all your afflictions, and I will comfort you in the depths of My Heart which loves you.
Come to Me . . . all you who suffer opposition from creatures, . . . you who have felt the injustice of men, . . .
you who have undergone
reverses of fortune, sorrowful family trials . . . come to Me, and I will give you solace in the sanctuary of My
Heart which loves you!
Come to Me . . . you who weep over the ingratitude of your friends, and, yes, sometimes even over the
ingratitude of members of your own family . . . Do not tarry, . . . for this pain overwhelms and freezes the
soul; . . . come, and I will warm you in the flames of love of My divine Heart!
Come unto Me, you who drag on a dull intolerable existence, . . . you who live in boredom and isolation, . . .
you, the forgotten ones, come to Me . . . You who still in the dawn of life feel the weariness of exile, . . .
throw yourselves into My Arms, and I will give you solace in the garden of My Heart which loves you!
Come to Me, you who are despised, scorned and misunderstood even by good men, . . . you whose efforts to
further My glory are blamed; come, My friends, and I will console you by refreshing you in the chalice of
My Heart which loves you.
Come unto Me, you who are in mourning, who

232 HOLY HOUR
weep the loss of a son, a mother, a spouse, a brother; . . . come, without delay, to My Tabernacle, all you
whose dwelling has been marked by the cross of death and tears . . . Come, and I will give you solace in the
ineffable peace of My Heart which loves you.
Come, lift up your hearts, for time is only a passing shadow, . . . and Heaven is eternal; come, you who thirst
for love and justice; . . . I am your God, and for you I have suffered the horrors of the most cruel Agony . . .
Arise then with courage and take the living Bread, My Eucharist to fortify you in the struggle; come and I
will reward you in the Paradise of My Heart which loves you! . . .
(Pause)
Soul: What have I, Lord Jesus, that Thou hast not given me, . . . including the treasure of my tears? . . .
What do I know, that Thou hast not taught me, . . . above all the science of suffering with love? . . .
What can I do if Thou dost not help me . . . when I weep . . . and Thou art in agony?
What am I if I am not united to Thee in Thy Calvary and in my sufferings?
Jesus, because of Thy Cross and my crosses, forgive my faults which have wounded Thee so much . . .
For Thou hast created me when I had not merited it,
And in spite of my indifference to Thy Passion, Thou hast redeemed me without my co-operation . . .
Still more in redeeming me,
Thou wilt not be less powerful or less generous in forgiving me . . .
For all the Blood Thou didst shed
And the cruel death that Thou didst endure
Are not for the Angels who adore Thee in joy,
But for me and other sinners who expiate, lamenting . . .
If I have denied Thee, let me acknowledge Thee, . . . in all the beauty of Thine Agony;
If I have offended Thee, let me serve Thee, suffering for the exaltation and triumph of Thy Sacred Heart . . .
Thy Kingdom Come!
234 HOLY HOUR
Act of Consecration
Divine Lord agonizing in Gethsemane, Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, deign to unite Thy Precious Blood
and Thy Sufferings to the afflictions of the children of Thy Heart . . . Accept, bless, and lighten our crosses . .
. Draw from them immense glory for Thyself, and also cause them to be a means of salvation for many souls
perverted by the pleasures of the world . . .
Call near to Thee, and love with special tenderness those who have no one to love them. Heal those wounds
which ungrateful children and disloyal friends cause by their indifference. Thou Who livest so near to the
source of our tears, make them less bitter and sanctify them by the miraculous virtue of Thy Cross . . . Divine
Prisoner of the Tabernacle, . . . visit the disconsolate by a ray of Thy Light, visit those maltreated by life, . . .
those beguiled by delusive and sinful pleasures . . . Gather up those outcasts, whose beauty of soul is often
unknown or scorned . . .
Teach us the science of suffering in peace and faith, and accord us the precious and very rare gift of knowing
how to console.
Give to our sufferings a divine, irresistible strength which will draw our poor wounded hearts to the abyss of
Thy pierced Heart. In that Heaven we wish to live, suffering for Thy cause and Thy love. There we would
draw out Thy thorns to make them the diadem of our own glory . . .
Be King of the world, Thou God-Man of Sorrows! . . . Dominate this world and be victorious over it, healing
the wounds opened by the lack of pity and the injustice of men.
O ineffably kind Master, Jesus, the Divine Consoler of all tears, come, when suffering envelops us! Come
without delay for our sorrows are great . . . They would become insupportable because our courage is so
feeble when we weep far from Thee! . . .
Adorable Nazarene, do not refuse us the thorns of the Via Dolorosa nor the desolation of the desert, but we
also cry out imploringly for Thine adorable Presence, a Glance from Thy Divine Eyes, a blessing from Thy
Hand stained with blood . . . We do not pray Thee to send us an angel to sustain us in our hours of agony; it is
Thee we call for, Lord, only Thee, . . . for
236 HOLY HOUR
Thou, Jesus our Brother, hast given us the sacred right to ask Thee to mingle Thy Tears with our tears . . .
Give us peace in our tribulations, give us strength, and, if Thou wilt, give us consolation in the chalice of
Thine agonizing Heart . . . By Thy Cross and our crosses, may Thy Kingdom come!
A Pater and an Ave for the universal triumph of the Sacred Heart, especially by daily Communion, the Holy
Hour, and the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart in families.
237 FIRST FRIDAY OF JULY
VIII
Holy Hour
In Reparation for Public and Official Outrages to Our Lord Jesus Christ and for the
First Friday of July
(Slowly)
How blessed and really happy were the unhappy ones in Judea who met Jesus at the turn of a narrow path
and for a moment found themselves alone with Him! . . . How privileged were those fortunate sufferers of
Naim, of Jerusalem, and of Bethany, who on meeting Jesus were free to pray and to weep on His Divine
Heart! . . . It is thus, O Jesus of Nazareth—our Jesus of the Tabernacle—it is thus, we have met Thee during
this Holy Hour . . .
Look at us, adorable Master, and Thou wilt recognize among us the same happy and blessed unfortunate ones
of Palestine . . . Yes, like those of Judea and Galilee and Samaria we also have confidently sought a meeting .
. . But less
238 HOLY HOUR
interested in our own concerns than were they, we come this evening for Thy sake and glory. Here at Thy
Feet in the shadow of this altar we come to reflect on the great interests of Thy social reign.
We are here, Lord, only because of Thee, only for the defense of Thy cause, O Jesus! . . . We hasten to Thee
because outcries of rage and blasphemy warn us that Thy enemies give themselves no respite in carrying out
their determination to drive Thee from souls and to exile Thee from society.
And if the hour of Calvary is come again, if Thou must suffer, if Thou must agonize, if Thou must die,
behold King of Love this little flock who asks the favor of suffering for the cause of and by the side of its
Shepherd. Thou hast said to Thy confidante, Margaret Mary, with deep sorrow in Thy soul: "I need victim
souls to share My agony." Do as Thou wilt with us, Lord . . . we all love Thee . . . We love Thee ardently.
(Pause)
Rend the veil of Thy sacred Side, O well-beloved Jesus, and permit us entrance to the Holy of Holies of Thy
adorable Heart . . . Permit
Thy children to contemplate there during this Holy Hour the outrages of Thy Passion . . . and the cruelty of
that sentence passed on Thee by the very ones whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy Blood . . . From Thy
Tabernacle give us light to follow step by step that sorrowful way which began on the dark night of
Gethsemane only to finish on the last day of the world . . .
Despite our unworthiness permit Thy consolers to share Thy chalice of opprobrium and agony. Give us,
lovable Prisoner of the Altar, one sole favor, one unique right: to love Thee in the ignominy of Thy Cross and
to unite ourselves to Thine agony through Holy Mass and the Holy Hour . . . And, finally, and above all, give
us the right and favor to love Thee dearly unto death . . . O yes, the right and privilege to die while loving
intensely Thy Eucharistic Heart . . .
(Ask for light and love to contemplate Jesus Christ in the Mysterious Sacrifice of the Eucharist)
(Pause)
Jesus: Beloved soul, here in the Host where you see Me, I live silent, mute, perpetually bound
240 HOLY HOUR
before the modern Herods. Do you not hear, rising to Heaven, the insolent questioning which they make Me
undergo, I Who am sovereign Power, Truth, and the sole Master of the world? I keep silence for love of you,
for you whom I save by enduring the ignominious condemnation of the rulers of the world, judges of men but
never of My doctrine . . . They seek authority and use it against Me, . . . and behold Me perpetually the
Victim of their abuse of power. For them, thrones; for Me, the prisoner's bench . . . for them, the golden
scepter; for Me, always the reed of mockery! . . . for them, a retinue which applauds and flatters them; for
Me, jeering cohorts and executioners! . . . For them, diadems and homage . . . for Me, the crown of
thorns! . . . For Me, forgetfulness, always fergetfulness! . . .
And if at times those worldly powers evoke, in spite of themselves, the remembrance of My Sovereignty, My
Name alone is enough to cause a tempest of hatred, of legal persecution, and of blasphemy to break forth . . .
Thus am I judged and condemned by the world which lives only by Me . . . I keep silence because in the
Holy Eucharist I am the incarnation of a
merciful love . . . but this revolt against My Sovereignty, this ignoring of My Majesty in the laws which rule
nations is a direct outrage against Me, the Almighty Who dwells among men, reduced to nothingness in the
Sacrament of Love . . . Is not this wrong, a real defiance of the Eucharistic God . . . an insult to Him Who
speaks to you from the depths of His Tabernacle which often indeed becomes Pilate's Praetorium? Here,
consoling soul, meek and humble, I bear the affronts of slaves and the contempt of the vilest of men . . . I am
taken out of this prison, only when earthly tribunals order Me to be scourged, and then to be shown, covered
with blood, to the angry mob.
O how consoled My Divine Heart feels by your reparation . . . The ardent love of My own makes up for the
scoffing of the powerful. You who are rich make reparation for that insult by your humility; you who are
poor, by your resignation . . . From here, from My Tabernacle, I bless you, My very faithful friends. Speak,
then, My children. Ask miracles, you, the elect of My Heart . . . Speak, I am the King of infinite mercy.
242 HOLY HOUR
(Pause)
Souls: Lord Jesus, Thy Soul touched by our fidelity offers us Thy miracles and Thy pardon. Deign then to
shower Thy graces of light and of strength on the powerful, on rulers who, associated to Thine authority,
have above all others an urgent need of Thy light. They need it so much for themselves and their people that
they may know Thee, Jesus, and may proclaim that they accept Thy redeeming Sovereignty, the only source
of peace and salvation.
In reparation for the affronts which Thou hast suffered before the iniquitous Herod, and for those Thou
endurest, often, alas, in the palaces of the great of this world . . .
(Aloud)
All: Heart of Jesus, fulfill Thy promises of victory!
In the assemblies where laws are made and in the tribunals of human justice so subject to error . . .
In the timid, unsteady and changeable con-
science of those who preside over the destiny of nations . . .
In the councils of so many rulers expressly chosen in hateful opposition to Thy Gospel and the Church . . .
In popular seditions, exploited to outrage Thy redemptive doctrine, and to repudiate Thy rights . . .
In the Satanic plots made in secret for the ruin of Thy priesthood and Catholic institutions . . .
In the foolhardy security, apathy, and indolence of so many Christians who would gladly be faithful to Thee
if they could disregard Calvary . . .
244 HOLY HOUR
In the unrestrained ambition for wealth and high rank which leads many to scorn Thy Blood and risk the
eternal damnation of their souls . . .
(Pause or hymn)
Jesus: I am Sanctity itself. Acknowledge it while kneeling here before this Host: Heaven proclaims it also,
and unites during this Holy Hour with your humble adoration . . . Yes, I am Holiness; nevertheless the
malefactor Barabbas was preferred to Me! . . . Alas! how often that impious choice is repeated out of hatred,
disdain, forgetfulness . . . If you knew how cruelly that insult wounds My Heart! . . . and yet, I, the God of
humility, dwell in the Tabernacle . . . The vain world cannot understand that abasement . . .
See how proud souls eager for vain glory pass before My altar, ambitioning the esteem and the applause of
men . . . They pass by preferring a fleeting honor to My love . . . Relegated to the shadow of My sanctuary
from whence I utter these words: Learn of Me that I am humble and poor . . . O! Yes, I am poor because I
have renounced the wealth of the world to open the
treasures of the eternal Paradise to you . . . I have become the poorest of the poor; I have become out of love
a Beggar . . . and, that is why I am despised by the world which makes a god of gold and all that glitters . . .
To the world I am a nobody, because, born in a stable, I lived in the obscurity of Nazareth; I died in the
destitution of Calvary; and because I continue to live in these annihilations in My Eucharist. I am a rejected
pauper . . . and the miserable, vain goods of this world are preferred to Me.
(Brief pause)
Behold Me covered with wounds . . . My Hands which beckon and bless are transpierced. My Feet are
lacerated . . . My Brow bruised, My Lips livid . . . My Eyes blinded by Blood . . . My Side opened by a deep
Wound. How men shudder at the sight of a God, bloodstained and crushed by sorrow . . . These men who
would have the delights of an anticipated Eden in this exile . . . My love for you has brought Me to this
condition. It is there I also expiate the thirst for pleasure and amusement that devours the modern world . . .
From the Tabernacle I constantly offer you
246 HOLY HOUR
peace and happiness but through sacrifice and by the Cross . . . Ah! Where are My friends, My faithful ones,
My disciples? . . . Where are they? . . . They have gone away . . . They have left Me to look for pleasure.
They have preferred sin to Me . . . Barabbas, the lowest of mankind, triumphs in the world upheld by the
proud, the licentious . . . Barabbas triumphs, applauded and seconded by those who corrupt childhood,
debase the people, and poison the press . . . Barabbas triumphs, exalted by all those who, ambitious to reach
power, blaspheme Me, preferring worldly honors to Me, their Lord and Master.
And I, your Jesus, I am held chained by love, I remain alone in My Tabernacle, abandoned by the good,
denied by the weak, forgotten by the greater number, condemned by unworthy rulers, and scourged by the
mobs raised up against Me . . . I loved My own above all things, even unto death, and those of My household
preferred dust . . . the mire of the road, to Me . . .
Consider and see, you My friends, if there be a sorrow greater and like unto My sorrow! . . .
(Pause)
Souls: Thou hast given us the example, Jesus . . . Thou desirest Thy disciples following in Thy train to
renounce themselves and to carry lovingly the redemptive cross . . . We ask that grace of Thee during this
Holy Hour, through the ardent charity of Mary, Mother of Sorrows. We supplicate Thee by the fervor of
Margaret Mary to grant that we may love and accept a mortified life for the triumph of Thy Heart in the Holy
Eucharist, and to obtain the conversion of poor sinners . . .
Listen, Jesus in the Host, while we offer Thee the great prayer of Gethsemane, which is the prayer of Thy
annihilation on the altar, deign to hear it in Thy sweet and condescending Heart.
(Slowly and with Pauses)
We love Thee, O Jesus; grant us the grace to deem it an honor to be rejected by the world for the sake of
Thine ignored Heart.
We love Thee, O Jesus; grant us the grace to deem it a happiness to be humiliated for the sake of Thy
despised Heart! . . .
We love Thee, O Jesus; grant us the grace to deem it a privilege to be disregarded for the sake of Thy
outraged Heart.
248 HOLY HOUR
We love Thee, O Jesus; grant us the grace to deem it an honor to be scoffed at for the sake of Thine afflicted
Heart.
We love Thee, O Jesus; grant us the grace to deem it an honor to be despised for the glory of Thy Divine
Heart.
We love Thee, O Jesus; grant us the grace to deem it a favor to be insulted, for the triumph of Thy bruised
Heart.
We love Thee, O Jesus; grant us the grace to deem it a favor to be forgotten in order to console Thy Sacred
Heart.
We love Thee, O Jesus; grant us the grace to deem it a favor to be one day persecuted, for the sake of Thy
Wounded Heart.
We love Thee, O Jesus; grant us the grace to regard it a delicious bitterness to be calumniated for the reign of
Thy Sacred Heart.
We love Thee, O Jesus; grant us the grace to consider it a glory to be betrayed in a holocaust of reparation
close to Thine immolated Heart.
We love Thee, O Jesus; grant us the grace to consider it a favor to be hated in union with Thine agonizing
Heart! . . .
We love Thee, O Jesus; grant us the grace of
choosing as a real privilege to be condemned by the world as a homage of reparation to Thine ignored Sacred
Heart.
O! we entreat Thee to grant that we may receive lovingly our rightful share of the outrages and agony of Thy
Eucharistic Heart.
Be consoled, well-beloved Master; each one of us wishes Thee to hear a word of humility and confidence,
solemnly declaring that Thou art his sole wealth and his only hope . . .
Pardon . . . O! pardon my faults that have so wounded Thee!
Thou hast created me without any merit of mine.
Thou hast redeemed me without my cooperation.
And still more in redeeming me.
250 HOLY HOUR
For all the Blood Thou hast shed and the cruel death Thou hast suffered

If I have then denied Thee, let me praise Thee,
(Pause)
Jesus: Since all here present are My intimate friends, let Me open to you My Heart, so bitterly grieved. It
suffers from a Wound so deep that it penetrates even to the very depths of the soul . . .
Israel, the people of My Heart . . . yes, Israel asked for My condemnation . . . it has exacted My death . . . it
has prepared for Me the Cross of Calvary! . . . Israel, for whom I
have scourged Egypt, has scourged Me . . . I have broken its chains and Israel has enchained the Hands of her
Savior . . . I have given her manna in the desert, and she has woven for Me a crown of thorns . . . I brought
forth water from the rock to appease her thirst, and Israel has added gall of perfidy to the burning thirst of My
agony . . . I came down from Heaven, and wished to dwell with her, in the midst of the desert, in the
mysterious Ark . . . How many times have I not sheltered them under My wings . . . And behold Me wounded
unto death by Israel!
Why are My people bent on stripping Me of My Sovereignty? Why do they continue to cast lots for My
garments, and scatter to the wind of derision My Gospel of love and consolation?
See how the multitudes agitate, murmuring against My Law . . . See how whole nations carried away by
pride have broken the sacred unity of My doctrine, have torn the seamless tunic of My Church!
My Heart breaks, hearing today, as of old in Pilate's atrium, the clamor of so many nations, races, societies,
who, amidst an angry crowd,
252 HOLY HOUR
point to Me and cry: "We will not have this Nazarene reign over our people."
(Brief pause)
My Vicar is perpetually the victim of the jeers of this maddened throng! . . . He is My representative, My
visible face on earth . . . In his person I continue to be buffeted by those who insult My Church.. . . The blow
of a sacrilegious Malchus is particularly painful to Me; woe to him who places his hand on the Pontiff, the
holy anointed one of My Father! . . .
Stay the avenging Arm of God . . . Intercede for them during this Holy Hour in union with My outraged
Heart. I wish during this hour of grace to have mercy on them . . .
Yes, for the apostasy of so many nations, for so many societies who publicly affirm their unbelief, for the
shameless affronts to My Vicar, for the crafty, legalized hate shown My priesthood, for the iniquitous
tolerance and favors enjoyed by all the modern imitators of those who were My enemies during My lifetime,
for these innumerable sins, for the populace and cohorts who struck Me . . . with one voice and with one soul
ask pardon, ask mercy . . .
Souls: Prisoner of Love, Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, let our prayer reach Thee as incense of adoration and
reparation which we offer Thee by the hands of Mary Immaculate . . .
Litany of the Sacred Heart
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God, the Father of heaven, *
Have mercy on us.
God, the Son, Redeemer of the world,
God the Holy Ghost,
Holy Trinity, one God,
Heart of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father,
Heart of Jesus, formed by the Holy Ghost in the womb of the Virgin Mother,
Heart of Jesus, substantially united to the Word of God,
Heart of Jesus, of infinite majesty,
Heart of Jesus, sacred temple of God,
Heart of Jesus, tabernacle of the Most High,
254 HOLY HOUR

Heart of Jesus, house of God and gate of heaven,
Heart of Jesus, burning furnace of charity,
Heart of Jesus, abode of justice and love,
Heart of Jesus, full of goodness and love,
Heart of Jesus, abyss of all virtues,
Heart of Jesus, most worthy of all praise,
Heart of Jesus, King and center of all hearts,
Heart of Jesus, in Whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,
Heart of Jesus, in Whom dwells the fullness of the Divinity,
Heart of Jesus, in Whom the Father was well pleased,
Heart of Jesus, of whose fullness we have all received,
Heart of Jesus, desire of the everlasting hills,
Heart of Jesus, patient and most merciful,
Heart of Jesus, enriching all who invoke Thee,
Heart of Jesus, fountain of life and holiness,
Heart of Jesus, propitiation for our sins,
Heart of Jesus, loaded down with opprobrium,
Heart of Jesus, bruised for our offenses,
Heart of Jesus, obedient unto death,
Heart of Jesus, pierced with a lance,
Heart of Jesus, source of all consolation,
Heart of Jesus, our life and resurrection,
Heart of Jesus, our peace and reconciliation,
Heart of Jesus, Victim for sin,
Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who trust in Thee,

Heart of Jesus, hope of those who die in Thee,
Heart of Jesus, delight of all the saints,
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Spare us, O Lord,
Graciously hear us, O Lord,
Have mercy on us, O Lord.
V. Jesus, meek and humble of heart,
R. Make our hearts like unto Thine.
256 HOLY HOUR
Let us pray
O Almighty and Eternal God, look upon the Heart of Thy dearly beloved Son, and upon the praise and
satisfaction He offers Thee in the name of sinners and for those who seek Thy mercy, do Thou graciously
grant pardon, in the name of the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in the unity
of the Holy Ghost, world without end. Amen.
(Pause)
Jesus: The Holy Eucharist is the marvelous consummation of My love for men, but, O! men in return, have
consummated the work of their ingratitude in despising and even in outraging My love in the Holy
Sacrament.
Where were you, My children, when on Calvary I suffered a loneliness more cruel than that of My tomb?
Where were you, friends of My Heart, when in My agony, My Eyes clouded by My last tears, I saw only the
enraged faces of My executioners? Where were you? . . .
And, when thinking of you, My elect, in My soul's infinite agony, I had thirsted for - your sympathy, why
were My burning Lips wet with
the gall of absence . . . of forgetfulness . . . of cowardice . . . of lukewarmness . . . coming even from those
who had been the privileged guests at My intimate and family banquet. You know well that this story is not
only of twenty centuries ago; contemplate Me in this Host, and tell Me if ingratitude is not the bitter daily
bread of this God Who has made Himself man's nourishment. When then, and how have I vexed you for the
length of time I have been voluntary Prisoner that you should seal the door of My prison as if it were an old,
empty sepulcher?
O, come and surround Me; draw near My Feet, I wish to feel you close to Me in the mystic agony of My
Heart in the Holy Sacrament . . .
Longed-for hour, happy hour, this holy hour during which your God recovers His heritage, the price of His
Blood! . . .
I bless you because when I was hungry you left your repose to come and break the bread of charity with Me .
. . I look on you more than ever as My own because when I was thirsty, you gave Me your compassion and
your tears . . . I press you to My Heart because when I was wounded and sad in the loneliness
258 HOLY HOUR
of My prison, you came to offer Me delightful companionship . . .
Verily, verily, I say unto you, your names will be written forever in letters of fire and blood in the inmost
recesses of My Heart . . . a Heart vehemently in love with yours.
Rest on My Heart, My little children, as I rest on yours, chosen children of My love.
(Pause)
Souls: Master, we have come, not to rest but to suffer with Thee, to share Thy chalice, to atone for our faults,
and above all to ask for the Reign of Thy Divine Heart!
That is why we will not leave Thee, Jesus, until Thou hast promised to stay with us in the intimacy of our
souls, and until we have confided to Thee our ardent desires, the only desire of Thy consolers and friends . . .
the desire to see Thee reign, to see Thee come forth Victor through Thy Sacred Heart. Reveal Thyself we
conjure Thee to Thy humble apostles, because their only happiness is that of possessing Thee and witnessing
the advancement of Thy Reign, the only thing capable of appeasing the ineffable ardor which inflames them.
Come, then, O most lovable Jesus, in midst of the afflictions and trials of life . . .
All: Come! . . . We thirst for Thine adorable Heart.
In earth's perishable and misleading affections . . .
In the disillusionments of earthly friendship and in the frailty of human love . . .
In the brilliant allurements of vanity and in the numerous perils of the way . . .
In the pure and legitimate joys of the families who adore Thee . . .
In the seductive temptations of fickle fortune . . .
<
260 HOLY HOUR
In the hours when we have peace of conscience, in the moments of salutary remorse . . .
In the tribulations of those dear to us, when without being able to offer help we see those we love suffer . . .
In the weariness of exile because of the betrayals of human love . . .
In unceasing opposition, in our days of insecurity and bitter lassitude . . .
In the moment of temptation and in the hour of our departure from this earth and from the Hidden God,
Jesus-Hostia, and in our last Communion received as Viaticum . . .
(Pause or hymn)
Souls: When we see Thee Jesus so near and so benign, rather than exclaiming with the Apostle: Depart from
us, Lord, because we are sinful men, we would, on the contrary, run to meet Thee, to shorten the distance and
to strengthen the loving intimacy between Thy Heart and ours . . .
Come, Jesus, come to rest and enjoy all the love of our hearts when the proud rulers of the earth curse Thy
Law and Thy Name . . . Remember that we are Thine . . . that we are consecrated to the glory of Thy Divine
Heart . . .
Come, Jesus, come to rest and enjoy all the love of our hearts, when the multitudes gathered by Lucifer and
his satellites besiege Thy sanctuary and cry out for Thy Blood . . . Remember that we are Thine . . . that we
are consecrated to the glory of Thy Divine Heart . . .
Come, Jesus, come to rest and enjoy all the love of our hearts, when thousands of Christians, unmindful of
Thine adorable Person thrust the icy dagger of calm indifference into Thy thrice Holy Heart . . . Remember
then that we are Thine . . . that we are consecrated to the glory of Thy Divine Heart . . .
262 HOLY HOUR
Come, Jesus, come to rest and enjoy all the love of our hearts, when so many good and virtuous persons
measure out with avarice their tenderness to Thee when they begrudgingly give Thee their confidence . . .
and refuse Thee the consolation Thou awaitest from their sacrifices and their holiness . . . Remember then
that we are Thine . . . that we are consecrated to the glory of Thy Divine Heart . . .
Come, Jesus, come to rest and enjoy all the love of our hearts, when Thou shalt be oppressed by the
disloyalty or wounded by the indifference of elect souls, who, by vocation, should be entirely Thine by being
saints . . . Then, more than ever, in that hour of supreme desolation, remember that we are Thine . . . turn on
us Thy saddened and suppliant Eyes . . . do not forget that these children are consecrated forever to the glory
of Thy Divine Heart.
On the altar of our sacrifice and to Thy glory we wish to sing: All honor to Thy Sacred Heart . . . Thy
Kingdom come! . . .
(Slowly)
Thou art, O Jesus, the hidden God . . . O! hide then I conjure Thee, in my soul and I myself
having become like a consecrated particle, let us remain eternally united the one to the other as in Holy
Communion, as here in the Holy Hour, Thou dwelling in my poor heart . . . and I lost forever in the abyss of
sorrow, in the heavenly sanctuary of Thy Sacred Heart . . . Thy Kingdom come to us!
Sacred Heart of Jesus, Thy Kingdom Come! (5 times)
264 HOLY HOUR

IX
Holy Hour
For the First Friday of August
Commentary on the Seven Last Words
The Agony of Calvary and the Agony of the Tabernacle
Behold, here within a step of us in this divine Host is Jesus. Let us place ourselves in His presence, because it
is really He, the merciful God of Calvary . . . On the Golgotha of the altar He continues the Redemption of
the world, of this ungrateful world which ignores Him . . . Let us approach in all confidence and gather with
sentiments of faith and love the last supreme words of our divine Master, . . . the testament of His agonizing
Heart . . .
Let us make with a real lively faith a fervent act of adoration.
(Pause)
"Having arrived at the summit of the mountain they crucified Jesus between two thieves." O how
265 FIRST FRIDAY OF AUGUST
beautiful heaven must be if Calvary appears to us so resplendent in the purple of the Blood of Jesus, in the
gloom of the death of the Savior . . . Behold, . . . the veil of the mystery which hides from us Jesus Christ,
Beauty Uncreated, the Holy of Holies, is torn away in proportion as our faith increases. May that faith be
great, . . . immense, . . . and with our eyes full of this divine light, let us fix them on the altar, which, by a
marvel of divine love remains always the Golgotha, the mountain of great expiation. But because Jesus is
there, let us lift up our eyes without fear and fix them with delight on this Host. Oh! yes, let us do it without
fear because Jesus is there . . .
You Angels, who surround the Tabernacle, mourn in silence because it is not given to you as to us to disturb
the mystic agony of the Well-Beloved . . . This right belongs only to those who can speak to Him in the
language of tears and of a broken heart.
Let us draw close to gather the last words of our dying Jesus; let us hasten because we must receive His last
sigh . . . Let us climb Calvary. The Mother of Sorrows awaits us there . . .
266 HOLY HOUR
The repentant Magdalen attracts us and gives us great confidence . . . Let us pray beside Saint John, the
faithful friend of the agonizing Master. Behold your God! . . . Look at Him nailed to a cross! . . . Contemplate
Him with immense love! . . .
Alas! The words of the Prophet were only too true—from the sole of His Foot unto the top of His Head there
is no soundness in His adorable Body . . . His divine Brow anointed by Mary's kisses is torn by thorns . . . His
Lips burn with thirst; those Lips, a smile from which evokes the dawn of heavenly peace in afflicted souls . . .
His Mouth now livid, brought sweet nectar to heal all wounds . . . And those Eyes from whose depths came
the first glimmer of hope for unhappy culprits, are now veiled with a cloud of blood . . .
Read, oh, read on the pierced Hands and transpierced Feet, written in His Blood, the wonderful story of so
many prodigals, prizes and conquests of the Heart of the Good Shepherd, Who without respite pursued them.
Let us read again, . . . and we shall certainly find all the history of our great faults and that of the great
and divine mercies in these Wounds. Oh, gift, as immense as it is little appreciated, that of pardon, which His
pity grants us! . . .
Listen to the agonizing Master, Who now wishes to renew for us all the absolution of His Mercy . . . He
moans as He lifts His divine Head . . . He contemplates with a look of infinite mercy this perverse world
which is putting Him to death . . . and permitting His Heart to speak in the Host which we adore, He cries out
in a voice which is a sob of divine grief and pity:
I. "Father, Forgive Them, For They Know Not What They Do."
(Slowly)
"Father, do not look at the thorns of My crown, for they are only the natural, bitter fruit of this unfortunate
earth . . . I have searched for them, for these thorns, Father; oh, pardon the human pride that produced
them . . . Pardon also the great number who will ignore the mission which Thou hast confided to Me."
"Forgive My infuriated executioners. Ah, pardon also the cowardice of My friends . . . Father, forgive the
faults of the powerful, the
268 HOLY HOUR
more responsible ones, . . . but pardon also the faults of the humble and of the poor. Do not punish
inexorably, O Father, . . . because creatures are but dust and the abyss of darkness. Forgive parents and
children; . . . so numerous are the pitfalls which border the road of My little children. Forget their great, oh,
their very great weaknesses, but pardon also their treacheries. Oh, yes, pardon these souls because they are all
My sheep . . . Yes, they all belong to Me . . . Ah, do not strike them, Father, have pity on them, for they know
not what they do."
(Pause)
Souls: And now, Jesus Crucified, let me unite my prayer to Thine, Divine Savior of souls. Covered with
confusion, I prostrate myself in Thy presence and, fixing my eyes on the lonely Tabernacle, I feel my heart
saddened by the neglect shown Thee by so many redeemed souls . . .
But since with such great goodness Thou dost allow me during this Holy Hour to unite my tears with those
Thou hast shed, I pray to Thee Jesus, for those who do not pray . . . I bless Thee for those who curse
Thee, . . . and with

all my soul I praise and adore Thee in union with the universal prayer that rises from all the sanctuaries of the
world.
Accept, Lord, the cry of expiation from our afflicted, repentant souls: they ask Thy pardon! For our sins, for
those of our relatives and friends.
(Aloud)
For infidelity and profanation of holy days, . . .
For impurity and public scandals, . . .
For those who corrupt childhood and mislead youth, . . .
For deliberate disobedience to Holy Mother Church, . . .
For the crimes in homes and for the faults of parents and children, . . .
For attacks, committed against the Roman Pontiff, . . .
270
HOLY HOUK
For the disturbers of the peace and Christian society, . . .
For the abuses of the Sacraments and outrages against the Holy Eucharist, . . .
For cowardly attacks of the press and for the machinations of secret societies, . . .
And finally, Jesus, for the just who waver and for obstinate sinners who resist grace, . . .
(Pause or hymn)
II. How amiable is the Heart of Jesus! How sweet it is during this Holy Hour to talk to Him while bathing His
bloodstained Feet with our tears of repentance.
We have hardly asked grace for sinners when immediately comes the echo of His benign voice resounding in
our ears as a hymn of peace, which makes us feel as if Heaven were drawing near us . . .
The good thief spoke in the name of all the
fallen . . . We, who must die, soon, perhaps, let us listen to the answer of our very gracious Redeemer: "This
day thou shalt be with Me in paradise." Repentance has already opened the heaven of My heart to you . . .
Wait, Christian soul, for the blessed moment when this life's dream will fade away and with penitents and
angels you will sing the mercies of your God . . .
"Sinful souls who grieve, take refuge in My Wounds, opened by your faults; . . . do not fear, . . . it is never
too late to have recourse to My infinite mercy . . . You also wish to tell Me of your brothers who are
struggling and in agony . . . Speak! . . . I wish to be victim for all; I am your Brother, . . . I am Jesus."
(Slowly and brokenly)
Heart of Jesus, infinitely sweet to unfortunate sinners, it is a sinner who implores Thee . . .
Heart of Jesus, divinely amiable with the poor, it is a beggar who awaits and asks that Thou open Thy door to
him.
Heart of Jesus, health of the infirm, behold a sick man who visits Thee.
Heart of Jesus, luminous path for those who
272 HOLY HOUR
have gone astray, it is a prodigal who is looking for Thee. . . . He comes from afar. . . .
Heart of Jesus, ineffably gentle to those who weep, it is a wretched soul who knocks on Thy Tabernacle door.
...
Heart of Jesus, the only Faithful Friend of man, an ungrateful friend is here, weeping at Thy Feet. . . .
Heart of Jesus, divine quietude and only repose in the uncertainties of the world, a very feeble soul and one
who struggles, calls Thee to his aid. . . .
Heart of Jesus, inextinguishable Fire of love, it is a very poor soul, but one of good will who wishes to be
rekindled in the ardor of Thy love. . . .
Heart of Jesus agonizing, hope of the dying, remember those who in this very hour are struggling with
death. . . .
Promise them, O Jesus, as to the dying repentant thief, that in dying on Thy Heart, they will live forever with
Thee in that incomparable Paradise. . . . Have pity on the agonizing! . . . Send them the Angel of Gethsemane
and bring
to their lips, which can no longer call on Thee, the chalice of Thy compassionate Heart. . . .
O Jesus, be their Jesus. . . . Above all be close to the dying who are most forsaken. . . .
(Pray for the dying)
III. Mary is there, . . . standing, leaning on the Cross, her eyes fixed on her Divine Son in agony. . . . She,
who, of old was surrounded by angels, who with dove-like tones lulled this same Jesus, then a Child, asleep
in her arms. . . . Oh, those happy, peaceful days of Bethlehem quickly passed by! . . . The thirty years of
unforgettable sojourn at Nazareth vanished like an ecstasy. . . . It was only yesterday, . . . this same Victim of
love, the Child Jesus, pressed firmly in His Mother's arms, asked her for a crust of bread. His Hair, fragrant
then with Mary's kisses, is dyed now with the God-Man's Blood. . . . Ah! . . . But He is always the same
Jesus, . . . truly the Son of Mary . . . He loves His Mother with a love stronger than death. . . . In His last hour
He will speak to the Virgin Mother to make her a supreme legacy. . . . Loving souls, let us listen on our knees
to the testament of Jesus Crucified: "Woman, behold thy son! . . .
274 HOLY HOUR
And all your sons! . . . I bequeath all men to you, because you have saved them by your tears. I confide them
to you, for the blood I received from you is the price I paid in exchange for them. And you, John, My
Apostle, My friend of predilection: Behold thy mother! Love her for Me; console her in My absence; take her
home with you! . . . From now on she will be the Mother of all, the Mother of all those who suffer, the
consolatrix of all suffering souls. . . ."
"Compassionate souls who surround Me on the Calvary of this altar, Mary is your Mother and she is also My
Mother: Remember that after the holy hour of loving Redemption we are brothers forever. . . ."
(Pause)
Souls: In my poverty what have I to offer Thee, good Jesus, in return for the sacred gift of Thy Mother? . . . I
will receive her with all the love of my soul and will shelter her under my poor roof which Thou Thyself hast
not scorned. And in gratitude I offer Thee, through her virginal hands, the sorrows of those who suffer united
to Thy Cross.
In the name of Mary most sorrowful, I pray
Thee to visit those souls in their trials, to aid them in their insecurity, to enlighten them in their doubts. . . .
Oh! yes, through Mary, the Virgin Martyr, I conjure Thee to sweeten the tears of so many mothers in grief,
especially of those who weep inconsolably over the death of a son. . . .
Above all we implore Thy pity for those mothers who suffer mortal anguish over the eternal salvation of their
children. And since the Heart of Mary Immaculate is Thy altar of predilection, permit us, Jesus, to offer Thee
their ardent and solemn thanksgiving in reparation for the ingratitude of men. . . . Through Thy sweet
Mother, in union with her Immaculate Heart, we thank Thee, beloved Savior:
(Slowly and with brief pauses)
For the gratuitous and inestimable gift of faith,
(Aloud)
All: Infinite gratitude to Thy loving Heart.
For the treasure of grace and for the virtue of hope in that Heaven which is the end of this life's sorrows, . . .
For Thy Church, the Ark of Salvation, persecuted but always victorious, . . .
276 HOLY HOUR
For the incomprehensible mercy with which Thou dost pardon all sins in the Sacraments of Baptism and
Penance, . . .
For the tenderness Thou dost lavish on sorrowing souls who bless Thee in their pains and in the Cross, . . .
For the holy ingenuity of Thy charity in bringing about the wonderful conversion of the most hardhearted
sinners, . . .
By the gifts, often misunderstood, of peace or trial, of sickness or health, of riches or poverty, which Thou
dost make use of in redeeming so many souls, . . .
For the signal benefits which Thou didst accord so many ingrates, who neglect and abuse their station in life,
their fortune and their talents, which they owe to Thee alone, Jesus, . . .
For the signal benefits and the confidence Thou

hast placed in us by entrusting to us the care and the honor of Thy Mother and of her Immaculate Heart! . . .
For Thy Most Holy Eucharist, for Thy captivity, and Thy companionship, replete with all delights, promised
us until the consummation of the world, . . .
And, finally, for the unhoped-for Paradise Thou hast offered to us through Thy servant, Margaret Mary, . . .
for the wonderful, incomprehensible gift of Thy Sacred Heart, . . .
IV. In order to remain peaceful and to follow resignedly the dolorous journey of life, let us think of Jesus. . . .
How much more cruel was His Martyrdom on the Cross. . . . What more agonizing than the loneliness of the
Crucified Master abandoned by those very ones who had partaken of the glorious banquet of His love, of His
beauty, and of His marvels! . . . Where are they now?
But there is a thought much more piercing still to His Soul overflowing with opprobrium. . . .
278 HOLY HOUR
Jesus Himself will reveal it to us in that cry of infinite anguish which escapes from His oppressed Breast
when He is about to die: "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" "O Father, I came amongst
those Thou commandest Me to redeem; they did not receive Me, and they erected a Cross for their own
Savior. . . . O Father, let Thy Will be done and not Mine! . . . In exchange for Thy abandonment I entreat
Thee to save all those Thou hast confided to Me. May they be one with Me in My wounded Heart, as Thou
and I are One in love. . . ."
"O Father, how bitter is this chalice! . . . My Heart breaks, tortured in this infinite desolation. . . . Father, why
hast Thou forsaken Me? . . ."
(Pause)
Souls: Good Shepherd, I can guess the grief which wrings from Thee this cry of unspeakable bitterness: . . .
it is the eternal death of the impious, lost because he turned away from Thee. . . . Ah! they are numerous who
are about to be eternally lost—those who are submerged in the abyss of darkness, without faith, without love,
without hope! Remember
them, Jesus! . . . Thou Who didst suffer so much from the abandonment of Thy Heavenly Father, do not turn
away from them, Blessed Redeemer! I pray to Thee for them with all the ardor of my soul, for those of the
household who have lost the faith, for those who corrupt education and the press, for those who hate Thy
Name, for those who persecute Thy Church, for so many unfortunate ones who curse Thy Cross and Thine
Altar! . . . I implore Thee, O Jesus, to draw them to Thee, to forgive them in Thy goodness and by the agony
of Thine adorable Heart! . . .
(Pray for the conversion of the impious)
(Pause or hymn Parce Domine)
V. Why is there, today, this unusual movement of hate against Jesus Christ, the meek Lamb put to death on
Calvary? . . . Why this rage of the people, the official blasphemy of the powerful, and the fury of the learned
to obliterate His Name from the face of the earth? Grieve, fervent souls, behold His implacable enemies,
busy preparing the bitter drink, with the gall of all ingratitude and all treason, to offer it to the Savior. . . .
And with all that, after twenty centuries of ignominy it is always the
280 HOLY HOUR
same words which fall from His divine Lips. He exposes to us His aching Soul. With an immense love, let us
listen and reflect there near the Host: "Sitio!" . . . "I thirst." . . . Burning thirst to feel Myself loved, ardent
thirst to live your life of suffering, intense thirst to give you peace, happiness. . . . and then an eternal
Heaven! . . . I thirst for your souls, I thirst for your tears; . . . weep on My Breast. Souls who come to console
Me, give Me to drink; and to repay you, I will open in My Side the never failing source of life. . . . Love Me!
I thirst! . . .
(Pause)
Souls: Jesus, we also, weary from crossing the desert, thirst for those Living Waters that Thou didst promise
us: We thirst for Thee, . . . that thirst will never be completely assuaged until the coming of Thy Kingdom in
the triumph of Thy loving Heart. . . . It does not suffice us to implore Thy Mercy, O Divine Redeemer. Thy
interests are our interests. We all long for Thy Reign. We pray Thee then, Jesus, to carry out the promises
Thou didst make to Thy confidante, Margaret Mary, in favor of those souls who adore Thee in the
inexpressible
beauty, the ineffable tenderness, the incomprehensible love of Thy Sacred Heart.
So we ask Thee with Holy Church, we entreat Thee by Thy Virgin Mother, we beg Thee for the inviolable
honor of Thy Name, that Thou hasten to establish the Reign of Thy loving Heart.
(Aloud)
All: Triumph by the Reign of Thy loving Heart.
Hasten, Jesus! yes, come quickly, before Satan and the world wrest consciences from Thee and in Thy
absence profane all states of life. . . .
Advance, Jesus, and triumph in homes. Reign in them by the unchanging peace promised those, who
chanting Hosannas, have received Thee.
Make no delay, beloved Master, for many households suffer evils and bitternesses that Thou hast promised to
cure. . . .
282 HOLY HOUR
Come, . . . because Thou art omnipotent, Thou, God of the battles of life; come, show Thy wounded Side as a
pledge of celestial hope in the agony of death. . . .
Be Thyself the Reward promised our labors; Thou alone, be the inspiration and recompense of all our
undertakings. . . .
And Thy favored ones—I mean the sinners—do not forget that for them, above all, Thou hast revealed the
inexhaustible tenderness of Thy love. . . .
Good Master, there are so many lukewarm, so many indifferent whom Thou wilt have to inflame by this
admirable devotion. . . .
"Behold, here is the source of Life," Thou didst say, showing us Thy transpierced Side. Let
us then draw from It the fervor, the sanctity to which we aspire. . . .
According to Thy request, Thy image has been enthroned in many homes; . . . in the name of those homes we
beg Thee to continue to reign there, as the loved Master and only Sovereign. . . .
Give words of fire, an irresistible, victorious persuasion to those priests who like John, the beloved Apostle,
love Thee and preach Thee. . . .
And for those who propagate this sublime devotion, for those who publish its ineffable wonders, reserve in
Thy Heart a place near which Thy Mother's name is engraved. . . .
And finally, Jesus, give the Heaven of Thy Heart to us who have shared Thine agony during this Holy Hour. .
. . By this hour of consolation, by the First Friday Reparatory Communion,
284 HOLY HOUR
fulfill in us Thine infallible promise; and at the decisive hour of death:
(Pause or hymn)
VI. "My peace be with you, souls dear to My Heart; I thirsted and you quenched My thirst in giving Me your
consolations.
Now that I have confided to your zeal the honor of My Name, I can exclaim: "It is consummated." If there
be anything lacking to My Passion, complete, O Father, my work of Redemption from the inexhaustible
mercy of My Heart. . . . I have kept, Father, those Thou hast given Me, and now I return them to Thee; . . . if
any one be lost it is not for lack of merciful love. . . . Oh, no, I ask Thee, by My Cross and My tenderness, to
increase the number of the elect, of the saints of My Church. . . . Consummate the work of Thy crucified Son,
by glorifying Me in those who on earth have drunk My redeeming Blood. . . . I return My Soul and the souls
of the redeemed to Thee, but I pray Thee, Father, to give them My Heart that It may be the inheritance of
sinners, of the poor,
and of all those who long to live in the intimacy of My love. . . ."
(Pause)
Souls: You have said, Jesus, that Thy Heart belongs to us. Then consummate Thy work by Thy Heart,
sanctifying all those who are firmly resolved to follow Thee in the way of Sacrifice. Increase our faith,
enliven our hope, and do not permit us to die without having given the measure of love which Thou dost
expect from us.
Complete Thy work, Jesus, in the social triumph of Thy Holy Church; . . . abase the powers that oppress
her; . . . disperse by a divine breath the hosts of hypocrites, the proud and ungodly, and all the enemies who
assault her with fury; . . . speak, God of Light, and, as at Gethsemane, the children of darkness, of error, and
of perverse doctrines, will fall backward. . . .
Speak, God of Love, and Thy Vicar will be exalted and, then, Thy work consummated, the sweet and
irrestible power of Thy victorious Heart will be acclaimed from pole to pole.
Lord, consummate Thy work by alleviating the terrible torments of Purgatory; . . . have pity, O Jesus, and
hasten the deliverance of the
286 HOLY HOUR

souls who suffer in just expiation of their sins. Shorten the time especially for those who this evening hope to
see the dew of our prayers fall into the flames of Purgatory—namely, our relatives, benefactors, and friends
to whom we owe the solace of our intercession . . . Remember our dearly loved dead, most benign Jesus . . .
Thou hast taken them from us . . . May Thy Will be done and blessed be Thy Name! . . . Give them eternal
rest, O Lord, do not forget them. . . .
(Ask for the triumph of the Heart of Jesus in the Church Militant and in Purgatory)
(Pause)
VII. Nature in mourning is covered with darkness during the Holy Hour of the first Good Friday. The chants
of the heavenly Jerusalem are interrupted, . . . The entire Court of Heaven stoops, and kneeling before the
Victim of Golgotha, it waits in order to receive the last throb of the Heart of the Man-God. . . .
Fervent loving souls, we are truly at the summit of Calvary; it is the Holy Hour! . . . A loud Voice resounds
in the heights, a Voice
that says: "Father, into Thy Hands I commend My Spirit." And bending His lacerated Head, Jesus Crucified
dies of love. . . . It is His Heart which has brought Him to death for us . . . All glory to His loving Heart
which gave us life! . . .
(Pause)
O Jesus, supreme Lover of those who love Thee, accept from the hands of the Mother of Sorrows the offering
of my whole being, of my life! . . . I no longer belong to myself, Lord, I am all thine—and forever! . . . And
in this gift I wish to forget myself, to be consecrated to the triumph of Thy Divine Heart . . . Accept me,
Jesus, and listen now to my last prayer. . . .
(Slowly, with pauses)
When the angels of the sanctuary will bless Thee in the thrice holy Eucharist, . . . and I, I will be in my
agony; . . . their praises will be mine; . . . remember the poor servant of Thy Divine Heart. . . .
When just souls on earth glowing with love will praise and cry to Thee, . . . and I . . . I will be in my
agony, . . . their sorrows and
288 HOLY HOUR
tears will be mine; remember the prodigal conquered by Thy Divine Heart. . . .
When Thy priests, Thy virgins of the temple, and Thine apostles will proclaim Thee their Sovereign, will
preach Thee to souls and enthrone Thee in the world, . . . and I . . . I will be in my agony; . . . their zeal and
their fervor will be mine; . . . remember the apostle of Thy Divine Heart. . . .
When Thy Church, praying and repairing before the altar, will aid Thee in redeeming the world, . . . and I . . .
I will be in my agony; her sacrifice and prayer will be mine; . . . remember the faithful friend of Thy Divine
Heart. . . .
When, during the Holy Hour, Thy favored friends, in loving, suffering and reparation, will make Thee forget
sacrileges and treasons, . . . and I . . . I will be in my agony; . . . their intimacy with Thee and their holocausts
will be mine; . . . remember this altar and this victim of Thy Divine Heart. . . .
When Thy Blessed Mother adores Thee in the Holy Eucharist, thus making reparation for earth's countless
crimes, . . . and I . . . I will be in
my agony; . . . her adoration will be mine, . . . remember the child of Thy Divine Heart. . . . But no, Lord, . . .
rather forget me, if Thou wish, provided that at the hour of my death Thou dost forget me forever in the
Wound of Thy Sacred Heart.
(Pause)
What have I, Lord, that Thou hast not given me? . . ..
Despoil me of all, even of Thy own gifts, but enkindle in me the flames of Thy Sacred Heart.
What do I know that Thou hast not taught me? . . . Oh, would that I might forget all human and earthly
science, but that I might love Thee more and more, O Divine Heart! . . .
What can I do, if Thou dost not help me? And what am I, if not united to Thee? . . . Unite me to Thee, then,
by a bond stronger than death. . . . I renounce all the delights of Thy love, in order to completely possess that
other Paradise—Thy loving Heart. . . .
And there, bury, oh! yes, bury the faults which I have committed against Thee . . . and punish me and avenge
Thyself, while wounding with a
290
KOLY HOUR
dart of burning charity that one who has so offended Thee! . . .
And if I have denied Thee, let me acknowledge Thee in the Eucharist where Thou art hidden. . . .
If I have offended Thee, let me serve Thee in an everlasting slavery of eternal love, . . . for it is rather death
than life not to spend oneself in loving and making loved Thy sweet, compassionate Heart, so forsaken! . . .
Thy Kingdom come!

(Leo XIII)
consecrates himself to-day to Thy most Sacred Heart. Many indeed have never known Thee; many, too,
the prodigal children who have
abandoned Thee: grant that they may quickly return to their Father's house, lest they die of wretchedness and
hunger. Be Thou King of those who are deceived by erroneous opinions, or whom discord keeps aloof, and
call them back to the harbor of truth and unity of faith, so that soon there may be but one flock and one
Shepherd. Be Thou King also of all those who sit in the ancient superstition of the Gentiles, and refuse not to
deliver them out of darkness into the light and kingdom of God. Grant, O Lord, to Thy Church, assurance of
freedom and immunity from harm; give peace and order to all nations, and make the earth resound from pole
to pole with one cry: Praise to the Divine Heart that wrought our salvation; to it be glory and honor for ever.
Amen.
Hour and the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart in families.
292 HOLY HOUR
293 FIRST FRIDAY OF SEPTEMBER
Holy Hour
For the First Friday of September and for Holy Thursday
Holy Thursday is approaching its end . . . Already the first shadows of twilight are darkening the sky.
Behold! the anguish of an inexpressible sorrow invades the Heart of Jesus. Why this inward shuddering? . . .
The Savior, the adorable Nazarene, Jesus, was the Son of Man . . . As such He had a Mother, unique in her
tenderness, incomparably lovely, divinely holy and beautiful . . . A single glance from Mary, and above all a
throb of her maternal heart meant more to Jesus than all the angelic concerts . . . far more than the perfumed
breezes of earth and the splendors of skies . . . Mary was for Jesus a smile of complacency of the Eternal
Father . . . And Jesus had to leave this Mother for love of us ungrateful ones! . . .
O! Holy Thursday, a day never to be forgotten
294 HOLY HOUR
because of the Master's supreme farewells . . . Who will tell us of this wonderful and mysterious scene over
which the Evangelists have thrown a veil of silence? With loving reverence for the Son and Mother, let us
represent to ourselves, with hearts deeply moved, the farewell scene, which must have taken place at
Bethany.
His hour has come . . . It seems probable that Jesus, the Son of God and also the Son of Man, asked His
Mother's consent to die, as He had already asked her consent to become Incarnate, her child . . . His voice
broken by sobs and His royal, Divine Head leaning on His Mother's heart, Jesus entrusts to her the sheep that
will be brought back to the fold by His death. Remembering the crib at Bethlehem, Mary holds Him in her
arms, while her eyes, miraculously enlightened, look on tomorrow's Calvary where the Queen of love will
become the Queen of Sorrows . . . She weeps and with her precious tears she anoints the adorable Head of
the Redeemer . . . Yes, she weeps as a mother, but more than that, she weeps as co-redemptrix! She offered to
the Eternal Father the Divine Victim, the Lamb without spot . . . She weeps,
and with her tears she blesses the world, whose salvation, begun with her sublime Fiat, pronounced in the
happy little house of Nazareth, must be consumated tomorrow on a gibbet of ignominy and of blood . . .
O! then in the clearness of that ominous light she sees not only the drama of Calvary but also the adorable
designs of the Most High . . . She then embraces her Son with an inexpressible love . . . and before the cruel
thorns pierce His Forehead she imprints thereon a kiss in the name of all those in heaven who adore Jesus, for
He is their God . . . She kisses Him again in the name of those on earth, for the Son of Mary is also its Divine
King . . . And kissing the Forehead of her Jesus, she places there, as on the holiest of altars, the holiest of
oblations—the Fiat, a Fiat crushing for the Mother, but sovereign in its redemptive power . . .
Night has come . . . Jesus confides His desolate Mother to His faithful friends of Bethany and to His
Angels . . . Then He withdraws, His soul bathed in an agony, a thousand times more piercing and more bitter
than death itself . . .
296 HOLY HOUR
(Pause)
Souls: O, Eucharistic Jesus, may the hour and the day in which we recall to Thee the beginnings of Thy
Passion, in the anguish endured by Thy Adorable Heart when sacrificing Thy divine Mother, be propitious to
this sinful world . . . It is not only because Thou art God, O Sweet Savior, but because Thou art the Man-
God, the Son of Mary, that Thou didst understand and feel the profound bitterness of earthly separations, . . .
the grief occasioned by absence, farewells, and above all by death . . . And it is precisely for this reason,
because Thou art Jesus, that we come to place our hearts in this first Wound of Thine, an open Wound, made
by leaving Thy incomparable Mother.
O, she was truly the Mother of Sorrows . . . She suffered then, as no other Mother has suffered . . . See in her,
O Jesus, so many mothers, so many wives, so many souls who weep today before Thy Tabernacle because of
the absence of their loved ones . . . How many amongst them will come alone tomorrow and prostrate
themselves before Thy Bloody Cross? . . . Yes, they will come alone because misfortune, and, alas, often the
loss of faith, has
drawn far from home and from Thy Sanctuary, a son, a brother or a husband. They have wandered far away,
Jesus, but Thou hast not rejected them, no, a thousand times no; Thou hast not rejected them from the
Tabernacle of Thy Heart which is the Resurrection of those who have fallen! . . .
See, Lord, so many afflicted mothers, so many Christian parents, so many desolate brothers who have come
this evening into this new Gethsemane to shed tears into the chalice of Thy adorable Heart, to weep over the
grief of separation . . . and also to ask for peace through the triumph of Thy love in their homes, peace by the
return of the prodigals, peace of resignation in sorrows occasioned by death . . .
We consent willingly, O Master, to suffer near Thee, provided that our loved ones belong to Thee, that they
may all adore Thee and love Thee as they did on the happy day of their First Communion . . .
Jesus, sweet Nazarene, remember the sorrows of Mary at the moment of Thy farewell on Holy Thursday . . .
Do not forget that when embracing Thee for the last time in her arms Thy
298 HOLY HOUR
Mother begged Thee to watch in Thy Eucharist with a special tenderness over afflicted mothers and over all
their absent ones! . . .
(Pause)
(Ask the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary by their mutual affliction of Holy Thursday to cure the many
moral miseries which desolate homes. On that day Jesus gave us His Heart in the Holy Eucharist and He
knows not how to refuse us this grace.)
His Heart broken, His Head bathed with the tears of His Divine Mother, Jesus climbs the Mount of Sion and
arrives with His disciples at the room in which He is to celebrate the Last Supper . . . Love has wounded Him
. . . And Jesus, having always loved us with an unbounded love at this sublime hour loved us to excess. Look,
in the delirium, in the foolishness of His love, He makes Himself our Bread . . . He delivers Himself to us,
inert, abased in the Holy Eucharist, even to the consummation of the world . . .
O Jesus, love has conquered Thee! Hail the love of Thy Heart which beats for us in the Host! Live forever! . .
.

(Pause)
In reflecting on the gift par excellence of the Heart of Jesus—the Divine Eucharist, marvellous invention of
His tenderness — a spontaneous cry breaks forth from our souls, "May the Heart of Jesus in the Holy
Sacrament of the Altar live forever!" . . . But, alas, such is not the cry of the world, heir to the hardness of a
people who committed deicide and even heir to the perfidy of the traitor Judas.
Behold Him, this God, in the Sacred Host! forgotten by thousands of men whom He has ransomed . . .
Behold Him Who has made, for Himself, the prison of the Tabernacle . . . Who has invented the Heaven of
the Eucharist and see His people repay His love by forgetfulness . . . They abandon Him in His Holy Ark!
Contemplate Him, consoling souls, and see Him abandoned in the obscurity of His prison, He, the God Who
is the Beatitude of the elect. He calls . . . and His voice is lost in the desert . . . He implores . . . and His
prayer vanishes in the silence . . . He complains . . . and His groaning is often deadened by the
300 HOLY HOUR
noisy laughter of His ungrateful children completely forgetful of the divine Captive of the Tabernacle! . . .
And to think that the Man-God had foreseen all these insults, had tasted the indescribable bitterness of them,
while He consecrated for the first time the Eucharistic Bread on Holy Thursday, yet His Heart did not
hesitate, . . . And now it is He Who awaits you . . . Who sees you, faithful souls, pouring out before His altar
a prayer of consolation and of triumph.
Let us recite this prayer together as a reparation for this outrageous forgetfulness toward Him. Let us ask for
victory for the Heart of Jesus in the Eucharist.
Souls: Uniting ourselves to the ardent faith of Peter and to the fervor which animated the soul of John when
they received Holy Communion from Thy Divine Hands, we beg Thee, Eucharistic Jesus, to excite in souls
an ardent desire for Holy Communion.
We beg of Thee this favor by the First Communion Thou hast distributed to Thy Apostles, in the Mystic
Supper of Holy Thursday, . . .
All: Reign, O Divine Heart, through daily Communion!
By the protestations of the love and fidelity of Thy disciples when Thou didst confide to them the Treasure of
Treasures, Thy Sacred Heart, . . .
By the wonderful powers conferred on the Apostles and by the institution of the Priesthood, which will
perpetuate the Eucharistic Mysteries,
By the uninterrupted holocaust of the Cenacle and of the Cross in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, . . .
By the inexhaustible largess of Thy Divine Heart and the splendid victories accorded to Thy Church through
the Holy Sacrament of the altar, . . .
By the unceasing marvels of sanctification
302 HOLY HOUR
produced by the frequent and daily reception of the Sacramental Manna, . . .
By Thy real and permanent Presence for twenty centuries in all the Tabernacles of the earth, notwithstanding
neglect, disdain, and sacrilege, . . .
By the divine Wisdom of Thy Church, which, with a holy and loving insistence, invites the faithful to a
frequent and daily reception of the Adorable Eucharist, . . .
By the love of a divine and exquisite tenderness which has opened the shelter of Thy Eucharistic Heart and of
the Holy Tabernacle to all little ones of a society stamped with decay, . . .
(Pause or hymn)
(Ask with special fervor this evening for
the triumph of the Sacred Heart by daily Communion.)
CONSIDERATION: O prodigy of humility! the God of heaven, the Sovereign Lord of earth has made
Himself the slave of men; He Who gives life annihilates Himself; He Who has broken our chains binds
Himself, and He remains, by an incomprehensible love, always a prisoner ever since the first Holy Thursday!
...
He descends from the hill of Sion and plunges into the solitude of Gethsemane . . . There, falling on His
knees, He prays . . . His agony commences . . . At this moment a weight of sorrow presses upon His Heart
and crushes It. In the midst of all this anguish, He cries out, sobbing, "O Father, strike Me, but save men . . .
pardon them for I love them." . . .
His anguish increases. He sees passing before His Eyes His executioners, blasphemers, insultors of His
Cross, the deniers of His Gospel and of His love . . . and He repeats: "I love them, O My Father, pardon
them!" . . .
He sees passing in review the apostates, the renegades, who cast at His Feet the things they adore; . . . then
the multitude of lukewarm
304 HOLY HOUR
souls—men who fear to confess Christ, those who are ashamed of their King and Savior, and He cries out
with grief: "I love them, O My Father . . . pardon them!"
Then are presented to His Mind the army of wicked men, without conscience; . . . an innumerable crowd of
revellers who profane their souls in the shameful misuse of their passions . . . then the persecutors of the
Church, those who have enriched themselves hy lying, . . . the seducers of the people, the hypocrites, the
proud: . . . all these pass hy, and the Divine One in agony repeats: "I love them, O My Father, I beseech
pardon for them!" . . .
Then come the mediocre and unfaithful priests, worldly parents, responsible for the loss of their children's
souls, . . . families with all their sins, . . . societies with all their orgies, . . . peoples and rulers with their
insulting rebellions. Before His Eyes pass by all those who insult the Pontiff, His Vicar, . . . and Jesus
immersed in this profound sea of filth, dishonor and agony, His voice quivering with grief utters again; "Yes,
O My Father, I love them, I love them. Pardon all these guilty ones!"
And finally, like thousands of arrows, sacrile-
giously striking His Face and transpiercing His Heart, the names of the damned have come, that innumerable
legion of reprobates, who, marked with His Blood and redeemed by His death, nevertheless choose for
themselves eternal death and malediction! . . . O! then this Divine Heart breaks under the oppression of an
infinite sorrow, His veins burst open with violent grief. Jesus staggers . . . an instant after, His Features livid,
His Hair disheveled, His whole Body trembling and covered with blood, He falls on His Face to the ground
and utters a cry: "Father, I have come into this world to accomplish Thy Will! . . . If it be possible let this
chalice pass from Me, but not My Will but Thine be done!" . . .
He was still prostrate on the ground when the names of each one of us, yes, our own names resounded in the
depths of His agonizing Heart . . . In that Holy Hour He saw us, all of us here present, bringing to Him a
sweet consolation. He saw us come with the Angel to strengthen Him . . . He felt that we were sustaining His
fainting Body between our arms, against our hearts. He felt that we were comforting Him by our sacrifices,
our tenderness,
306 HOLY HOUR
and our love . . . Since then He continues to regard us through His tears and from the depths of His Prison, as
His friends, as the confidants of His grief-stricken Heart, for it is this same Heart which beats here in the
mysterious tomb of His altar.
Let us keep silence and let the beatings of this adorable Heart speak to us of Its secret sorrows, Its requests
for love, and Its desires to triumph over all! . . .
(Pause)
(Consecrate yourselves to His Sacred Heart in this Holy Hour, a thousand times blessed, and pledge to Him
an eternal love in the Holy Eucharist.)
Night had come, it was getting late! . . . "Let us go," said Jesus, awakening His disciples! "Let us go! He who
is about to betray Me is here." . . . For an instant His Heart shuddered, cruelly tortured at the sight of Judas,
the traitor. He had loved him so much! . . . He had chosen him from amongst thousands! . . . He had made
him His apostle and His priest! . . . And this unhappy man for a few pieces of silver comes to deliver up his
Master! . . . Judas
stretches out his arms to Him, O perfidious treason, and the apostate approaching Jesus, kisses that adorable
Face which had lately received the kiss of His Immaculate Mother! . . . Profoundly moved, but with infinite
sweetness, Jesus said to him: "My friend, you betray the Son of Man with a kiss." . . .
Alas, that word of ignominious reproach has come down through centuries . . . for there are always traitors
who live only to deliver up Jesus . . . This class of men, who live on the Blood of Christ, who divide His
tunic and traffic with His Gospel, exist everywhere . . . And the Lord Jesus because He is good and eternal is
patient and silent in His Tabernacle, which will one day be a witness of their promises and the accusing proof
of their treasons . . .
They kiss Him! those so numerous alas! who deliver Him up to obtain an office which they believe
honorable and to obtain vile riches so ardently coveted.
They kiss Him and perfidiously deliver Him up, those unfortunates, who say that they are shocked at His
saving doctrine when in reality it is the holiness of His morals and of His law which drives them away from
Him . . .
308 HOLY HOUR
They kiss and deliver Him up, these cowards so numerous, who fear the doctors of the law and the Pharisees
who struggle against God because He condemns their hypocrisy and their baseness . . .
These Judases behave towards Jesus with a refined cruelty. They approach Him with the appearance of
respect, and betray Him, because say they it is a duty they owe society, an honesty of conscience, a point of
honor, and a loyal conviction! . . .
Souls: They believe no longer in Thee, Jesus. They say they are disillusioned with Thee, and yet Thou art the
only Truth which never changes, the only Way which never leads astray, and the only Life which never dies.
O, during this Holy Hour, we pray Thee, forget forever and pardon the bloody outrages of all those who have
sat at Thy Banquet, who were Thy friends, even Thy confidants, and who afterwards preferred to Thee the
husks of the earth . . .
(Out loud)
All: Agonizing Heart of Jesus, pardon traitors!
By the immense grief which wounds Thy
Heart on seeing the base treason of the unfaithful apostle who delivered Thee up by his traitorous kiss, . . .
By the sorrowful agony caused Thee by the shameful flight of the disciples who had sworn to love Thee until
death, . . .
By the bitterness which Thou hast felt at the triple denial of Peter . . . by the humble tears which he shed in
atonement for his presumption and his deplorable weakness, . . .
By the frightful deception which the blindness of Thy people caused Thee when after having acclaimed Thy
Name, they enthusiastically applauded Thy executioners and furiously demanded Thy Blood, . . .
By the affliction which Thou hast felt at the ingratitude of so many sick whom Thou hadst
310 HOLY HOUR
cured, and of all those who though favored with Thy miracles nevertheless joined the deicide mob, . . .
By Thy burning tears, shed on hearing the curse of mothers whose children Thou hadst blessed, and by the
grief which the outrages of these very children caused Thee, . . .
By the deep Wound made in Thy Heart by the despair of Judas, doubting Thy ineffable mercy, . . .
By the grief inflicted upon Thee because of the innumerable defections foreseen at Gethsemane, which in the
course of ages were to rend the seamless robe of Thy Church, . . .
By the mortal agony caused Thee by the public apostasy of some ministers of the altar, and by
the groans forced from Thee by these unfortunate Judases whose blasphemies transpierced Thy Heart as the
thrust of a lance, . . .
(Make honorable amends to Jesus for so many treasons provoked by lukewarmness and base interests.)
(Pause or hymn)
"Whom seek You?" says Jesus to the soldiers, hiding and controlling with a Divine Majesty His immense
sorrow . . . "Jesus of Nazareth," respond in a single voice these men thirsting for His Blood . . .
Quickly the dear Master advances towards them, presents to them His Hands, bows His Head and lets
Himself be bound like a criminal . . . And, Prisoner of men, His creatures, He delivers up to them His Heart
anew!
And you, fervent souls, Whom seek you this evening in the Gethsemane of the Tabernacle? Whom?
Souls: We have come to see Thee, Jesus of Nazareth! . . . It is already the hour of the power of darkness, the
hour of loneliness and of sin . . . That is why we have chosen the
312 HOLY HOUR
moment of Thy supreme weakness, O Divine Lord, Agonizing One of the altar, to speak to Thee heart to
heart and to hold during this Holy Hour the place of John, the Beloved, and that of the angels . . .
Yes, Thou art for us O Jesus, Prisoner of the Tabernacle and Prisoner of our souls . . . By the Eucharist Thou
art in our power and we shall make use of it, Jesus, to prove to Thee our love, not to be Thy executioners as
perhaps we have heen more than once!
Let us approach Thy prison. Permit us to kiss Thy chains, to bless the walls which keep Thee among us. Let
us shed tears of love while meditating on the sublime and incomprehensible captivity of the Son of the
Living God . . .
Here, there is no traitor to deliver Thee up . . . O, no! The great divine jailer of this Prison of Love is Thine
own amiable Heart. Permit us then to take from Thee at this moment all the bitterness of Thy captivity by our
humble adoration . . . At the threshold of Thy Prison be pleased, O Jesus, to receive the prayer of Thy faithful
and loving children!
In all the Tabernacles of the earth, in all the
consecrated Hosts of the entire world, . . .
All: Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, we adore Thee!

In those Tabernacles entirely abandoned in distant lands or where for months at a time Thou art forgotten
under the dust of the altar, . . .
In those innumerable churches where the Eucharistic abasement of Thy Divine Majesty is offended by
irreverence, . . .
On the floor of the Sanctuary, in the dust of the road, and especially where sacrilegious hands have profaned
a consecrated Host, . . .
On the lips of one who receives Thee as did Judas with heart soiled by sin, . . .
In the splendor and the pomp which Holy Mother Church displays in her public cult, in
314 HOLY HOUR
order to honor the Sacrament of Thy Love, . . .
In the happy solitude of monasteries, in the hearts of Thy spouses who chant their hymn of virginal love to
the Immolated Lamb, . . .
In union with all Thy friends who by perpetual adoration endeavor to repair the offenses committed against
Thee in the Sacred Host, . . .
With all the associates of the Holy Hour who, faithful to Thy appeal, come to visit Thee and to accompany
Thee to the Gethsemane of the altar, . . .
In the breast of the dying who have called on Thine aid . . . in the agonizing hearts which grow faint under
the embrace of death, . . .

(Pause or hymn)
No night has ever known such frightful sorrows as the night of the first Holy Thursday. Fervent souls, in
order to picture again this sorrowful scene, such as it happened twenty centuries ago . . . fix your eyes on
Jesus, seated on the bench of the accused . . . Behold Him, again guilty . . . guilty of an infinite love! . . . His
Eyes are blinded by tears shed over the cowardice of the good—of those who are His friends . . . He is there
in this Tabernacle, perpetual object of disdain of the would-be wise and powerful ones of the earth . . . He
continues to be derided by those who in their hearts fear Him even in His apparent inertness and in His
Sacramental silence. "Thou, Who hast raised the dead," unbelief says to Him, "come forth if Thou canst from
this tomb."
"If Thou art a King," say the rulers, "if it is true that Thou art the Living God in the Host, tell who it is that
struck Thee!" . . . And they strike Him by sacrilegious laws, they profane His temples, they insult the
gentleness of His Heart, which is silent and which always waits the hour to pardon . . .
316 HOLY HOUR
Ah! but it is especially the sin of arrogance and of pride which outrages Him in the very sweet humility of
His Tabernacle . . . It is the revolt of Lucifer, renewed in human pride which is the most bitter dreg of His
chalice . . .
O Jesus, today, Thou hast the right to expect us to console Thee by our humility. O, yes, receive a thousand
times, Eucharistic Jesus, this reparation of love for the sacrilegious profanation of Thy Person during that
night of Holy Thursday, perpetually renewed.
(Slowly and with Pauses)
We love Thee, O Jesus; grant us the grace to deem it an honor to be rejected by the world for the sake of
Thine ignored Heart.
We love Thee, O Jesus; grant us the grace to deem it a happiness to be humiliated for the sake of Thy
despised Heart! . . .
We love Thee, O Jesus; grant us the grace to deem it a privilege to be disregarded for the sake of Thy
outraged Heart.
We love Thee, O Jesus; grant us the grace to deem it an honor to be scoffed at for the sake of Thine afflicted
Heart.
We love Thee, O Jesus; grant us the grace to deem it an honor to be despised for the glory of Thy Divine
Heart.
We love Thee, O Jesus; grant us the grace to deem it a favor to be insulted, for the triumph of Thy bruised
Heart.
We love Thee, O Jesus; grant us the grace to deem it a favor to be forgotten in order to console Thy Sacred
Heart.
We love Thee, O Jesus; grant us the grace to deem it a favor to be one day persecuted, for the sake of Thy
wounded Heart.
We love Thee, O Jesus; grant us the grace to regard it a delicious bitterness to be calumniated for the reign of
Thy Sacred Heart.
We love Thee, O Jesus; grant us the grace to consider it a glory to be betrayed in a holocaust of reparation
close to Thine immolated Heart.
We love Thee, O Jesus; grant us the grace to consider it a favor to be hated in union with Thine agonizing
Heart! . . .
We love Thee, O Jesus; grant us the grace of choosing as a real privilege to be condemned by the world as a
homage of reparation to Thine ignored Sacred Heart.
318 HOLY HOUR
O! we entreat Thee to grant that we may receive lovingly our rightful share of the outrages and agony of Thy
Eucharistic Heart.
Be consoled, well-beloved Master; each one of us wishes Thee to hear a word of humility and confidence,
solemnly declaring that Thou art his sole wealth and his only hope . . .
(Brief pause)
Holy Thursday was but the dawn of that long series of centuries of love and agony during which our
Eucharistic Jesus, is and will remain the captive and guest of our hearts . . . Holy Thursday, that is to say
Gethsemane and the Supper Room, will be perpetuated even to the end of time to glorify Jesus. Yes, the Holy
Sacrifice and the Holy Sacrament will be our Heaven here below until the last Host will be consumed in the
heart of the last dying person . . .
But the Heart of Jesus, Sun of love, will pierce one day and tear away the veil which hides Him from our
eyes in the Sanctuary of His Sacred Breast and in the mystery of His Eucharist . . .
Not being able to contain the ardors of Its Charity, this Heart speaks to us through the opening of Its Wound
with the language of
love, revealing Itself to Margaret Mary in all the magnificence of Its love . . . O, it is He, the Divine
Nazarene, The Master of Judea ardently loving souls . . . It is He, Jesus the Pontiff of the Last Supper, the
victorious Captive of Gethsemane, the adorable Sufferer on Golgotha . . . It is really He Who appears to the
ravished gaze of His confidant, He Who shows her His Heart surrounded with flames and says to her:
"Behold the Heart which has so loved men! . . . I cannot contain any longer the love with which I am
consumed for them . . . I am come to ask them love for Love, life for Life, heart for Heart . . . I am sad, they
forget Me . . . they outrage Me! I desire to be consoled. I ask that a solemn reparation be given Me by the
establishment of a great feast in honor of My Divine Heart . . . I claim for It a triumphal homage, a
triumphant cult, for It is by My Heart that I shall reign . . ."
"Come, keep Me company in reparatory adoration . . . Come, convert the world by the Holy Hour . . . O
come, above all, to communicate fervently! . . . Come! I thirst to be adored and beloved in the Holy
Sacrament of the Altar.
Win for Me souls, many souls . . . introduce"
320 HOLY HOUR
"Me then into their homes. Bring Me near to hearts which suffer, near to the death bed of hardened sinners,
and you will see then the glory and the wonders of My love."
"Take and receive My Divine Heart. I give It to you in the Holy Eucharist. It belongs to you . . . Let It be
yours entirely . . . Love this Divine Heart. O love It and permit It to reign by love."
Thus spoke Jesus at Paray-le-Monial, and He continues through the Wound in His side to speak the same
language . . . He awaits an answer before closing this Holy Hour, this blissful hour, foreshadowing that of a
blessed eternity.
(Pause)
Souls: Angel of Gethsemane, St. John, St. Margaret Mary and you happy adorers of the Cenacle, watch and
pray with us. And thou especially, Mary Immaculate, Queen of Love, place our last prayer, not only at the
Feet of Jesus, but also in the blessed Wound of His Side . . .
Lord Jesus, Thou hast said that Thou art King. Thou hast come into this world to reign through love . . . It is
to reign that Thou hast
established the perpetual sacrifice of the Altar. It is to reign that Thou hast revealed the treasures and the
desires of Thy Divine Heart . . .
No, it is not in vain, O Jesus, that Thou hast promised to enkindle by It a fire of love in this miserable
world . . . Accomplish now Thy promises and establish soon the reign of Thy Sacred Heart.
(Aloud)
Hasten, Jesus, to reign before Satan and the world wrest consciences from Thee, and in Thy absence defile all
states of life! . . .
Come forth, Jesus, and triumph in homes; reign there by the unalterable peace promised those who, while
chanting Hosanna received Thee!

Do not delay, beloved Master, for a great many homes suffer from evils and bitterness that Thou hast
promised to heal . . .
322 HOLY HOUR
Come because Thou art omnipotent, because Thou art the God of the battles of life . . . Come, showing us
Thy Wounded Side as a pledge of celestial hope in the agony of death! . , .
May Thou Thyself be the reward promised to our labors, Thou alone the Inspirer and the Recompense of all
our undertakings . . .
Do not forget that it is for Thy favored ones, sinners especially, that Thou hast revealed the inexhaustible
tenderness of Thy love . . ,
Good Master, there are so many lukewarm and so many indifferent whose love Thou shouldst enkindle by
this admirable devotion . . .
"Behold the source of Life," Thou has said,
showing us Thy transpierced Side: . . . therefore, Jesus, let us draw from It the fervor, the holiness to which
we aspire . . .
As Thou hast asked, Thy image has been enthroned in many homes . . . In their name I entreat Thee to
continue to reign there as beloved Sovereign! . . .
Give words of fire . . . give an irresistible and victorious eloquence to those priests who love Thee and who
preach Thee as did John the Beloved . . .
And, Jesus, for those who teach this sublime devotion, for those who publish its ineffable wonders, reserve a
place in Thy Heart very near to where Thy Mother's name is found engraved . . .
324 HOLY HOUR
And finally, Lord Jesus, give the Heaven of Thy Heart to us who have shared Thy Agony during the Holy
Hour; and by this hour of consolation . . . by First Friday Communions, fulfill in us Thy infallible
promise . . . We ask Thee at the decisive hour of death:
All: That Thou wilt triumph by the reign of Thy Sacred Heart!
(Pause or hymn)
And now sweetly reclining on Thy Sacred Breast, permit us to tell Thee speaking heart to heart:
We bless and love Thee, Jesus, for all those who hate Thee.
We bless and love Thee for all those who blaspheme Thee.
We bless and love Thee for all those who profane Thy Sacred Body by sacrilege.
We bless and love Thee for all those who deny Thy Presence in this adorable Sacrament.
We bless and love Thee for all the indifferent who forget Thee.
We bless and love Thee for all those who abuse Thy grace.
We bless and love Thee in this Holy Eucharist with the Heart of Thy Virgin Mother, and with the charity of
all the elect.
If we have ever denied Thee, forgive us, Sacramental God! . . . and, in reparation, let us acknowledge Thee in
the Tabernacle where Thou art a Living God!
If we have offended Thee through frailty or malice, permit us to serve Thee in the eternal slavery of an
eternal love, for to live without loving Thee or to love, without suffering to make Thy Heart better known
and better loved, O! Jesus . . . that would be to die!
Thy Kingdom come!
O Jesus, Hosanna! Hosanna to Thee! in reparation for the millions of creatures who know not of Thy Real
Presence on our altars. In their name we adore Thee, Lord, and we desire to love Thee with a love stronger
than death! . . .
O Jesus, Hosanna! Hosanna! in reparation for those who believing in this sublime mystery, live without
communicating, disdaining the
326 HOLY HOUR
Eucharistic Manna. In their name we adore Thee, Lord, and we desire to love Thee with a love stronger than
death! . . .
O Jesus, Hosanna! Hosanna! in reparation for those who believe in the Holy Eucharist but who nevertheless
profane It by horrible sacrileges. In their name we adore Thee, Lord, and we desire to love Thee with a love
stronger than death! . . .
O Jesus, Hosanna! Hosanna! in reparation for those who by culpable tepidity remain away from Thy Holy
Table and who receive Thee rarely through a servile fear which offends Thee. In their name we adore Thee,
Lord, and we desire to love Thee with a love stronger than death! . . .
O Jesus, Hosanna! Hosanna! in reparation for so many good and pious persons, for so many priests who
could become great saints, if they would devote themselves generously to the Holy Eucharist, if they would
only consecrate themselves without reserve to the Sacrifice and the Sacrament of Love . . . In their name we
adore Thee, Lord, and we wish to love Thee with a love stronger than death! . . .
O Jesus, reveal to us the wonders of Thy Heart in the Holy Eucharist. Come, O hidden God,
O Conqueror. Come, winning society over to the altar and Thy Holy Table, winning it soul by soul, family by
family, until the whole world cries out in a transport of joy:
"Praised be the Heart of Jesus in His redeeming Eucharist! . . . To Him, and to Him alone on the altars, be
glory and honor forever and ever! . . ."
Thy Kingdom come!
Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us! (3 times)
Saint Joseph, pray for us!
328
HOLY HOUR
XI
Holy Hour
For the First Friday of October
Oh! the blissful nearness of the Lord Jesus to our poor and wretched souls . . . bringing about a wonderful
condescension which makes this hour thrice holy! . . . The ever-open wound in His side speaks to Him of this
earth and gently constrains Him to hear at the same time as the heavenly choirs the prayers and sighs that
arise from our land of exile.
Behold Him, the King of Love, as He abases Himself and advances this evening with the step of a giant
toward the abyss of our nothingness, His Heart parched by the burning thirst for our souls. Oh, let us also
rush toward the abyss of His Heart and let Him forever keep us there. Lord Jesus, make us understand and
taste the ineffable gift of Thy Divine Heart. . . .
329 FIRST FRIDAY OF OCTOBER
(Pause)
Ask Him for the great light of faith to know and an ardent charity to love in order to make others know and
love the Sacred Heart.
Gethsemane, the garden of the mortal agony of the Master, has not yet disappeared . . . It is mystically
perpetuated in each tabernacle on the earth . . . Yes, Jesus, the Adorable Master, is there . . . in that Divine
Host. His Eucharistic Heart feels the exhaustion of a supreme agony and of a Love burning to such an extent
that He is no longer able to contain it. His Soul, says He, is sorrowful unto death. O ineffable mercy! He
longingly desires to find a loving reparation while resting in our hearts and while confiding to us in that
moment of intimacy the double treasure of sorrow and of love which overflows from His adorable Heart.
This earth where we adore Him this evening is truly a holy ground. And, if we doubt it, look there . . . in the
tabernacle. Indeed . . . it is certainly He, it is truly Jesus, the obedient Youth of Nazareth Who awaits us . . .
Yes, it is Jesus, the same compassionate Master of Tiberias Who looks upon us . . . Behold Him
330 HOLY HOUR
very near us, it is Jesus, the sweet Friend of Bethany Who smiles at us . . . Look, within a step of us, is the
same Crucified Savior! . . . Oh yes! that same Jesus of Gethsemane . . . and the same Adorable Victim of
Calvary . . . extends to us His Arms and His Heart.
O night more radiant and more beautiful than the most beautiful of dawns . . . night of ineffable peace . . . St.
John and St. Margaret Mary seem to approach in order to share and enjoy with us the secret which the King
confides to His friends, when, to repay and return their confidence, He deigns to repose His Heart on theirs.
(Pause)
(Tell Jesus at this .moment that you love Him with all the ardor of your souls, with that penitent love that He
Himself wishes.)
Alone, heart to heart, with Jesus! . . . What a moment of Paradise! . . . Alone with Him, sharing the solitude
of His agony! . . . But listen, it would seem that a furious storm roars not far away . . . Yes, it is the hurricane
let loose against the Victim Jesus always persecuted! The echo of the centuries breaks through the
grating of His prison, the horrible blasphemy of His country's deicide: "Away with Him! . . . He ought to die!
. . . Crucify Him!" Ah! what is the evil which has been done us by this God, bathed in His own blood? . . .
Pious souls, who desire to console Jesus, see Him, during this Holy Hour, coming in quest of love. Behold
Him bent under the weight of His cross . . . and He bears His soul torn and tattered . . . Look, He comes to
repose here! Behold how He walks through the centuries, the dolorous way which appears to have no end . . .
See, He comes to us pressiyg always the infamous gibbet against His Heart! . . . What immense love! . . .
What infinite love! . . . What boundless agony oppresses Him! . . . Oh, observe how the beauty of His eyes,
formerly resplendent, is now surpassed, absorbed by the beauty of His bloody tears! . . .
Behold He finally arrives! . . . He is very near to us . . . See Him . . . It seems that His veins have exhausted
their treasure on the way. Oh! but His Heart is always full of life and of love overflowing . . .
332 HOLY HOUR
Oh, if we could only comprehend the gift of the nearness of God, the incomparable grace of having for the
companion of our exile Jesus, Prisoner of the Tabernacle! He is so near that when, presently, He blesses us,
the shadow of His divine Hand will hover over us! . . .
(Pause)
And what does He seek? . . . A truce to His sorrows . . . and for that He begs the love of His well-beloved,
our hearts . . . Let Him then rest Himself—a thousand times, yes! . . . Let Him pour all His soul into ours who
love Him with a burning love of reparation . . .
The Angels of the Sanctuary bend low in their adoration, listening to a sad and mysterious harmony. It is like
an echo of the agony and the prayer of Gethsemane. It is the moaning of Golgotha in the salutary renewal of
the unbloody Sacrifice of the altar . . .
From the depths of the Tabernacle His lips, wet with the gall of our ingratitude, call by name, while blessing
them, all those who during this Holy Hour have come to weep over those who disregard His Mercies. How
great, oh, how immense is the sorrow that torments Him! . . .
But greater still, infinitely stronger, is the love which tortures Him! . . .
What condescension on the part of our Savior coming to confide to us His sorrows! He desires ardently,
while disclosing to us the sentiments of His Soul, to be appeased by us for the cruel deceptions which are
caused by those who are said to be His disciples, upon whom He has showered favors, and who afterwards
abandon Him. More faithful than were Peter, James, and John to the privilege of that hour at Gethsemane, let
us follow Him into the garden of the agony; let us listen to Him since He desires to speak to us through the
Divine Wound of His most loving Heart.
(Longer pause)
Ask with fervor and humility for the grace of hearing the Voice of the Savior who pleads and complains.
(Slowly)
The Voice of the Master: For a long time I have waited for you here in the Host, well-beloved soul, to tell
you of the love which consumes Me . . . I bless you because you have at last taken pity on your imprisoned
God
334 HOLY HOUR
plunged in bitter loneliness . . . I have thirsted to possess you . . . My love has now triumphed. Acknowledge
it yourself . . . Tell me that My Heart has conquered yours . . . Assure Me now that you really love Me . . .
that you also are athirst for Me with devouring thirst . . . Far from My Side, you who are but dust and
nothingness, have often sought pleasure and enjoyment . . . while I, your God, to save you, left the Angels,
left Heaven, and after thirty-three years of suffering I died as a criminal on a scaffold . . . Despite that, you
broke one day the bonds that united you to Me . . . and freed yourself from My arms which upheld you, and
you preferred to Me the deadly attraction of sin . . . Do you remember?
Alas! How could you love such a sad liberty! See how I, on the contrary, have forged chains on earth in order
to bind Me to your ungrateful heart . . . Behold Me, your Prisoner of Love! . . . Where is your gratitude? . . .
And yet I forgive you, but from now on and forever be Mine . . . entirely Mine in a spirit of gratitude and
reparation . . .
Child so dearly loved, look at Me, betrayed and
alone . . . alone and blasphemed . . . alone arfd mocked in derision . . . alone and always abandoned . . . How
cruel to Me is this neglect and especially the forgetfulness of My own; how the cowardice and indifference of
those who call themselves My friends grieve Me! . . .
Behold this Heart which has loved men so much and which is loved so little in return!
Is there a sorrow like unto My sorrow? . . .
My soul is sorrowful even unto death . . .
Draw near, privileged child, place yourself near the Wound of My Side, and in loving reparation tell Me that
you love Me with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength . . . I have thirsted for your
love, for your sacrifices, for your consolations . . . I have ardently longed for your happiness . . . Yes, allow
Me to make you happy! . . .
(Brokenly and very slowly)
How often by My grace I have appealed to' your conscience, and you have disregarded My voice? . . . Do
you remember? . . . That silence was disdain but I forgive it . . .
I knocked at the door of your soul for weeks, months, long years; . . . I begged you fo open it
336 HOLY HOUR
to Me . . . and you repulsed Me . . . Do you remember? . . . I forgive that cruel disloyalty against your
God . . .
Rejected everywhere, I begged consolation and a shelter in your heart . . . Out of human respect, or lack of
abnegation, or lukewarmness, you have refused Me . . . Do you remember? I forget that insult . . .
When you were lavishly pouring out all your affection,.! asked a morsel of it . . . Creatures always arrive in
time for a share . . . They are never wanting in the attraction to make themselves beloved . . . I, your Savior, I
alone arrive too late and remain forgotten and My tenderness ignored . . . Why have you wounded Me so? . . .
In what have I offended you? . . . Answer me!
(Brief pause) (To be read brokenly)
Eagerly desiring to console the sick and the afflicted, I sought refuge in these places, which are the homes
and official abodes of the suffering and of all human miseries. I boldly entered into these asylums because I
am God, the Consoler of all miseries, and only I have the secret power to
console . . . And here I am, driven away ignominiously from hundreds of hospitals, from the bedsides of the
old and from the cradles of orphans . . . What evil has been done by My compassion and tenderness? . . . Oh
you, My privileged children, love Me in order to repair an affront so cruel! . . . Love Me with a great love . . .
I am your Jesus! . . .
I thirsted for pure hearts and the innocence of childhood . . . I sought their sincere and simple affection in
order to soothe the Calvary of My disappointments, recalling the days of My unforgotten Nazareth, when I
also was a Child at the side of Mary . . . Oh, sorrow! I have been driven from this abode of innocence I have
been exiled from the school!
O consoling soul, listen how those called learned by the world deny and curse Me . . . What evil have I done
your children? . . . O you, at least you, love Me . . . love Me very much for I am your Jesus! . . .
I ardently desired to make you happy in giving you true peace, the peace that is unknown to the world. That
is why I begged you to accept Me as one of the intimates of your home . . . I
338 HOLY HOUR
wished to take the first place in your home and to be called its well-beloved Father, its adored King, its
inseparable Brother, . . . and the home has repulsed Me . . . But I will not go away. Ah, no! I will wait for
sorrow to open its door to Me; that of My Heart never closes . . . I am Jesus, the Peace and Sunshine of
families. Do not remove from My brow the crown of thorns; I do- not ask you that. Leave it bloodstained and
cruel; but in My Mother's name I ask the hospitality of love in your homes. Allow Me your King to reign
over your hearth. Love Me as the intimate Friend of the family; I am its life . . . Love Me much, because I am
your Jesus!
(Long pause or hymn)
And now, speak to Me, most happy soul; speak with intimate confidence, to your God, Who is nothing but
love . . . I am here, benign and meek, Jesus of Nazareth . . . What could I refuse you in this Holy Hour, when
you have come to share My abandonment and My agony! . . .
Here is this Heart which has loved you so tenderly. I confide It to you, . . . because I
can no longer restrain the ardors of My love for you . . . Speak to Me, for I am your Brother. Adore Me, for I
am your God . . . Console Me with all the love of your soul . . . I am your Jesus!
(Pause)
While many of His friends are asleep, and while many unfortunates sin, let us draw near and speak in sweet
intimacy to His Heart which awaits us.
(Slowly)
Soul: What have I, Lord Jesus, that Thou hast not given me?
What do I know, that Thou hast not taught me ?
Pardon . . . Oh! pardon my faults that have so wounded Thee.
Thou hast redeemed me without my co-operation.
Thou hast done much in creating me, And still more in redeeming me.
340 HOLY HOUR
For all the blood Thou hast shed And the cruel death Thou hast suffered Were not for the profit of the Angels
who praise Thee,
If I have then denied Thee, let me praise Thee;
If I have outraged Thee, let me love Thee;
If I have offended Thee, let me serve Thee;
(Brief pause)
"How good it is to be here!" as my head calmly rests against Thy Breast, where I may discern without
difficulty a heaven—Thy Heart scarcely veiled. It is there, ah yes, it is there the place of my eternal rest. It is
that Blessed Tabernacle in which I listen to Thy life-giving words and to Thy requests demanding love and
immolation. Cease suffering, O Master, and listen to my soul's canticle, anxious to unite itself to Thee
in an endless embrace. Listen to me, Jesus, my Brother!
(Slowly)
Heart of Jesus, infinitely kind to unhappy sinners, a sinner is speaking to Thee.
Heart of Jesus, most loving to the poor, behold a beggar who waits for Thee; open to him the door.
Heart of Jesus, health of the infirm, a sick man visits Thee.
Heart of Jesus, the Way for those who have gone astray, a prodigal is looking for Thee.
Heart of Jesus, ineffably gentle to those who weep, a wretched- soul knocks on Thy Tabernacle door.
Heart of Jesus, man's truest Friend, an ungrateful friend is here, weeping at Thy Feet.
Heart of Jesus, tranquillity in earth's uncertainties, a weak and struggling soul in combat calls on Thee for
help.
Heart of Jesus, inextinguishable blaze of love, a soul poor but of good will asks to warm itself at the fires of
Thy charity.
Agonizing Heart of Jesus, hope of the dying, "memento," remember those who are struggling
342 HOLY HOUR

with death in this very hour . . . promise them, Jesus, that dying on Thy Heart, like the good thief they will be
with Thee forever in Paradise. Have pity on the dying . . . send them the angel of Gethsemane, and wet their
lips, which can no longer call on Thee, with the chalice of Thy compassionate Heart . . . Jesus, O be a Jesus
to the dying who are most forsaken!
(Pause)
Thy tender Mother heard that consoling word fall from Thy Divine Lips: "I have come for the weak, for
those who have gone astray, . . . for the lost sheep of Israel."
Thy Virgin Mother has kept for the benefit of sinners, with zealous care the treasure of Thy Tears and Thy
Adorable Blood. In union then with Her, good and merciful, Refuge of sinners and of the fallen, I pray for
those who have offended Thee, and I repeat with Thee "Pardon them, they know not what they do . . ." The
world condemns them inexorably; but Thou, O Jesus, Who knowest human weakness, and Thou Who readest
the innermost thoughts of these unhappy souls, have pity, be patient, and let fall on them the words of
pardon! . . . I implore
Thee, for the glory of Thy Most Holy Eucharist, forgiveness for poor sinners . . . Pardon them, Jesus, and
write their names now in the Book of Life, in Thy Adorable Heart . . .
Divine Savior of souls, covered with confusion I prostrate myself before Thy Presence, and looking at the
lonely Tabernacle, I feel my heart weighed down at the sight of the neglect to which Thou hast been
relegated by those Thou hast redeemed.
But since, with such great goodness, Thou allowest me, during this Holy Hour, to unite my tears with those
Thou hast shed, I pray to Thee, Jesus, for those who do not pray, . . . I bless Thee for those who curse
Thee, . . . and with all my soul I praise and adore Thee in union with the universal prayer that rises from all
the altars of the world.
Accept, Lord, the cry of expiation that sincere sorrow wrests from our repentant souls. We ask Thy pardon.
For our sins, for those of our relatives and friends,
(Aloud) All: Pardon, Divine Heart!
344 HOLY HOUR
For infidelity and profanation of holy days, . . .
For impurity and public scandals, . . .
For those who corrupt childhood and mislead youth, . . .

For deliberate disobedience to Holy Church, . . .
For the crimes in homes and for the faults of parents and children, . . .
For attacks on the Roman Pontiff, . . .
For those who work to overthrow Christian social order, . . .
For abuses of the Sacraments and outrages against the Holy Eucharist, . . .
Eor cowardly attacks of the press and for the machinations of secret societies, . . .
And, finally, Jesus, for the just who waver and for obstinate sinners who resist grace, . . .
(Pause)
Thy Mercy is not enough for us, Lord . . . Thy Interests are ours, we desire Thy Reign. We pray Thee then,
good Jesus, to fulfill for us the promises Thou hast made Thy confidante, Margaret Mary, in favor of souls
who adore Thee in the unspeakable beauty, in the ineffable tenderness, and in the incomprehensible love of
Thy Sacred Heart.
Also, we ask with Holy Church, we supplicate Thee by Thy Virgin Mother, we urge Thee for the inviolable
honor of Thy Name, to hasten and to establish the reign of Thy loving Heart. (Aloud)
Yes, Jesus, hasten to reign before Satan and the world wrest consciences from Thee and profane in Thy
absence all states of life . . .

346 HOLY HOUR
Come, victorious Jesus, come and triumph in homes, reigning in them by the unchanging peace promised to
those who have received Thee with hosannas . . .
Do not delay, beloved Master, because many households suffer from afflictions and bitterness that Thou hast
Come, . . . because Thou art omnipotent, God of the battles of life; come, showing us Thy wounded side, as
celestial hope in the death agony . . .
Be Thyself the promised reward of our labors; Thou alone, the inspiration and the recompense of all our
undertakings.
And Thy favored ones, I mean sinners, do not forget tha,t for them above all Thou hast revealed the
unwearied tenderness of Thy love . . .
Alas! There are so many lukewarm, Master, so many indifferent who should become ardent by this admirable
devotion! . . .
"Here is life," Thou hast told us, showing us Thy transpierced Breast; permit us, then, to draw from It the
fervor, the sanctity to which we aspire . . .
At Thy request, Thine image has been enthroned in many families . . . In their name we implore Thee to
continue to be forever their beloved Sovereign . . .
Give words of fire and persuasion, irresistible and victorious, to those priests who love Thee and preach Thee
like John, the Beloved Apostle.

348 HOLY HOUR
And for those who teach this sublime devotion for those who proclaim its ineffable wonders, keep a place in
Thy Heart near that on which Thy Mother's name is written.
And finally, Lord Jesus, give the Heaven of Thy Heart to us who have shared Thine agony in the Holy Hour;
and by this hour of consolation, by First Fridays, Communions, accomplish in us Thine infallible promise . . .
We pray Thee that in the decisive hour of death:
All: Thou wilt triumph by the Reign of Thy loving Heart'.
Ask Jesus to fulfill His promises of victory, that He may reign in souls and in society.
There are in my family, O good Jesus,
many deep and many secret troubles . . .
If Thou really reigned over my dear ones,
if Thou wert served and adored with all the
fervor which Thou dost merit, ah, they would not
experience so many and such bitter sorrows! . . .
Oh come, please come, faithful Friend of Bethany, because he whom Thou lovest is sick. When Thou art
present, pain grows sweet, and
at Thy side thorns themselves distill a balm which appeases and sanctifies sorrow. Come, then, Friend of
Bethany, come without delay . . . Hasten, because we are saddened by the absence of some of our dear ones
—father, mother, and brothers, . . . we have lived together at the foot of the same Cross . . . And one day Thy
adorable and divine Will severed one after another of these bonds in dispersing from the hearth its members
so much loved.
Shelter under the sanctifying shadow of the Cross our absent beloved ones . . . Oh, sweet Jesus, show Thyself
the tender Friend of Bethany, and come home without delay . . . because one whom Thou lovest is sick, is
sad, is absent, come!
Tell Him of the dear ones of your home, of the prodigals in whom, you are interested,
Master, Brother, adorable Friend, beloved Jesus, have mercy also on my dear ones who are dead, who have
followed Thee to eternity . . . They sleep in peace because they loved Thee and because Thou art infinite
Goodness . . . But, in parting, they have leit sadness and mourning in
350 HOLY HOUR

our souls . . . However, under these tombs and among the thorns of sorrow germinates a divine life. We know
there is no separation nor real death for those who live in Thy Heart, the Source of true life . . .
I ask Thee then, O Jesus, by Thy merciful Heart, to give peace to our dear departed ones. And to us, who are
left weeping in this valley of tears, grant entire resignation to Thy Holy Will, detachment from the things of
earth, and love of suffering which will unite us eternally to Thee.
Here name for Jesus your dearly loved, never-to-be-forgotten dead.
(Pause)
Lord Jesus, do not yet close Thy Heart, because I wish to plead particularly for those who suffer, for those
who seek Thee with eyes half-blind from weeping . . . for those who have been mortally wounded by
misfortune, grief, disappointments, poverty, illness, or their own weaknesses . . . Thou knowest by bitter
experience, O most amiable Nazarene, how sharp the thorns are along the way . . . Then console those in
tribulation; have pity on those who
suffer . . . and dare not approach Thee in their trials.
Ask Him for the balm that strengthens in suffering.
Jesus, I have not spoken of myself because I have entrusted myself blindly and without reserve to Thy Divine
Heart . . . Thou Who dost love me so much and Who alone dost understand me, wilt surely not wish to forget
me. Oh, no, Thou wilt also requite my loving abandon!
O Jesus, listen to my last prayer in this Holy Hour. I unite it to that of Thy Eucharistic Heart . . . Graciously
bend down toward me and deign to hear me favorably.
(Slowly and with pauses)
When the Angels of the Sanctuary are blessing Thee in the Most Holy Host and I am in my agony . . . may
their praises be mine . . . Lord, remember then this poor servant of Thy Divine Heart.
When fervent souls on earth, on fire with love, acclaim Thee, . . . and I am in my agony, . . . may their
compassion and their tears be mine. Remember then this prodigal conquered by Thy divine Heart!
352 HOLY HOUR
When priests, virgins of the temple, and Thy apostles, proclaim Thee their Sovereign, preach Thee to souls
and enthrone Thee in the world and I am in my agony, . . . let their zeal and their ardor be mine . . .
Remember then the apostle of Thy Divine Heart! . . .
When Thy Church, praying and lamenting

before the altar, works with Thee in redeeming
the world, . . . and I am in my agony, . . . Her
sacrifice and prayer will be mine . . . Remember
then the faithful friend of Thy Divine Heart! . ..
When, during the Holy Hour Thine elect souls
by loving, suffering, and atoning make Thee
forget perfidy and betrayals . . . and I am in my
agony . . . their intimacy with Thee and their
consolations will be mine . . . Remember then this
altar and this victim of Thy Divine Heart! . . .
When Thy heavenly Mother adores Thee in
the Holy Eucharist, thus making reparation for
% the innumerable crimes of earth . . . and I am
in my agony . . . her adoration will be mine.
Remember then the child of Thy Divine
Heart! . . .
Or rather, Lord, forget me if Thou wishest, provided that at the hour of my death, Thou wilt
forget me forever in the wound of Thy most lovable Heart! . . .
(Pause)
What have I, Lord Jesus, that Thou hast not given me? . . . Strip me of all, even of Thine own gifts, but set
me "afire with the ardent love of Thy Divine Heart! . . .
What do I know that Thou hast not taught me? . . . May I forget all human and earthly science if I but know
Thee better, O Divine Heart! . . .
What can I do without Thy help? . . . and what am I unless united to Thee? . . . Unite me to Thee, then, by an
everlasting bond . . . I renounce even the delights of Thy love, that I may completely possess that other
Paradise, Thy sweetest Heart!
And bury there the faults I have committed against 'Thee . . . and avenge Thyself, wounding with a dart of
burning charity that one who has so offended Thee! . . .
And if I have denied Thee, let me acknowledge Thee in the Eucharist where Thou art hidden . . .
If I have offended Thee, let me serve Thee in an everlasting slavery of eternal love, . . . for it is 12
3S4 HOLY HOUR
rather death than life not to spend oneself in loving and making loved Thy sweet, compassionate Heart, so
forsaken! . . . Thy Kingdom come!
(Leo XIII)
consecrates himself to-day to Thy most Sacred Heart. Many indeed have never known Thee; many, too,
the prodigal children who have abandoned Thee: grant that they may quickly return to their Father's house,
lest they die of wretchedness and hunger. Be Thou King of those who are deceived by erroneous opinions, or
whom discord keeps aloof, and call them back to the harbor of truth and unity of faith, so that soon there may
be but one flock
and one Shepherd. Be Thou King also of all those who sit in the ancient superstition of the Gentiles, and
refuse not to deliver them out of darkness into the light and kingdom of God. Grant, O Lord, to Thy Church,
assurance of freedom and immunity from harm; give peace and order to all nations, and make "the earth
resound from pole to pole with one cry: Praise to the Divine Heart that wrought our salvation; to It be glory
and honor for ever. Amen.
A Pater arid an Ave for the universal triumph of the Sacred Heart, especially by daily Communion, the Holy
A Pater and an Ave for 6ur country.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, Thy Kingdom come .
(5 times)
Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us!
(3 times)
Saint Joseph, pray for us!

356 HOLY HOUR
XII
Holy Hour
For the Feast of Christ the King, the last Sunday in October, and also for special
occasions, social crises, and threats or attacks against the Divine Kingship of Christ.
(Note. A part of this Holy Hour was preached for the first time on the initial celebration of the Feast of Christ
the King, in the Cathedral at Madrid, before a gathering of three thousand men.
It is published here in the form of a meditation. But many portions of it, in fact entire pages from it, could be
successfully quoted by a preacher extolling Christ's Social Reign and His Divine Kingship over individuals,
societies and nations.)
The King's Holy Hour
What a sublime and providential reparation
357 CHRIST THE KING
was the institution of the Feast of Christ the
King! Twenty centuries ago an unjust ruler, his heart filled with fear, and mockery in the gesture, said to the
howling mob in front of his tribunal in Jerusalem: "Behold your King!"
exposing Christ the King to their fury and insults.
Twenty centuries later the High Priest of the New Israel, addressing the Catholic world, repeats in his turn,
"Behold your King," but
in a tone of triumph, adoration and love, as he shows us Jesus Christ, Son of the living God.
And each of us, Lord Jesus, Thy children and faithful subjects, our hearts filled with joy and adoration, unite
with more than two hundred million Catholics, our brethren, to say with the Holy Father from the bottom of
our heart: "HAIL, KING!" Thou art truly the King of Glory, O Christ Jesus!
(All repeat aloud the following invocations) "HAIL, KING!" Thou art the one and only Liberator, O Christ
Jesus!
"HAIL, KING!" Thou art the Anointed of the Heavenly Father, O Christ Jesus! "HAIL, KING!" -Thou hast
received the re-
358 HOLY HOUR

bellious earth as Thy heritage, O Christ Jesus!
"HAIL, KING!" The Heavens are Thy Throne, O Christ Jesus!
"HAIL, KING!" Souls are Thy Crown, O Christ Jesus!
"HAIL, KING!" Mercy is Thy Scepter, O Christ Jesus!
"HAIL, KING!" Thy royal purple is Thy Blood, O Christ Jesus!
"HAIL, KING!" Thou wilt reign forever and ever, O Christ Jesus!
Through Thee, O Christ Jesus, kings reign and rulers administer justice to the people, through Thee alone, O
Christ the King!
Through Thee authority is lawful and lawgivers impose laws upon society, through Thee only, O Christ the
King!
Through Thee and in Thy Service it is noble to submit and to obey, but for Thy Sake only, O Christ the King!
Hence, united in faith and love with the Roman Pontiff, we acknowledge Thee, King of Kings; we bless
Thee, we praise Thee, we love Thee, Jesus. And, prostrate before Thee, we conjure Thee by Thine Infinite
Goodness to recall to our
359 CHRIST THE KING
minds when this splendid feast has passed that Thou art in very truth the absolute Monarch before whom
"every knee should bow, in heaven, on earth, and under the earth."
(All repeat aloud five jimes)
"CHRIST CONQUERS, CHRIST REIGNS, CHRIST COMMANDS!"
He must reign in souls, in the family, in society, in nations, by the victorious power of His Heart!
In view of the blind fury of the enemies of Christ of all classes, the mighty and ithe lowly, who have gathered
together against Christ the King, working with hatred and satanic skill to dethrone Him, this Feast was
indispensable. On one side was the army controlled by an impious Sanhedrim, on the other, the vast army of
worldly Christians whose timidity and human respect far outweigh their faith. The attack of the Left and the
apathy of the Right led to a terrible social upheaval everywhere, which was the well merited chastisement of
Justice for the deicide of some and the weakness and guilty silence of others . . . Did I say upheaval? Yes,
you have but to look around you; one may truly say that the physical phenomena that accompanied the
360 HOLY HOUR
death of our Divine King on Good Friday is renewed in the moral order among the great apostate nations.
They think that they are rich, free and glorious; they have decreed the banishment of the Lord Jesus, His
death by law, His proscription frorfi public life.
And behold! The Sun of Truth is at once obscured from their eyes; a thick fog, dense with error and
falsehood descends upon them like a winding sheet . . . Do you not feel the earth quaking beneath your feet?
Do you not perceive that the people, their passions and evil inclinations let loose, threaten the very nations
that have trampled on God's Law? A volcano of hate has erupted, inundating the earth with the infernal fire
of discord, revolt, and anarchy. The infamous deicides did not even taste of the banquet they had prepared to
celebrate the death of the Messias. Behold! The artificial sun of their earthly ideals, the sun of their impure
pleasures, the sun of their boasted greatness, of their licentious liberty is veiled already in fratricidal blood,
the legitimate first-fruit of their crimes and national apostacy.
They have forsaken Thee, O Jesus; they have denied Thy Holy Name and Thy Gospel; they
361 CHRIST THE KING
have ignored Thy Sovereign Rights, and they are now terrified at the eclipse of all peace, of all real
greatness, of all freedom, for those who wove a crown of thorns for Thy Divine Head wove for themselves,
at the same time, a crown of woe. The only King of Peace, of Truth, of Justice js Thou, Jesus, the King of
Love!
As the Holy Father declares, this Feast deals a deadly blow to the accursed heresy which claims that Thou art
King only in the secrecy of men's consciences or, at most, in the intimacy of the family circle, or in a heart to
heart colloquy before the Tabernacle.
Those who wish to make Thee a silent, ridiculous King, are blind and guilty, O Jesus . . . They forbid Thee to
meddle in the life of society, still more in public life . . . If Thou dost, they threaten to forbid public worship
and to close Thy Churches, because Thou dost disturb order and mix Thyself up in secular affairs and
politics, which are none of Thy business . . . Thou art not of this world, they cry, let us live our social and
political life as we please . . . And if these peace conditions do not suit Thee, King Jesus, "Away with Thee",
we shall drive Thee out, we
362 HOLY HOUR
shall exile Thee in disgrace, get back to Thy Paradise!
On our part, King of Kings, we say with Thy Vicar on Earth: "Anathema to those who believe peace of
conscience, peace in families, peace in society or peace among nations can exist without Thee, Prince of
Peace, divorced from Thea, King of Justice, in opposition to Thy Law, King of Love and Truth."
The only King by His Own personal, innate, absolute right is Thou, Lord Jesus!
This is why, in union with the Pope and Holy Mother Church, we say in a spirit of loving and solemn social
reparation, Lord: It is urgent, we wish Thee to reign, O Jesus!
All: It is urgent! We wish Thee to reign, O Jesus!
Many Presidents, Princes, and Kings have made an alliance with the powers of darkness against Thy Throne
and Thy Gospel, O Jesus; many impious governments have withdrawn the cornerstone of Thine Adorable
Person and the foundation of Thy Divine Law from their national edifice . . . O meek King, stay Thy Hand;
defer the sentence that Justice demands,
363 CHRIST THE KING
for the sake of the friends of Thy Heart and the apostles of Thy Kingship, show mercy and by a vengeance of
Love extend to all these unfortunates the benefit of Thy social reign; reign, triumph, rule, O Christ the King!
All: It is urgent, we wish Thee to reign, O Jesus!
What a sad, distressing story, Lord, is that of predestined nations, redeemed by Thy Precious Blood! . . .
Their legal representatives in law-making bodies have struck Thy Name out of public documents, and Thy
Gospel, which had been everywhere regarded as the charter of nobility, of civilization, and of Christian
liberty is now consigned to the library as a mere manuscript . . . Modern legislation so-called has been
invented to root out of the conscience of the people the memory of Thy benefits, and of Thy Divine
intervention through the Church . . . O meek King, stay Thy Hand; defer the sentence that Justice demands,
Love, extend to all these unfortunates the benefits of Thy social reign; reign, triumph, rule, O Christ the
King!
364 HOLY HOUR
AH: It is urgent, we wish Thee to reign, O Jesus!
The one Lawgiver Whose right is absolute is Thou, O Jesus! This is no longer recognized, alas! People are
too civilized, too modern, to admit it. Hence, it comes that the very persons whom Thou hast charged to
enforce the Divine Law by just, wise, Christian laws, those who call themselves legislators have passed laws
against Thee, have declared that Thou dost not exist, that Thy Gospel is a myth, that Thy Church is a tyrant
not to be tolerated by the modern conscience. Then displaying cynical hypocrisy, in order to set the people
free, to make them happy and independent, in the name of national welfare, they ignore all Thy rights and
break all Thy Laws! . . . O meek King, stay Thy Hand; defer the sentence that Justice demands, for the sake
of the friends of Thy Heart and the apostles of Thy Kingship, show mercy and by a vengeance of Love,
extend to these unfortunates the benefits of Thy social reign; reign, triumph, rule, O Christ the King!
365 CHRIST THE KING
The proud sect that persecuted Thee from the beginning of Thine apostolate for fear of its downfall, and
which provoked Thine anathema, is entrenched in many intellectual centers; and, in the name of philosophy,
science and law, systematically sets Thee aside, denies Thy claim to be the Light and the Truth, and even
pretends that Thy Spirit is the enemy of true intellectual culture, that Thou dost hinder freedom of thought,
prevent the mind from soaring aloft, and that Christian faith is the absurd negation of reason.
This is why Thou art banished from the schools; this is why they insult Thee and speak ill of Thee in many
universities and seats of higher learning. This is why they organize impious youth movements and mobilize
the young into godless armies who will attack Thee later on . . . O meek King! Stay Thy Hand; defer the
sentence that Justice demands, for the sake of the friends of Thy Heart and the apostles of Thy Kingship,
show mercy and take a vengeance of Love; extend to all these unfortunates the benefit of Thy social reign;
reign, triumph, rule O Christ the King!
366 HOLY HOUR
Modern society, especially the class that by. position of wealth should give example and draw the poor and
the lowly to Thee, has broken the sacred bonds that united it to Thee, O Jesus! . . . Alas! Suffering from a
fever for pleasure and the dizziness of frivolity, it wastes time, youth, money, and everything in whims,
vanity, and shows often not only harmful but scandalous. And, with unheard of inconsistency, it justifies this
sinful conduct and will not acknowledge that it has gone astray or is running risks. In addition to this, O
height of irony, it declares that it does not wish to offend Thee, Jesus. It would like to see Thee tolerate the
state of paganism and refined sensuality in which it lives and wallows, at least by Thy silence . . . O meek
King! Stay Thy Hand; defer the sentence Justice demands, for the sake of the friends of Thy Heart and the
apostles of Thy Kingship, show mercy and by a vengeance' of Love, extend to all these unfortunates the
benefit of Thy social reign; reign, triumph, rule, O Christ the King!
367 CHRIST THE KING
The line of judges who condemned Thee, Lord, is not extinct; it is perpetuated in the modern sanhedrins of
Masonic lodges and other dens of darkness and revolution that plot night and day with satanic ferocity
against Thine Adorable Person . , . Ah! How skillful and united they are in their efforts to dethrone Thee;
how crafty, rich, and powerful when it comes to casting lots for Thy Robe, Thy Scepter, and Thy Crown . . .
Moreover, how often these unjust judges are supported and encouraged by public officials; they even, O
Jesus, receive like Judas their thirty pieces of silver to pay for their treason and enmity . . . O meek King!
Stay Thy Hand; defer the sentence that Justice demands, for the sake of the friends of Thy Heart and the
apostles of Thy Kingdom, show mercy and by a vengeance of Love, extend to all these unfortunates the
benefit of Thy social reign; reign, triumph, rule, O Christ the King!
All; It is urgent, we wish Thee to reign, O Jesus!
There is something sadder still, a more heartrending story in the record of human ingratitude
368 HOLY HOUR
It is the revolt, the insults, the angry abuse heaped upon Thee by the crowds that followed Thee to the
mountains and in the desert, those for whom Thou didst work the miracle of the multiplication of the
loaves . . . These poor people are not, by any means, altogether bad, but they are led astray; they are easily
deceived; they are turned from following Thee; they are perverted; they are snatched from Thy love, from
Thy Law! . . . Alas! This is too often successful; and behold, Jesus, Thou art driven out of poor homes, of
slums, and the houses of working-men, with hatred; the great majority of men whose life is a struggle for
existence, no longer want Thee, King of Nazareth, the Great and only Friend of the lowly and the poor, the
one Liberator of the people . . . O meek King, stay Thy Hand; defer the sentence that Justice demands, and
Love, extend to all these unfortunates the benefits of Thy social reign; reign, triumph, rule, O Christ the
King!
All: It is argent, we wish Thee to reign, O Jesus!

369 CHRIST THE KING
(A moment of silent, fervent prayer for the tyrants, the persecutors, and the Church, always persecuted in her
priests, her faithful, and her works.)
If the ungrateful world, penetrated with sorrow, would listen to us a moment . . . O! If it would unite with our
praise from pole to pole! Alas! It rejects the King of Love, but we will save it in spite of itself. In the
meantime we know that our voices find an echo in Heaven which compensates for the coldness of our
brethren . . . The Heavenly Father Who has sent us His Son, the King Whom we acclaim, and the Holy Ghost
Who anointed Him Eternal King, hear us and bless us. Above all, our King's Sacred Heart is thrilled with joy
and gratitude by this manifestation . . . He knows that we would willingly die to add the precious Jewel of
one soul more to His royal diadem by prayer and sacrifice. Hearken now, for the King of Love is about to
speak to His Guard of Honor.
Jesus: "Filioli", my little children. You know that I am King . . . That in order to prove that I am the King of
Love, I was born among men . . . I came down from Heaven on purpose to reconquer the world, the
inheritance of My glory.
370 HOLY HOUR
But My heritage did not wish to acknowledge My rights; it might, perhaps, accept Me, if 1 confined My
Divine authority to the intimate sanctuary of souls . . . This is the reason I am consoled and won by your
affections when I hear you with ardent and even audacious faith proclaim My social reign. I recognize My
children by their voice; they speak My language in unison, with My Vicar; then I know you belong to Me,
you are indeed Mine and I can count upon you.
In consequence I want you to make Me a solemn promise this evening. I claim it from you as My Guard of
Honor—-so listen to Your King . . . Answer Me in all sincerity: Will this splendid and beautiful Feast be a
one-day solemnity without a morrow or will it be rather a living homage to My Royalty, a renewal of
Christian fervor? Shall I henceforth be more your King and Master than formerly, a Master more revered, a
Lawgiver more strictly obeyed? After this grand feast, may I count on more earnest and practical fidelity? Is
it a covenant, a compact, a pledge of loyalty between Me, your King, and you, My children? . . .
Will gratitude for My Kingship incline minds and hearts to My Law and My Heart?
371 CHRIST THE KING
This is what I, your King, demand: Will you recognize My Divine Kingship, when your conscience and the
Church forbid you in My Name to go to pagan and profane movies and unwholesome plays, where My
friends too often scourge Me by their presence and their conduct? Oh! Answer Me.
All: We renounce the vanities of the world. Thou shalt reign, O Christ the King!
Jesus: Will you recognize My Divine Kingship, when your conscience and the Church, in My Name, forbid
immodest suggestive fashions ; and will you obey, despising the ridicule of the frivolous and worldly with
Christian courage? Answer Me.
All: We renounce worldly vanities. Thou shalt reign, O Christ the King!
social functions, amusements, or pleasures that are full of danger, and close to an abyss covered with
flowers? . . . Will you obey when those in authority warn you that your purity is endangered, that your heart
may be perverted? Answer Me.
372 HOLY HOUR
pride of life, unbridled luxury, and the desire to attract attention and to outshine others that excites class
hatred and fosters sensuality—will you obey them? Answer Me!
O, yes, beloved Lord Jesus, laying one hand on the Altar of Sacrifice, we promise, loyally and solemnly, to
keep Thy Commandments . . . We shall not acclaim Thy Kingship today and outrage It tomorrow, nor belie It
by the scandal of a light, frivolous life . . . We do not wish the shame of proclaiming here, in church, that
Thou art our King and giving our affirmation the lie a little later by our dress in the street, by our bad conduct
at home, and • by our world-liness in society. We hail Thee as our King, but without weaving a crown of
thorns for Thy Divine Head by our ingratitude and disloyalty.
373 CHRIST THE KING
(Here make a thoroughly sincere promise to eliminate from your social life everything, absolutely
everything, contrary to the Divine Law and the Rights of the King Whom you have just chosen . . . Christ or
Barabbas; one cannot dress immodestly, go to any show or read any book indiscriminately when one is a
Catholic. Let us promise to be more than ever consistent; let us make our conduct conform with our
convictions. The only Judge is Jesus Christ.)
S3
Heaven always bends down to share our Feasts, it surrounds our Altars with its adoration, it takes in our
Christian joys. Today, as on no other Feast, the Heavenly Jerusalem unites with the Church Militant to render
homage to the King of Glory . . .
Then, let the heavens open, let the clouds be rent asunder and allow the nine choirs of Angels to come down
in triumph! . . . Let the legions of saints, martyrs, confessors, and virgins also come! . . . Let the Apostles and
Evangelists descend! . . . Above all, let the Queen of Fair Love whose Heart was the first Throne of the King
Jesus come!
374 HOLY HOUR
Then in the presence of the whole heavenly court, kneeling in adoration before the Eucharistic Throne we
may say: Bend down, ye Heavens, earth invites you to join her in homage and adoration to Christ the King.
Angels of Paradise, exult, sing His Divine Kingship!
All: Sing to your God and out Cod, sing to Christ the King!
Bend down, ye Heavens, earth invites you to join her in homage and adoration to Christ the King;
Archangels of Paradise, exult, sing His Divine Kingship!
All: Sing to your God and our God, sing to Christ the King!
Archangels of Paradise, exult, sing His Divine Kingship!
Principalities of Paradise, exult, sing His Divine Kingship!
375 CHRIST THE KING
Bend down, ye Heavens, earth invites you to join her in homage and adoration to Christ the King; Virtues of
Paradise, exult, sing His Divine Kingship!
Bend down, ye Heavens, earth invites you to join her in homage and adoration to Christ the King; Powers of
Dominations of Paradise, exult, sing His Divine Kingship!
Bend down, ye Heavens, earth invites you to join her in homage and adoration to Christ the King; Thrones of
Bend down, ye Heavens, earth invites you to
376 HOLY HOUR
join her in homage and adoration to Christ the King; Cherubim of Paradise, exult, sing His Divine Kingship!
Bend down, ye Heavens, earth invites you to join her in homage and adoration to Christ the King; Seraphim
of Paradise, exult, sing His Divine Kingship!
Bend down, ye Heavens, earth invites you to join her in homage and adoration to Christ the King; Apostles
and Evangelists of Paradise, exult, sing His Divine Kingship!
Confessors, Virgins • and Martyrs of Paradise, exult, sing His Divine Kingship!
Bend down, ye Heavens, earth invites you to join her in homage and adoration to Christ the
377 CHRIST THE KING
King; Immaculate Mother, Empress of Paradise, exult, sing His Divine Kingship! All: Sing to your God and
our God, sing to Christ the King!
In truth "The Lamb that was slain is worthy to receive power and divinity, and wisdom and strength, • and
honor and glory, and benediction. To Him be glory and power forever and ever."
All: Amen! Hosanna! His Kingdom come!
"To Him alone be glory and power forever and ever!"
"To Him alone be glory and power forever and ever!"
(Ask the King of Love in a short but very fervent prayer for the grace of complete detachment from the goods
and vanities of this world in order to merit one day to renew these praises to the King of Glory in Heaven in
union with the Heavenly Court.)
(Silent prayer)
Without any merit, rather, far from what we deserve, on account of the sin of Adam, Heaven
378 HOLY HOUR
opened and the Word of God descended to take possession of this earth, to make it the footstool of His
Throne, once He had conquered by His Blood. Then, raised upon the tree of the Cross, clad in the purple of
His Blood, crowned with a diadem of pain, He proclaimed His right of conquest and declared Himself Lord
and King through His mercy . . . All power is given to Him in Heaven and on earth.
Souls: Kin? of Love, behold us at Thy Feet, bringing as a gift of love and peace, the tribute of our homage
and adoration in union with our Holy Mother the Church in Heaven and on earth . . . We ought to love Thee
more than the Angels do, O Jesus, because Calvary has purchased for us redemption and immortal glory. We
call Thee the King qf Love, for Thou hast conquered by Love and Mercy, but Thou art not yet altogether the
King of Love, not the beloved King that Thou oughtest to be, because Thou art not as much loved as Thou
dost desire or deserve to be.
Forgive us for the indifference and the coldness of our hearts!
Forgive us for our excessive love of creatures!
379 CHRIST THE KING
Forgive and forget, O crucified King, our forgetfulness of Thee!
Forgive the stinginess of our love for Thee!
Forgive our prodigality to creatures!
"Be Thou King, O Lord, not only of the faithful who have never forsaken Thee, but also of the prodigal
children who have abandoned Thee." Look upon them with eyes full of merciful tears, above all on the
prodigals especially dear to us, entwined round the very fibres of our hearts, cherished children of our family,
who unmindful of Thy Golden Scepter, O King, live between two yawning abysses—their weakness and
their eternity. "Grant that they may quickly return to their Father's house lest they die of wretchedness and
hunger." . . . Prove again that Thou art all-powerful, O King of Love, and touch them with the Scepter of Thy
Mercy.
(Repeat three times for their conversion) All: We love Thee, Jesus, because Thou art Jesus!
"Be Thou King, O Jesus, of those who are deceived by erroneous opinions or whom discord keeps aloof"
from the Church. These unfortunates are as' sheep without a shepherd or as
380 HOLY HOUR
rudderless boats adrift on the sea; have mercy on them according to Thy great mercy! Many are good at
heart, and ignorant rather than guilty, but have been carried away by false doctrines . . . "Call them back to
the harbor of truth and unity of faith so that soon there may be but one flock and one Shepherd" . . . Prove
again that Thou art all-powerful, O King of Love, and touch them with Thy Scepter of Mercy!
All: We- love Thee, Jesus, because Thou art Jesus',
"Be Thou King, O Jesus, of all those who are involved in the darkness of idolatry or of Islamism;" Lord,
Lord, they are as numerous as the sands of the desert; remember that all, all without exception, are Thy
creatures and Thy children and owe Thee allegiance. Prove again that Thou art all-powerful, O King of Love,
and touch them with Thy Scepter of Mercy!
All: We love Thee, Jesus, because Thou art Jesus!
Jesus of Nazareth, be King "of the children of that race once Thy chosen people. Of old they called down on
themselves the Blood of the
381 CHRIST THE KING

Savior; may It now descend upon them a laver of redemption and of life." . . . On Calvary Thou didst forgive
those who crucified Thee, pleading in their behalf, "They know not what they do." Forgive Thine other
executioners who are still more guilty for they have made their First Communion, studied their catechism,
and received Thy graces from their early childhood. They no longer recognize Thee, Lord, but have betrayed
Thee for a creature, for wealth or for honor. Look on these unfortunates, cast on them that penetrating,
winning, and compassionate glance that melted the heart of Peter . . . Prove again that Thou art all-powerful,
O King of Love, and touch them with Thy Scepter of Mercy!
Raised on the Cross, the Throne of infinite mercy, Jesus Crucified again repeats in behalf of all these sinners:
"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!"
All: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!"
* HAIL OUR KING! . . . We hail Thee, we
382
HOLY HOUK
acclaim Thee, we adore Thee, King crucified through love! We kiss with immense tenderness the tree of the
Cross whereon Thou dost draw all men to Thy conquering Heart . . . Hail, King of Love!
HAIL OUR KING! . . . We hail Thee, we acclaim Thee, we adore Thee, King crucified through love! We
kiss with immense tenderness Thy bloody diadem that we would render a thousand times more glorious by
setting in the place of each thorn thousands of souls converted by Thy conquering Heart! . . . Hail, King, of
Love!
HAIL OUR KING! . . . We hail Thee, we acclaim Thee, we adore Thee, King crucified through love . . . We
kiss with immense tenderness the purple of Thy Blood, that royal mantle which envelopes Thy shoulders;
and Thy whole Body becomes one living Wound to heal the leprosy of our sins, and wash them in the piscina
of Thy conquering Heart! . . . Hail, King of Love!
Lord Jesus, neither the Angels clad in the light of glory nor Solomon in all the splendor of earthly majesty,
were ever more beautiful, more
383 CHRIST THE KING
magnificent, more attractive in grace or in beauty, than Thou, Jesus, King Crucified and Ruler of Nations . . .
Thou dost ravish hearts, Thou dost captivate the world and vanquish it by the sweet, irresistible splendor of
those five suns which are Thy Five Adorable Wounds, O King of Kings! . . . They will be that banquet of
light and heavenly beauty that will fill us with overflowing joy which Thou Thyself hast prepared for Thy
friends and apostles in the eternal Kingdom which will never end . . . Hail, King of Love! Hail, our King!
(Short pause for quiet prayer) ®
Jesus proclaimed Himself "King of Hearts" on Calvary and in taking possession of the world, redeemed on
Good Friday, He declared the opening of a new, a Divine era, the era of His Reign! His ascension into
Heaven did not leave us orphans, for on Holy Thursday evening, before His death, He built the palace
whence He intended to rule over Christian society. This palace, indestructible of its nature, is the Tabernacle.
From this home of Nazareth, a poor and silent dwelling, Jesus in the Sacred Host governs
384 HOLY HOUR
the world and draws it to Himself. In order to transform it by His Scepter of charity this King only asks for
love, much more love, and the Church, His authorized interpreter, asks especially that the Holy Eucharist
should enter more into our lives—it asks greater Eucharistic fervor at the Holy Table, in the family, in
Catholic education, everywhere . . . The audience chamber is always open where the King awaits us with
eager Heart and outstretched Arms, and all His children are invited, absolutely all without exception . . .
Alas! The guests are very numerous but those who hunger after Jesus in the Holy Eucharist are few. Speak
Thyself, Divine King and Prisoner, speak!
Jesus: You, My children, My little ones and My friends, are My Crown and My glory rather than the planets
and the stars. Your hearts form My favorite Throne rather than the wings of Angels and Cherubim. Your
souls purpled with My Blood are palaces that I prefer to the immensity of space.
Yet, in spite of this you will not come! . . . If you only realized how deeply My Heart suffers when looking
around Me. I easily count some faithful, fervent friends, but looking into the
CHRIST THE KING

CHRIST THE KING
385
streets or business marts, *and into the centers of trade or pleasure . . . and of sin, I find crowds everywhere,
great crowds feverish, eager for everything, absolutely everything, but for My Adorable Person; they find
time and take an interest in all except the glory of the solitary forsaken King dwelling in the Tabernacle! I
invite you, I beg you to come and eat at My Table; in exchange for this Bread I guarantee you peace and
eternal life . . . and you will not come! . . .
I promise you consolations, the lights and torrents of grace for you and your home as a reward for your visits
and your love—in exchange for your heart. But I wait in vain, you do not come.
Oh! Answer Me, what more can I do after Calvary and the Tabernacle, what can I do more, what invention,
what miracle to make you more intimately Mine in this Sacrament of My Love? I have exhausted My
treasures, My tears, and My tenderness to prove to you by palpable evidence the Divine folly of My love, and
. . . those who understand are indeed few; fewer still are those who are absorbed by the thought of this
mystery . . . So many are madly in love with 13
386 HOLY HOUR
the world and its fatal'vanities . . . so few are in love with My Altar!
After this Feast of My Kingship, after your hymns and your applause, come to My Holy Table to prove that I
am really your King of Love! You have invited the choirs of Angels to unite with you in blessing, praising,
and exalting My Divine Kingship . . . But are you convinced that one Holy Communion, especially a very
fervent Holy Communion, gives Me much more glory than their Heavenly concert? . . . O, come, I hunger,
for your peace; . . . I long to consume you, to be in turn consumed by your hearts. Make Me reign through the
Holy Eucharist. 8B
If the beautiful Feast of Christ the King does not sensibly increase Eucharistic fervor, it will be but a passing
novelty—touching indeed, but without serious and lasting effects in souls and families. The applause will die
away and next day the mighty King will be despoiled of His Crown and Scepter, leaving Him a mock throne
and the dungeon of Holy Thursday . . . But, thanks to His apostles, this will not happen to our King of Love!
Promise Him this at once with your whole heart.
387 CHRIST THE KING
Souls: Thou art often called the lonely King, the condemned King of the Tabernacle, O Jesus! Alas! The
truth in this title brands us with the blackest ingratitude . . . Yes, Lord, Thou hast been forsaken, Thou wilt be
so no longer . . . Thy true title will be King of Love, because Thou art not only very loving, but also much
loved. Deign to listen, Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, to the expression of our sorrow, our loving reparation, and
the promise of our fervor in the future.
King, lonely and forsaken, in great and beautiful churches, with what grief, Jesus, Thou dost see the endless
procession of sightseers, going to and fro, unmindful of Thy Real Presence, while they admire marbles,
sculpture, architectural lines and recall historical memories. They do not bestow a glance, much less a prayer,
on the silent Prisoner of the Tabernacle . . . Oh, how lonely, how very lonely, Thou art, Jesus! And how cold
it must be around Thee in these edifices which are masterpieces of art! We adore Thee, we proclaim Thee
King of Love in them, in reparation for this abandonment.
All: Forgive us, Jesus! . . . May Thy Kingdom come!
King, lonely and forsaken in so many of the
388 HOLY HOUR
churches of great cities, with what sadness Thou dost contemplate from the Tabernacle eager crowds milling
round rich stores—crowds that devote the morning to business and the evening to dangerous, worldly
amusements—above all, alas! to sinful pleasures! Oh! how lonely, how very lonely Thou art, Jesus, and how
cold it must be around Thee in these churches, almost empty on week days. We adore Thee, we proclaim
Thee King of Love in them, in reparation for this abandonment!
King, solitary and forsaken, Thou dost live forgotten in the churches of huge commercial cities, populous and
wealthy, occupied with the ever-increasing rush of business. While the small minority of Thy children render
Thee the homage of faith exacted by the Church of Catholics, the vast majority, alas! allow themselves to be
absorbed and overrun by temporal interests. Oh! how lonely Thou art, Jesus, and how cold, how very cold it
must be around Thee in those churches where a small Tabernacle and Ciborium suffice, because few
approach the Holy Table impelled by love . . . We adore Thee, we
389 CHRIST THE KING
proclaim Thee King of Love in such churches in reparation for this abandonment!
King, solitary and forsaken, in many churches of small country districts, too often slumbering in the lethargy
of profound religious ignorance, Thou dost look with distress on those vegetating souls who are satisfied with
their earthly existence and live in the torpor of death.
The church is small, yet it is too large even on feast days. Formerly it was a center of parish life and radiated
fervor, but today it has lost its meaning for the villagers . . . O! how lonely, how very lonely, Thou art, Jesus,
and how cold it is around Thee in those country churches, where the Sanctuary Lamp, with sad and dying
flame, is the symbol of waning faith and of love already extinct . . . We adore Thee, we proclaim Thee King
of Love in such churches in reparation for this abandonment!
King, solitary and forsaken, in the numerous churches of those demoralized populations which
390 HOLY HOUR
have been dechristianized by impious, secular education, Thou dost see the people become more and more
distrustful of the Church and filled with hatred of everything that savors of religion. How few men, Lord,
dare to hear Mass timidly on Sunday and make their Easter duty! Alas! they die quietly without thinking of
sending for a priest . . . Oh! how lonely, how very lonely, Thou art, Jesus, and how cold it is around Thee in
the churches of populations who live and die far from Thee, and who seem even to bear a grudge against
their God and Savior . . . poor churches where the administration of the Sacraments—Baptism, as well as
Matrimony and the Holy Eucharist—becomes rarer and rarer! . . . We adore Thee, we acclaim Thee in them,
King of Love, in reparation for this abandonment.
In order to make up to Thee, Lord Jesus, and to console Thee for the guilty abandonment of those who, while
still acknowledging Thee in the bottom of their hearts as their King, offend and crucify Thee by disobeying
Thy Laws, we consider it a privilege to say to Thee, with great
391 CHRIST THE KING
enthusiasm, interpreting the intention of Thy Vicar on earth: Hail, King of Glory, publicly acclaimed in the
solemn meetings of International Eucharistic Congresses, borne as a Conqueror beneath triumphal arches,
amid the applause and ardent prayers of thousands of Thy subjects, adored, blessed, praised a thousand times
in the sincere spontaneous enthusiasm of these great Eucharistic gatherings; Oh! enkindle, Jesus, the flame of
these marvelous Congresses; and, at their close, when Thou dost pass in triumph through avenues and public
squares, bless the crowds and tell them that Thou art indeed their King and wish to be honored as such,
especially in the Sacrament of Thy Love.
All: Hosanna to Out King in the Sacred Host. Hosanna to the Son of David!
King of the universe, Eucharistic devotions in a wonderful diversity of forms and a providential variety of
shades, radiating the Love of Thy Sacred Heart, are already numerous and spread abroad the knowledge of
God's greatest gift to man, the Holy Eucharist! Thanks, thanks, Blessed Lord, but if possible multiply yet
more these works full of redeeming power, and make
392 HOLY HOUR
them, by their vitality, a fiery net to catch souls capable of making Thee still better known and loved, even as
moths are attracted by a candle flame. O! In these Eucharistic works, as in so many fiery chariots, drive
through the ungrateful world, telling people in all lands that Thou art their King and wish to be honored as
such, especially in the Sacrament of Thy Love!
All: Hosanna to Our King in the Sacred Host. Hosanna to the Son of David!
King of the world, through Thine infinite mercy Congregations and Religious Orders devoted to reparation
and to adoration of the Blessed Sacrament are innumerable. We thank Thee for this inestimable benefit.
These Orders are a rock upon which Thy Throne rests here below . . . We beseech Thee, O Jesus, that all
Communities that practice reparation may be worthy of their sublime vocation by their fervor and interior
life, and that by an increase of generous love they may themselves be the most divine of reparations; and
finally that by the overflow of their love and zeal, they may cause Thee to be loved even unto folly in the
adorable Eucharist. O! Through them speak to the nations, telling them in winning and persuasive words that
Thou art their King
393 CHRIST THE KING

and wish to be honored as such, especially in the Sacrament of Thy Love!
All: Hosanna to Oar King in the Sacred Host. Hosanna to the Son of David!
King of the world, at any cost, Thy love must become new blood, a fiery sap to rejuvenate modern society
which Thou wishest to recast in the crucible of Thine Adorable Heart . . . To this end we must have families
devoted to the Holy Eucharist; give them to us! Help us, if necessary, by a miracle; help us to turn the hearts
of parents and children towards Thine Adorable Flesh and Blood, that Thou mayest become their soul, their
life, the living tradition of their homes, O Jesus! Thou knowest, Dear Lord, that this is the infallible secret of
Thy Social Reign! These families already exist, here and there, nurseries of a new Eucharistic society. Deign
to multiply them, O Jesus, and through these Bethanies may it resound from pole to pole that Thou art Our
King and that Thou wishest to be honored as King, especially in the Sacrament of Thy Love!
All: Hosanna to Our King in the Sacred Host. Hosanna to the Son of David!
394 HOLY HOUR
(Promise your Sacramental Lord that you will never, never omit one Mass or one Communion through your
own fault for want of love. Promise also to carry on this campaign around you, above all in the families of
the Sacred Heart.)
We have declared in the preceding prayer that the family conquered by Our Lord, and imbued with His
Spirit, is the foundation of the Social Reign of the Heart of Jesus. Indeed, it was by a family plebiscite, by the
enthronement of the King of Love in the family circle, that the Catholic world was prepared for the Feast of
Christ the King. It was because many thousands of families had accepted the Enthronement and had actually
set the King with honor on the living Throne of the family—the origin and cell of society and the nation—
that the Holy Father proclaimed Christ King throughout the universe within twenty years.
In consequence, before the end of this Holy Hour, let us implore God in intense and earnest prayer that these
families of the King of Love may speedily bring about His victory in society and in our country.
Souls: King and Creator, King and Savior of
395 CHRIST THE KING
Nazareth, King and Friend of Bethany, it is necessary, it is urgent that Thou shouldst reign; that families be
animated by Thy Spirit so that they may become living tabernacles, sacred tents in which Thou dwellest in
our midst in this desert . . . Thou knowest, good Master, with what eagerness and zeal Thine apostles strive to
transform these homes, whether rich or poor, into real Bethanies for Thine Adorable Heart. With the
assistance of Thy grace and Thy mercy the great work has gone forward, and considerable ground has been
won for Thee, in spite of resistance; Thy Heart has done all the work, may It be blessed and glorified a
thousandfold. And now listen to us, Adorable King.
By the tears of Mary, our Immaculate Queen, by the piercing anguish of this Mother of Sorrows, by her
secret martyrdom of love, reign, O King of Love, in those families, alas! so numerous, who are Catholic by
baptism and hold to a few religious practices, but lead futile, unreal lives, and seek their happiness far from
Thy Heart . . . Those families are unhappy, profoundly unhappy . . . Having forsaken the Spirit of the Gospel
and forgotten Thy Law, they trust in wealth and worldly vanity rather than in Thy
396 HOLY HOUR
Divine fidelity . . . Wean them from the world! Through Mary Immaculate, save them in Thine Adorable
Heart!
All: Through Mary Immaculate, save them
in Thine Adorable Heart! By the tears of Mary, the Immaculate Queen, by the piercing anguish of this
Mother of Sorrows, by her secret martyrdom of love, reign, O King of Love, in those families, who, while
keeping the Catholic faith, fear Thee and look upon Thee as a severe Master; they serve Thee like slaves
rather than children, trembling and groaning beneath Thy yoke. They do not love Thee dearly; they do not
trust Thy Heart; they consider tender piety, Eucharistic fervor and intimacy with Thee, exaggeration of
fancy . . . Lord, have compassion on these families that have never enjoyed the sunshine of Thy Heart, warm
them with the fire of Thy Love, and through Mary Immaculate, save them in Thine Adorable Heart!
All: Through Mary Immaculate, save them in Thine Adorable Heart!
By the tears of Mary, our Immaculate Queen, by the piercing anguish of this Mother of
397 CHRIST THE KING
Sorrows, by her secret martyrdom of love, reign, O King of Love, in those households where a sinner, a
dying soul lies—perhaps he is already dead to Thy grace. He is a Lazarus, but a Lazarus who fears to rise, a
Lazarus afraid of Thy mercy, who feels quite comfortable in his tomb . . . He says he lives at peace and is
respected without frequenting the Sacraments; that he can pray to God in secret without the intervention of
the Church; that he can even die in peace without a priest . . . Jesus, he is in need of a great miracle, and we
beseech Thee to perform it in Thy unbounded mercy . . . Prove again that Thou art Jesus, and, through Mary
Immaculate, save us in Thine Adorable Heart!
All: Through Mary Immaculate, save us in Thine Adorable Heart!
secret martyrdom of love, reign, O King of Love, in those families who are afflicted with a heavy cross, and
who drag it without hope or love, instead of kissing it with gratitude. Take compassion, Jesus, good Jesus, on
the households tried by moral suffering, disunion or bereavement .,. . How often to these
398 HOLY HOUR
trials is added sickness, want of means, or even acute distress, especially if the family is large and the
children suffer from hunger and cold, while the parents are unable to relieve them . . . They weep in
silence . . . Enter these homes, tender Master, and abide there in the exquisite delicacy of Thy Heart, with
Thy smile and Thy words of sympathy and hope . . . They are waiting for Thee; extend Thine Arms to them.
And through Mary Immaculate, save them in Thine Adorable Heart!
secret martyrdom of love, reign, O King of Love, in those families who are wholly Thine and seek no other
glory but that of loving, serving, and possessing Thee . . .
How fair in Thine Eyes, Dear Master, are these families where Thou dost find rest, where Thou dost feel at
home, where each heart is an oasis of reparation for Thee, their King, in exile everywhere else . . . These
families are Thy diadem, and, in spite of inevitable crosses, Thou
399 CHRIST THE KING
art their anticipated Heaven . . . Bless still more these homes whose only law is to love Thee and to do Thy
Holy Will always and in all things, and who long to suffer for Thee and offer Thee souls . . . Lavish Thy
favors on them, multiply these happy Bethanies, and through Mary Immaculate, save them in Thine Adorable
Heart!
Jesus, King and Creator, King and Friend of Bethany, by enthroning Thee in our homes with honor and
solemnity we have voted publicly and socially for the Feast of Christ the King, by recognizing it in an
eloquent and spontaneous manner; allow us to vote once more, and to exact by gentle violence that Thy
rights be also recognized by the great commonwealth, our country and nation, as well as by its small units of
families . . . Thou art, O Jesus, the King of all nations . . . In consequence we must bring it about that Thou
wilt become once more the King of this land, which must be conquered by Thy Heart and won over to Thy
Spirit.
This is why, O Jesus, in presence of the
400 HOLY HOUR
Immaculate Queen and of the Angels, adoring Thee in this Sacred Heart, in the presence of Heaven and also
of the ungrateful and rebellious earth, we acknowledge Thee, O Jesus, as our only Lord and Master, the only
source of authority, of virtue, of justice and of beauty . . .
This is why, kneeling at Thy Feet, in the spirit of social reparation, we protest: We recognize no social order
without God or opposed to God. Thou art the Founder of all social order, O Jesus!
All: Thou art the Founder of all social order, O Jesus!
We recognize no law of progress without God or opposed to God; Thine is the Law of true progress, O Jesus!
All: Thine is the Law of true progress, O Jesus!
We recognize no Utopias of civilization without God or opposed to God; Thy Gospel is the principle of
civilization, O Jesus!
All: Thy Gospel is the principal of civilization, O Jesus!
We recognize no justice without God or opposed to God. Thou art the substantial Justice, O Jesus!
401 CHRIST THE KING
All: Thou art the substantial Justice, O Jesus!

We recognize no brotherhood without God or opposed to God; Thine is the true brotherhood, O Jesus!
All: Thine is the true brotherhood, O Jesus!
We recognize no truth without God or opposed to God. Thou art substantial Truth, O Jesus!
All: Thou art substantial Truth, O Jesus!
We recognize no love without God or opposed to God. Thou art uncreated *Love, O Jesus!
All: Thou art uncreated Love, O Jesus! (Three times)
It is impossible to emphasize too strongly the Holy Father's idea in instituting the Feast of Christ the King!
There must be no mistake; it does not merely restate what has already been declared—that Jesus is the King
of souls and consciences; we must everywhere insist, more than ever in our day—that He is likewise,
whether we like it or not, the King of Majesty, the Supreme Lawgiver and Master of human society and of
rulers, no matter who they may
402 HOLY HOUR
be. Without Him or in opposition to Him no laws and no public or private rights exist—hence, all anti-
christian legislation is impious and null, for one cannot conceive of a law which is in contradiction to the
Author of society and the Master of the whole human race.
Iniquitous lawgivers and rulers but emulate the crime of Pilate, heightened by high treason, a sin of divine
Use majeste—But let us express our feelings and voice our patriotism in a prayer for our country.
Soul/: Lord Jesus, in concluding this Holy Hour, a solemn homage to Thy Divine Kingship, we wish by our
faith and prayers, this evening to evoke the name and presence of the great kings whose heroic faith in the
midst of court life and on the throne, undoubtedly prepared in former centuries for the liturgical feast of Thy
Divine Kingship . . .
O! Send them forth; let these holy kings surround the Eucharistic Throne that, here below, where these
crowned heads waged the great battle of virtue they may join us in honoring the power of Thy merciful
Scepter, and the wisdom, beauty, and extent of Thy Social Reign.
Descend then from Paradise, holy kings of the
403 CHRIST THE KING
Church! Hasten from your thrones in Heaven to bring, like the Magi, to this God annihilated in the Sacred
Host, the homage of your praise, your adoration, and your love.
Through St. Edward, Through St. Casimir, Through St. Canute, Through St. Henry, Through St. Stephen,
Through St. Wenceslaus, Through St. Hermenegild, Through St. Ferdinand, Through St. Louis, Through St.
Clotilde, Through St. Radegundes, Through St. Bathildes, Through St. Elizabeth, Through St. Margaret,
(All repeat) O Christ, King of Kings, save our country!
And thou, Queen of earth and Empress of Heaven, Immaculate Virgin, God's well-Beloved, the dawn which
goes before the noontide glory, the victory of the King of Kings, Virgin thrice holy, Mary, Help of
Christians! Prepare our salvation, O! prepare the ways of the Lord Jesus! . . . That through thee, Immaculate
Queen
404 HOLY HOUR
of Lourdes and Fatima, most glorious and most humble Queen of Loretto, through thee, Queen of the
Church, the Sun of Truth and Justice, thy Jesus may inspire public institutions and laws of the state. Obtain,
O Mary, that our country may one day become the prop of the immortal throne of Christ, the King! (All stand
before the altar for the last prayer)
Souls: Draw near, most sweet Master, and here in the midst of Thy children receive from their hands the
diadem which those who are mere dust and call themselves all-powerful wish to snatch from Thee, because
in the abasement of Thy humility they imagine that they can insult Thee from their lofty position!
Advance in triumph through this fervent meeting of Thy brethren. Do not hide the Wounds in Thy Hands and
Thy Feet . . . Do not adorn Thy Head already embellished with the royal purple of Thy Blood . . . Above all,
do not close the deep Wound of Thy Side, but open It wide. And thus, bloody King, clad in love's purple and
the tunic of opprobrium . . . not transfigured, Jesus, but as Thou wert on the frightful night of Holy Thursday
and the Ecce Homo of Good Friday, present Thyself to the eyes of our faith.
405 CHRIST THE KING
Come to receive the Hosannas of Thy Guard of Honor, keeping vigil for the glory of the Heart of Jesus, its
King!
All: Hail, Immortal King, Heart of Jesus!
Kings and rulers may trample the tables of Thy Law underfoot in their fury — but while they hurl from their
thrones into the oblivion of the tomb, we, Thy subjects, will continue to pray:
Lawgivers may say that Thy Gospel is out of date, and that it is their duty to abolish it in behalf of progress,
but, while they sink into the oblivion of the tomb, we, Thy adorers, will continue to pray:
The proud, the hardhearted rich, the worldlings may decree that Thy ethics belong to a by-gone age, and that
Thy demands destroy liberty of conscience; . . . but while they mingle their dust in the darkness and oblivion
of the tomb, we, Thy children, will continue to pray:
Ambitious seekers after honor and wealth, who lead the peoples astray with their false ideas of greatness and
deceitful liberty, will strike against
406 HOLY HOUR
the rack of Calvary and Thy Church; . . . and, while ground to powder they sink into the oblivion of the tomb,
we, Thine apostles, will continue to pray:
The heralds of a materialistic civilization, estranged from God and opposed to His Gospel, will die one day,
poisoned by their own false doctrines; . . . and while they go down into the tomb of oblivion, cursed by their
own children, we, Thy consolers, will continue to pray:
The Pharisees, the haughty, the libertines will grow old, plotting the destruction of Thy Church, and sink,
defeated, into eternal oblivion; . . . But we, Thy redeemed, will continue to pray:
Yes, Hail to the Immortal King! . . . While Lucifer, the angel of darkness, driven out of the home, the school,
and society, is cast headlong, forever chained, into the bottomless pit, we, Thy friends, will continue to pray
throughout eternity:
May He reign in the triumph of the Holy
407 CHRIST THE KING
Eucharist and of His Church! May His Sacred Heart reign forever!
31
Now, before we bid Thee good night this evening, brighter than the highest dawn, deign to accept, O King of
Glory, Beloved Jesus, one last ovation from Thy Guard of Honor: Hail, royal Crown of Thorns of my God
and my King! All: Christ conquers, Christ reigns, Christ commands! May His Kingdom come!
Hail, Scepter of a reed, Scepter of my God and my King!
All: Christ conquers, Christ reigns, Christ commands! May His Kingdom come!
Hail, mantle of royal purple, purpled with the Blood of my God and my King! All: Christ conquers, Christ
reigns, Christ commands! May His Kingdom come!
Hail, Holy Cross, bloody throne of my God and my King!
All: Christ conquers, Christ reigns, Christ commands! May His Kingdom come!
408 HOLY HOUR
Let us repeat five times, in Honor of the Five Wounds, in the name and behalf of our country, as a supreme
homage of loving reparation and of social adoration: -Sacred Heart of Jesus, may Thy Kingdom come!
All: Sacred Heart of Jesus, may Thy Kingdom come!
8 Act of Consecration to Christ the King
O sweet Savior and Redeemer of mankind, Jesus Christ, Who in the impenetrable designs of Thine Infinite
wisdom bearest with the audacity of the impious and sufferest the violence of the wicked, reserving to
Thyself the sovereign right of judging the impious man and his perverse works, turn Thy merciful regard
upon Thy children, who in the blindness of their hearts have turned from Thee in rebellion. With the eyes of
a Father, and with the power of the sovereign King of the universe, stretch forth Thy Hand to bless and
regenerate modern society, which is rebelliously turning its back upon Thee, the King of kings and Lord of
lords. Be moved to compassion for Thy people, whom Thou hast purchased with Thy Blood, regenerated
with Thy
409 CHRIST THE KING
grace, and exalted with Thy love. Thou hast given them true liberty, Thou hast called them to the inheritance
of Thy Father, Thou hast numbered them among Thy brethren; but in the delirium of their rebellion they have
preferred the slavery of Satan, and live in abject misery, without joy, without hope.
O My Lord Jesus Christ, King of Eternal Glory, Restorer of all things in heaven and on earth, Supreme
Omnipotence, Who with infinite wisdom reunitest at Thy Feet things scattered and dispersed; enlighten the
kings of the earth, the rulers of nations; instill Thy spirit into all civil institutions, into every form of
government, into laws and armies; grant that all the powers of earth may recognize in Thee the majesty of the
Eternal God, the source from which all authority is derived; illuminate the nations that they may understand
that Thou art the origin of rights and duties, that it is through Thee that the kings of the earth rule, and that it
is to Thee that kings and people alike owe obedience. O most Sweet Jesus, Who hast deigned to descend into
this valley of tears, and to dwell with us, suffering and dying for the salvation of us sinners, and Who in an
excess of charity hast set
410 HOLY HOUR
up Thy abode in the midst of men, hidden under the sacramental Species, and Who in the fullness of the
Godhead, corporeally present in our tabernacles, makest Thyself the food and life of our souls; O, receive the
humble but sincere and profound homage of our hearts, offered in reparation for the falling away of the
rebellious. We firmly believe in Thee and all that the faith infused into our hearts by the Holy Spirit has
revealed to us about Thee. We see in Thee the beginning and the end of all existing things; we' adore Thee as
the one true God; we wish to live only for Thee and in Thy service. Do Thou, O Lord, save our brethren,
reunite the scattered members of modern society gone astray, that we as brethren may together be one with
Thee, as Thou art one with Thy Father in Heaven. May Thy Will be done by all and in everything. May Thy
Majesty shine forth on the throne of Thy earthly dominion, and may the world confess Thee to be the true
Son of God, through Whom all things were created. Amen.
412
HOLY HOUR
Holy Hour
XIII
For the First Friday of November
ECCE HOMO! . . . Behold the Man of Sorrows, our Savior Jesus, behind the veil of this fragile Host! . . .
Kneeling, let us adore Him in the sweet and winning majesty of this mystery. If He is there, it is solely for
love of us, since in heaven there are millions of angels to serve Him.
Behold Him with eyes of faith! . . . He comes near to our souls and unveils Himself to us in the same manner
as He revealed Himself to His servant, St. Margaret Mary, despoiled of His glory, without pomp, without
diadem, as an outcast and as one persecuted . . . His Soul plunged in agony, His Eyes bathed in tears . . .
He is seeking a peaceful garden where He may pray in His agony. He comes to confide to us His secrets of
immense love and of infinite sorrow . . .
413 FIRST FRIDAY OF NOVEMBER
Be silent, brethren, and in the stillness of your soul forget the world. Leave for an instant the petty interests of
earth and listen to the Lord Jesus during this Holy Hour . . . Contemplate Him in pain, covered with Blood,
under the figure of the Ecce Homo as He appeared at Paray-le-Monial to her who was His messenger, in
order to demand from His friends a loving reparation.
O good Jesus, at the beginning of this Holy Hour, permit us to kiss, with childlike love and with heavenly
rapture, the precious Wound in Thy Side; and allow us to entrust to Thee in this kiss our whole soul to be lost
in the innermost depths of Thy agonizing Heart!
(Tell Jesus of the particular intentions you wish to pray for during this Holy Hour)
(Silence—pause)
Jesus: My children, will you offer in your hearts a loving refuge, a faithful shelter to your God ever beset by
the hurricane of sin? . . . You do not see My Body torn to pieces it is true, yet I have not ceased being
scourged . . . You do not perceive My countenance bathed in tears, yet the cruel thorns, however invisible,
are pressed still more deeply into My Head . . . You have not before your eyes the scene of My excessive
414 HOLY HOUR
anguish, My agony in the garden, but alas! the inexpressible bitterness of that agony ever fills to overflowing
the chalice of My abandoned Heart! Sin permits no respite from suffering . . . Iniquity, like an impetuous
torrent, inundates the earth to destroy the fruits of the redemption and to cause the ruin of souls purchased at
the cost of My Blood . . . And yet, what could I have done for My people that I have not done? . . . By the
immolation of My Body, of My Soul, of My Heart, and by the holocaust of Calvary, perpetuated in the
Eucharistic Sacrifice, have I not consummated the work of My love? . . . And despite all that, as an infernal
breath, sin penetrates consciences and extinguishes in them the life of love, which is My life.
O you, My friends, open to Me without delay the loving refuge of your hearts . . . Shelter Me from the cold,
murky night of sin which envelopes the world . . . Stretch forth your arms to Me like children toward their
father . . .
Oh, it is not the memory of Calvary that wounds Me . . . But the sins of each day; as a thousand arrows they
pierce my desolate soul! . . . Oh, give to your outraged Savior a tender and loving refuge in your
compassionate souls . . .
Souls: Jesus, King of our Altars and Sovereign of souls, come and establish Thy royal authority in our
hearts . . . Be not the guest of a day, but our Father and our Brother . . . be not a pilgrim, but a consoling
Redeemer and ever-blessed Lord . . . Come! . . . and if sin is unceasing, the homage of our humble reparation
will be still more constant . . .
Open Thy prison, Eucharistic Lord, and may the angels who surround Thy poor tabernacle unite with the
loyal friends of the Holy Eucharist in saying:
(Aloud)
All: Sacred Heart of Jesus, Thou wilt reign!
In spite of the desperate efforts of hell which seek at any cost to bring about the eternal loss of souls . . .
In spite of human frailty which leads so many toward the brink of eternal ruin . .
In spite of the fury of the enemies of Thy moral law, uncompromising because divine, and of Thy dogmas,
immutable because eternal . . .
416 HOLY HOUR
In spite of the attacks of misguided reasoning and the vain wisdom of the world which proudly flaunts itself,
endeavoring to destroy Thy altars . . .
In spite of the shameful license which many lax Christians would wish to set up as the natural law of
conscience . . .
In spite of the conspiracies which day and night are plotted against the Church, the home and the child . . .
In spite of the sacrilegious legality with which they endeavor to justify the numerous crimes against the
Divine Majesty . . .
In spite of the violent attacks of the press, of legislators, and of propagandists who conspire against Thy glory
and Thy social reign . . .
(Pray with all the fervor of your soul for the reign of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.)
Jesus: Tell Me why it is, My beloved confidants, that the children of darkness are often more prudent and
courageous than you, the children of My sorrow and My light . . . See My enemies, perpetually occupied in
isolating Me in the Tabernacle and even in overthrowing My altars . . . They give themselves no rest in their
desire to destroy My Church, to oppose and ruin My Priesthood, and to make Me disappear from the
consciences of men . . . And you . . . who are My own, what have you done? . . . How is it that you were not
generous enough to watch an hour with Me while I was in My agony? . . . How can you sleep so calmly with
your Savior agonizing and the enemy rabble coming to seize Him? . . . Is it thus that you prove your love for
your parents, your brothers, and your intimate friends? . . . Is it not then toward Me alone that you lack a
tender and devoted love? . . .
You promised Me generosity . . . I accepted and blessed your good will . . . but soon your courage weakened
and you forgot Me . . . I have pardoned your frequent wanderings, and you, My own, always at My side, you
live in the tranquillity of a sluggish indifference which cruelly wounds Me. A dull sleep of unconcern,
14
418 HOLY HOUR
of apathy, and of egoism engulfs your souls . . . Awaken from this tepidity . . . Rise up, for the enemy draws
near with insults for your God . . . with chains of servitude and death for you . . . Profit by this hour so
favorable for a sincere conversion . . .
Your Shepherd is about to be struck. Do not abandon Him, My little flock, but follow Him courageously,
even to Calvary, if needs be! . . .
(Pause)
Souls: What have I, O Crucified Savior, that Thou hast not given Me? . . .
Strengthen me, Jesus, that without wavering I may follow Thee in the sweet exactions of Thy grace and Thy
love . . .
What can I do if Thou dost not help me?

What am I if I am not united to Thee? And because I know my nothingness and weakness. I entreat Thee not
to withdraw Thy Hand from me. Do not allow me to stay away, even for a day, from Thy Tabernacle . . .
Forgive the faults which have so wounded Thee . . . My frailties are so numerous . . . Oh! pardon them and
forget all! . . .
Because the Blood Thou hast shed and the bitter death Thou hast endured are not for the
benefit of the angels who adore Thee, but for my benefit and for those so tepid and lax in the exercise of Thy
love, who forget and offend Thee . . . therefore, Jesus, while renewing during this Holy Hour my fervent
resolutions in Thy service, permit me to address Thee with all the ardor of my soul:
If I have denied Thee,' permit me to love Thee . . .
If I have injured Thee, let me bless Thee . . .
If I have offended Thee, let me serve Thee . . .
For to live without serving Thee, or to work without glorifying Thee, and not to spend oneself to hasten the
reign of Thy Heart, O Jesus, that would be to die without Thee! . . .
(Confess your lukewarmness to Jesus and ask Him for a persevering fervor.)
Jesus: Faithful souls, you are not very many to watch with Me during this Holy Hour . . . But your love is
great and sincere, it is true. Alas! immense and fathomless is the ocean of crime and perfidy which at this
hour fills My Soul with a deadly sadness . . . What an abyss of sin . . . what disorder in the human whirlwind
which passes before My Eyes this very hour!
420 HOLY HOUR
Infernal scenes . . . glimpses of sensuality in the theater where the scenes which renew My scourging are
applauded . . . If you but knew how My Soul is harrowed by the errors and abuses of modern civilization . . .
Among the festivities multiplied in the world, how many become for Me, your Father and your Savior, a
Praetorium and a Calvary . . .
Only you, My children of reparation, can understand somewhat My constant suffering on this cross raised by
those of My own household! Before Me pass again great cities . . . proud as Nineveh . . . depraved as
Babylon . . . where My doctrine is treated as intolerable exaggeration.
Listen to the clamor which rises from thousands of gatherings—from halls, banquets, ballrooms, and
theaters, like slimy surf, to insult the sanctity of My Gospel . . .
You, at least, My consolers, who have penetrated into My sorrow, put balm on My Wounds, stifle the
infernal voices by fervent and reparatory prayer . . .
Souls: O beloved Master, send down on those unfortunates who spend their life in sensual
pleasure, plunged madly into the material and passing joys, send down without delay not the avenging flames
of Divine Justice, but the fire of Thy merciful Love which purifies, which pardons and which saves . . .
For the many who squander their money and youth in the dissipation of worldly pleasures which offend Thee
...
(Aloud) All: My Jesus, mercy!
For those who traffic in public sins, in the depravity of morals and the perversion of consciences . . .
All: My Jesus, mercy!
For perverters, who through the press and bad literature, enrich themselves while leading souls to eternal
damnation . . .
For those who make a real sacrilegious profession of exciting evil passion through corrupt theaters, licentious
shows, and the profanation of art . . .
For those weak souls who, in defiance of Thy
422 HOLY HOUR
Law and the remorse of conscience, cooperate in the social scandal of luxury, of immoral fashions and the
indecent stage . . .
For the great number of those who falsifying their conscience and their Christian sense, see no grave danger
in the social revolt against Thy Holy Commandments . . .
For those who by their position, Jesus, should spare Thee the bitterness of these insults and who are not
opposed to them through timidity or because they wish selfish transactions with the world . . .
(Let us make reparation for the public and social sins in the entire world which offend our Lord Jesus.)
Jesus: O My people, inheritance of My Heart, what have I done to you? . . . or how have I grieved you? . . .
Answer Me? . . ..From this Host where I reside, I contemplate you night and day . . . O tribe of Israel, object
of My exquisite tenderness, little flock which has sworn to Me everlasting fidelity . . . Yes, from here, from
this altar, I look on those whom I have loved with predilection, those whom I have called to the banquet of
My love and of My glory . . . Alas! how many even among My faithful ones make My tears flow as did My
city, the ungrateful Jerusalem . . . How many who yesterday were the intimate friends of My Heart are today
ingrates in My regard! . . .
How many for the sake of vanity and pleasure abuse the talents which I had showered upon them to help
them do good and become saints! All were destined to sit on the glorious thrones among the princes of My
heavenly Kingdom . . . The crowns which they lose by their ingratitude will be given to the numerous
repentant sinners who have heard the appeal from My Heart in its agony . . .
To forget this offense so cruel, to sweeten the chalice of human ingratitude, I have requested from My
servant, Margaret Mary, the loving companionship and the atonement of the Holy Hour. During this Holy
Hour the tears I shed because of the desertion of My flock and the flight of My children are changed into
tears of blessings and of love for sinners.
I thirst for consolations . . . You at least,
424 HOLY HOUR
My adorers, weep with My priests between the vestibule and the altar, weep over the ungrateful children of
My own household.
(Pause or hymn)
Souls: Divine Savior Jesus, deign to cast a look of mercy on Thy children, who, united in the same
sentiments of mercy, faith, and love, come to deplore at Thy Feet their infidelities and those of poor sinners,
their brothers!
May we by the unanimous and solemn promises, which we are going to make, touch Thy Divine Heart to
obtain mercy for ourselves, for the unfortunate and sinful world, and for those who have not the happiness of
loving Thee . . .
Yes, from now on we all promise it . . .
For the neglect and ingratitude of men . . .
All: We will console Thee, O Lord.
For Thy abandonment in the Holy Tabernacle . . .
For the offenses of sinners . . .
For the hatred of the impious . . .

For the blasphemies cast against Thee . . .
For the insults to Thy Divinity . . .
For the sacrileges committed in the profanation of Thy Sacrament of Love . . .
For acts of immodesty and irreverence committed in Thy Adorable Presence . . ..
For the betrayals of which Thou art the Adorable Victim . . .
For the coldness of the greater number of Thy children . . .
For the disdain shown the advances of Thy love . . .
For the infidelity of those who would call Thee Friend . . .
426 HOLY HOUR
For our resistance to Thy graces . . .
For our own infidelities . . .
For the incomprehensible hardness of our hearts . . .
For our slowness in loving Thee . . .

All: We.will console Thee, O Lord.
For our cowardice in Thy holy service . . .
For the bitter sorrow caused Thee by the loss of souls . . .
For Thy long waiting at the doors of our hearts . . .
For the bitter scorn with which Thou art repulsed . . .
For Thy sighs of love . . .
For Thy tears of love . . .
For Thy captivity of love . . .
For Thy martyrdom of love . . .
O Jesus, Our Divine Savior, Thou Who hast allowed to escape from Thy Heart this sad plaint "I have sought
for those who would comfort Me, and have found none," deign to accept the humble tribute of our
consolation, and assist us so powerfully with the help of Thy Divine grace, that in the future, fleeing more
and more from everything that might displease Thee, we may prove ourselves in all circumstances Thy very
loyal and devoted children. We ask it from Thee through Thy Sacred Heart, O Thou Who being God with the
Father and Holy Spirit, livest and reignest for ever and ever.
(Ask pardon for the ingrafes who are so numerous)
Jesus: You know, victim souls, that I am
428 HOLY HOUR

perpetually crucified by those very ones whom I have come to redeem . . .
Alas! They are in truth very many, the powerful ones, the learned, those in high places voluntarily blind, who
by their conduct repeat those words of My accusers to Pilate, "If this Nazarene were not a malefactor, we
would not have delivered Him up to thee."
The haughty who wish no check over their intelligence and heart re-echo this same blasphemy. They find for
themselves judges who have the audacity to declare Me foolish, and they treat Me as the vilest of men . . .
Because for them I am a malefactor, they deliver Me up to the rabble, O bitter mockery, to safeguard the
national interest . . . Because they consider Me a malefactor, the press scourges Me . . . the rulers and
legislators, like Pilate, wash their hands and abuse their authority. They condemn Me to exile and to the
Cross under the cover of a so-called legality . . .
Behold the great crime of today, My children, to insult Me while invoking against Me reason, culture, and
law; to proscribe Me under the pretext that the national honor and law are incompatible with My rights! . . . I
continue to
be for the great number as you see, vermis et non homo, "a worm of the earth and not a man" . . . much less a
Master and a God!
O you, My very faithful friends, muffle with your praises the shouts of the multitude which assails My throne
and wishes in mockery to draw lots for My royal mantle . . . O you, acknowledge Me and bless Me with
love! . . .
Souls: Draw near, sweetest Master, and here among Thy children receive from their hands the crown of
royalty . . . which those who are nothing but dust would snatch from Thee because recognizing the depths of
Thy humility, they believe they can insult Thee from their pretended heights!
Advance triumphant in this fervent gathering of true brothers . . . Efface not the Wounds of Thy Hands and of
Thy Feet . . . Adorn not, embellish not Thy Head already so beautiful, empurpled by Thy Blood . . . Ah!
above all, close not . . . leave wide open the deep and celestial Wound in Thy Breast . . . Thus, O bloody
King, clothed with this purple of love and with the tunic of opprobrium . . . without transfiguring Thyself,
Jesus . . . just as Thou wert, the same Jesus of that appalling night of
430 HOLY HOUR
Holy Thursday, present Thyself to the eyes of our faith; come and receive the Hosanna of this guard of honor
which keeps vigil for the glory of Jesus Christ, its King!
All: Hail, the Heart of Jesus, our King!
Kings and rulers may trample under foot the tables of Thy laws, but while they fall from their thrones into the
tomb of oblivion, we, Thy subjects, will continue to acclaim Thee . . .
Lawmakers will say that Thy Gospel is a drawback, and that it is a duty to discard it in favor of progress . . .
but while they disappear into the tomb of oblivion, we, Thy adorers, will continue to acclaim Thee . . .
The proud, the worldly, the unworthy rich, may decree that Thy moral law is for bygone ages, that Thy
refusal to compromise kills liberty of conscience . . . but while they are lost in the tomb of oblivion we, Thy
children, will continue to acclaim Thee . . .
Those athirst for honors and riches who sell
to the nations a false greatness and a misleading liberty, will fall against the rock of Calvary and of Thy
Church . . . but while they go down annihilated into the tomb of oblivion, we, Thy apostles, will continue to
acclaim Thee . . .
The heralds of a materialistic civilization, aloof from God and in opposition to the Gospel, will one day die,
poisoned by their false doctrines . . . and while cursed by their own children they sleep in the tomb of
oblivion, we, Thy consolers, will continue to acclaim Thee . . .
The Pharisees, the proud, the impure, will have grown old planning the ruin, a thousand times decreed, of
Thy Church . . . and baffled, will lose themselves in the tomb of oblivion . . . while we, Thy ransomed ones,
will continue to acclaim Thee . . .
Oh, yes, love, honor, and glory to His Sacred Heart! And while Lucifer, angel of darkness, retreating from
firesides, schools, and societies, will bury himself, eternally chained, in the eternal
432 HOLY HOUR
abyss . . . we, Thy friends, will continue to acclaim Thee forever and ever . . .
Love, honor, and glory to Thine Adorable Heart in the triumph of Thy Eucharist and of Thy Church! . . .
Honor forever to Thy Sacred Heart! . . .
(Silence)
Jesus: I have loved Thee to excess, even unto Calvary . . .
Arriving at that summit, I obeyed in silence and stretched Myself on the infamous gibbet . . .
Since that time the crucifixion is constantly renewed in My Eucharist where I am at the mercy of other
executioners—the sacrilegious— and these, they know what they are doing.
If they do not believe in My Real Presence in the Divine Host, then why outrage this consecrated Bread? . . .
But if these unfortunate ones believe that I truly reside in the Tabernacle, why do they criminally desecrate
the God of Love and Mercy on the holy altar? . . . Ah, yes! Why? . . . Because hatred is a reality.
For a few pieces of vile money how many
communicate as Judas and deliver Me by a kiss into the hands of My very deadly enemies! . . . In infernal
dens where they conspire in secret against Me I have been pierced by the deicide's dagger . . . My tears have
wet the roads where the heirs of Judas, the profaners have trampled Me under foot since Holy Thursday.
Sacrilegious fires have burned churches and My Tabernacle in order to reduce to ashes the consecrated
Species when My Heart willed to remain in the Eucharist where I live to embrace the whole world in a fire of
saving charity . . . Ah, how many times unhappy wretches, coveting the golden ciborium wherein I reside,
have broken into that prison where Love holds Me . . . and have flung Me into the dust without a consecrated
stone on which to lay My bleeding Head! . . .
That vision of horror profoundly rent My Heart in the anguish of Gethsemane . . . You who pass by, consider
and see if there is a sorrow like unto Mine! . . .
(Let us make a most fervent, loving reparation for the horrible sacrileges which wound the Divine Prisoner
of the Altar. Let us ask His pardon for our offenses. Let us praise Him for those who ignore Him or hate
Him.)
434 HOLY HOUR
(Pause)
Souls: Hosanna! glory to God in the highest!—-glory, benediction and love to Thee, Eucharistic Lord! Yes,
glory to Thee in the incomprehensible annihilation of the Sacrament of Thy Love!
Let the Angels chant Thy praise, because Thou art, O God of the Tabernacle, the beatitude of Paradise!
Let the heavens and the earth, the seas, the mountains and the snow, the fields and the flowers, and the whole
universe, O Jesus-Hostia, chant Thy praises in exulting voices! . . .
Let the birds and the breezes praise Thee, O sweet Prisoner . . . Let the storms of nature and those of the
human soul chant Thy glory . . . Let the joyous beats of the human heart and its sobs exalt Thy greatness, O
Divine Captive of the Altar! . . .
Glory to Thee in the highest, yes, benediction and love to Thee in the incomprehensible annihilation of Thy
Adorable Eucharist! . . .
(Brief pause)
Jesus: Do not leave Me, privileged children, without having heard the complaints of a sorrow
that only fervent friends and faithful hearts like yours can feel in all its bitterness . . .
The profanation of the Tabernacle is not the only nor the greatest crime against My love and My Kingship;
there is another tabernacle more precious to Me and which knowingly rejects its Savior: it is the human
heart! . . . Even so, have I not loved it to excess! . . .
How Christians profane it with the poison of a pagan love! . . . That heart should be the chalice of all My
consolations, . . . the altar on which should burn as a pure incense the Christian and chaste love enjoined by
My Gospel . . . I have placed all My tears in that chalice to purify it . . . I have shed all My Blood in order to
strengthen it . . . I have offered the ardent flames of My Heart to satisfy its irresistible longing to love and be
loved . . . And, strange to say, this infinite gift does not suffice . . . Behold! the human heart still seeks
creatures . . . it leaves Me for them . . . It forgets Me in the delirium of pleasure which is neither love, nor
peace, nor life as it imagined it to be . . . That is why so many wretched ones with broken hearts suffer an
insatiable hunger which incites and delivers them up to their shameful passions . . .
436 HOLY HOUR
O you who have so much need of love . . . Come, come to Me . . . I am the King of Love Who keeps for
Himself the thorns and offers you the flowers of true joys . . . Will you come and quench your thirst . . . you
who burn with the fever of being loved to folly? . . . Come, for My Heart is the source of living water which
springs forth unto life eternal, come, but in return, give Me your heart . . .
(Pause)
Souls: Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, exercise Thy rights over us, Thy friends, making reparation . . .
Command us, Master . . . do not ask, do not solicit us as a beggar . . . but with loving sovereignty take all that
is ours . . . to Thee it belongs . . . If our hearts are poor Thou wilt know how to enrich them . . . We offer
them to Thee in the Immaculate Heart of Thy sweet Mother and by the hands of Thy servant, Margaret Mary,
we supplicate Thee to hasten the reign of Thy Divine Heart . . . Reject not these miserable hearts of ours
because they were once defiled by sin. Thou hast pardoned us and Thy mercies are without repentance! . . .
The persecuted Church and its august Head, the Sovereign Pontiff, our families, sinners, the
souls of the just, the souls in Purgatory, all, yes all of us expect from Thy omnipotence torrents of grace
promised to the prayer of the Holy Hour, source of consolation for Thee, Lord, and of miracles of mercy for
the world . . .
Remember us also who, like the Angel of Gethsemane, have come to Thee in Thy mystic agony. Deign to
take in hand our interests, our troubles, our hopes; and watch over our whole lives which we place in the
Wound opened by the soldier in Thy Sacred Side. And now Lord receive our farewell prayer: Agonizing
Heart of Jesus, our souls confide to Thee all their trials!
Loving Heart of Jesus, these mothers confide to Thee their husbands and their children, the treasures of their
homes . . .
Amiable Heart of Jesus, these poor exiles confide to Thee their future with all its insecurity . . .
Sweetest Heart of Jesus, these prodigal children confide to Thee their weakness and their sin and repentance .
..
Benign Heart of Jesus, Thy friends confide to Thee the peace and salvation of their families . . .
438 HOLY HOUR
Compassionate Heart of Jesus, tormented souls confide to Thee their interior pangs of conscience . . .
Humble Heart of Jesus, these adorers confide to Thee their ardent desires for the triumph of Thy love in the
Holy Sacrament . . .
Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, the world troubled by the presence of death finds refuge there where a blessed
lance uncovered for us the source of life . . . Keep us there for all eternity . . .
Come, O Jesus, be our Friend in the deep sadness of our exile here below . . .
Come, O Jesus, be our Brother in the chaste joys of Christian love . . .
Come, O Jesus, be our King in the temptations and storms which trouble souls and society . . . From the
height of Thy Eucharistic Throne calm the tempest. Render serene our darkened sky by causing to shine the
Sun of peace and of tenderness, that is, Thy Heart all-powerful in its love.
Final Supplication of St. Margaret Mary to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Hide us, O sweet Savior, in the Wound of
Thy Side, burning hearth of pure love. There we shall be safe.
We choose Thy Heart in which to dwell, with the firm confidence that It will be our strength in the fight
against evil, the support which will sustain our weakness, our guide and our light in darkness, the repairer of
all our faults, the sanctification of our intentions and of our acts. We wish to act in union with Thee and to
offer Thee our actions so that they will be a continual preparation for the reception of Thy Sacrament of
Love.
To give Thee honor in Thy state of Victim in this mystery of faith we come also to offer ourselves as hosts—
begging Thee to be the sacrificing Priest-Thyself and to immolate us on the Altar of Thy Sacred Heart.
But as we are indeed unworthy, we pray Thee, Lord Jesus, to purify us and to consume us as a perfect
holocaust of love in the flames of Thy Sacred Heart, in order that we may obtain a new life and be able to say
in all sincerity, "We are nothing of ourselves; living or dead, Jesus is our All." Our will is to belong entirely
and eternally to His Divine Heart!
May Thy Kingdom come!
440 HOLY HOUR
441 FIRST FRIDAY OF DECEMBER
Holy Hour
XIV
For the First Friday of December
The Five Principal Requests of the Sacred Heart to Saint Margaret Mary
You have come to look for Jesus . . . Behold Him in this divine Host. It is He . . . It is truly Jesus! . . .
It was there, in the Tabernacle, that His handmaiden, Margaret Mary, saw Him; . . . it was from the Host that
she heard the voice of Jesus, His plaints and the sobs of His Eucharistic Heart rent by the torments of love
and of human ingratitude . . .
You have come to look for Him? . . . Do not doubt that you have really found Him . . . Behold Him! It is
indeed He, the God of an infinite tenderness, the merciful Lord of Gethsemane and of Paray-le-Monial . . . It
is Jesus!
Let us in company with Margaret Mary, the chosen one of the Sacred Heart, visit the humble
Holy Hours
Holy Hours
442 HOLY HOUR
and mysterious chapel of the great revelations. With head bowed down and soul overflowing with heavenly
fervor, let us adore our Lord Who wishes to talk to us during this Holy Hour about the sorrows, the desires,
and the victories of His Divine Heart . . .
You have come to see Him and to talk intimately with Him . . . Behold Him! . . . It is truly Jesus, Jesus
Himself ! . . .
(Pause)
(On this first Friday of the month, let us beseech Him to forgive us our faults, our infidelities and our
lukewarmness; but, at the same time, let us thank Him, in union with Mary, for the countless graces and
favors, which His Loving Heart has showered upon us.)
I. Our Lord asks for frequent
Communion in a spirit of reparation
Jesus: Lift up your eyes, My children, and look at Me though you are covered with confusion because of
your sins. Look upon Me . . . do not fear, for I am Jesus . . . Jesus, the God of charity, Who forgives you
because He loves you.
Come to My Holy Table; I am cold and I wish
FIRST FRIDAY OF DECEMBER
443
to feel the warmth of your love. Come to communicate fervently and frequently in the name of so many
Christians, who, alas, never receive this Holy Sacrament! If you knew the immense desolation which fills My
Soul when, stretching forth My Hands like a beggar, I ask the ingrate and the indifferent for their hearts
which they refuse Me! . . .
Ah! how often in the evening I come back to My Tabernacle alone with My sorrow after having been
repulsed by thousands of creatures! . . .
But My Heart, the Heart of the Good Shepherd, never wearies of men, is never disillusioned with men . . . In
spite of their rebuffs, I renew My appeals to them, I insist, I implore . . . Sometimes at nightfall, My Feet are
bleeding, . . . but My Love has succeeded in winning at last the heart of a child, of a pauper, who accepts a
place at My Eucharistic Banquet . . .
Dearly loved souls, this indifference wounds Me cruelly . . . Who can number those who spend a long life
without ever tasting the delights of Holy Communion! . . . And yet the Sacred
444 HOLY HOUR

Host is man's glorious and exclusive heritage, his anticipated Heaven! . . .
I thirst for love!
I have a burning thirst to be loved in this Sacrament of Love and I find so few who, according to My desire,
try to quench My Thirst, by making Me some return.
I have an infinite thirst to give Myself to souls, to all souls, in My Eucharist!
Come, My chosen friends, receive Me to atone in a spirit of loving reparation . . . repair by your fervor the
absence of the many who ignore this heavenly gift. Give Me that which so many ingrates refuse Me: the holy
kiss of a fervent Communion; keep Me as the habitual Guest of your hearts to make up for the innumerable
Christians who, absorbed by the world, forget that in the Tabernacle resides their Savior and their God under
the appearances of the Eucharistic manna . . .
I wish to be for your spiritual life an element more necessary than air and blood are for your natural life . . . I,
your Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, wish to be your soul itself . . . the life of your life . . .
445
I am the living Bread, the heavenly food of your soul. By Holy Communion I live in you and you in Me, in
order to be one with you until the indissoluble union of eternal life.
Come to Me without more delay . . . fly to My altar and promise Me the consolation of frequent Communion
of reparation.
Will you be insensible to My love and My plaints? . . . Answer Me, My children . . . Answer Me that you
give Me your hearts!
(Pause)
(God anxiously awaits our answer. Give it to Him wholeheartedly.)*
Souls: As the hart panteth after the fountains of water, so we, the faithful friends of Thy Heart, run to Thee . .
. O never-failing Source! O Life divine! . . . O ineffable Paradise! O Eucharistic Jesus! . . . O Lord, these are
not empty words which we address to Thee during this Holy Hour, but a solemn promise to live by the
Eucharist and to atone for the ingratitude of so many Christians who never approach the Holy Table . . .
Be touched by this resolution and from Thy
446 HOLY HOUR
Altar deign to accept our prayer, gracious Prisoner of the Tabernacle.
Come . . . we adore Thee, Jesus, in this Sacrament, divine Lover of our hearts.
(All together, aloud) All: Kindle in us an ardent thirst for the
Holy Eucharist.
Come . . . we adore Thee, Jesus, in this Sacrament of Love. All: Kindle in us an ardent thirst for the
Holy Eucharist.
Come . . . we adore Thee, Jesus, in this Sacrament of infinite sweetness. All: Kindle in us an ardent thirst for
the
Holy Eucharist.
Come . . . we adore Thee, Jesus, in this Sacrament, the very source of all holiness. All: Kindle in us an ardent
thirst for the
Holy Eucharist.
Come . . . we adore Thee, Jesus, in this Sacrament divine. All: Kindle in us an ardent thirst for the
Holy Eucharist.
Come . . . we adore Thee, Jesus, in this Sacrament, source of ineffable consolation.
447
All: Kindle in us an ardent thirst for the Holy Eucharist.
Come . . . we adore Thee, Jesus, in this Sacrament, source of supernatural hope.
Come . . . we adore Thee, Jesus, in this Sacrament, pledge of everlasting life.
Come . . . we adore Thee, Jesus, in this Sacrament of infinite graciousness.
Come . . . we adore Thee, Jesus, in this Sacrament, unfailing source of peace.
Come . . . we adore Thee, Jesus, in this Sacrament which gives a light that will never be extinguished.
448 HOLY HOUR
Come . . . we adore Thee, Jesus, in this Sacrament containing all celestial delights.

Come . . . we adore Thee, Jesus, in this Sacrament, pledge of unfading glory.
(Pause)
(Let us not forget that what we came to tell Jesus is not a word of passing enthusiasm, but a firm resolution,
a serious promise to go to Holy Communion very often in the spirit of reparation.)
(Pause or hymn)
II. The celebration of the First Friday of each month
Jesus: Your generous love consoles Me . . . I feel comforted by your promise . . .
Listen, My beloved children, to another desire of your Lord and your God . . . I ask that the First Friday of
each month be especially devoted to consoling Me . . . I wish to feel you nearer my Divine Heart that day,
and to shower you
Mystery of faith and love, center and fountain of Christian life
with the graces I reserve for the most faithful souls, for My best friends.
Let this day of love, reparation, and consolation be consecrated to Me with special tenderness. Celebrate it by
praising Me with particular fervor. Oh, you, who understand Me better than the world does, come to
Communion each first Friday. Come, with love like that of the Seraphim, to visit Me in the Holy Eucharist . .
. Take the place of John, My beloved disciple. Speak to Me in the language of Margaret Mary, My happy
confidante.
Then, silent and recollected, your head on My Heart, your soul warmed by the flames of My charity, tell Me
all that troubles and interests you; name to Me those dear to you, those who are faithful to Me, and also those
who grieve Me.
Confide in Me your great desires for holiness, your ambitions for My glory. Expose to Me your miseries and
pains; lay before Me your weaknesses and open up to Me your entire soul . . .
The First Friday will be until the end of time a day of grace, a day of mercy . . . Take full advantage of it, My
friends, for the benefit of your dear home, and for sinners.
15
450 HOLY HOUR
On this day pray especially for My priests and apostles, intercede for them . . . that they may become saints
and may sanctify the souls I have confided to them . . .
And now listen to My words. They will be the pledge of an infinite reward to you.
"I promise thee, in the exceeding great mercy of My heart, that Its all-powerful love will grant to all those
who will receive Holy Communion on nine consecutive first Fridays of the month, the graces of final
repentance, of not dying in My disfavor and without receiving the Sacraments, and that My Divine Heart will
become their assured refuge at the last moment."
My beloved, what response do you make to this promise, which, one would say, exhausts My almighty
power, by giving you My Divine Heart for time and eternity? . . .
(Pause)
(Although even in Heaven it will be impossible to acknowledge worthily so many benefits, nevertheless let us
try to begin here below our eternal thanksgiving by a humble and fervent prayer.)
Souls: O Jesus, not content with opening to us the treasures of Thy Merciful Heart, Thou
dost promise us, as a reward, on fulfillment of the obligation we have of loving Thee, the gift of Thy very
Self, the possession of heaven, because Thou art God . . . But what can we poor mortals offer Thee in
exchange for Thy bounty and how can we thank Thee for having freely loved us . . . unto the folly of the
Cross, and the Eucharist! . . . Oh, that we but had at this moment, the virginal love of John, the ardent and
generous faith of Peter, the tears of Magdalen, the spirit of immolation of Margaret Mary, but above all, the
Immaculate Heart of Thy Mother, with its incomparable riches so as to satisfy Thee and to die now at Thy
Feet, consumed by burning love!
Lord, we promise Thee from now on that the first Friday of the month, which Thou Thyself hast chosen as a
day of reparation, shall from the break of day until the close thereof be given to Thee.
In every throb of our hearts, Thou wilt find, Jesus, a word, a sigh, a new outburst, to tell Thee our love, our
gratitude, and our immense desire to console Thee . . .
In return, beloved Master, we ask Thee for a
452 HOLY HOUR
grace, only one . . . that Thou dost continue to forgive us, despite the countless and continual weaknesses of
our will so sickly and so frail.
Have pity on us, Lord! . . . O Merciful Heart of Jesus, do not weary of us!
(Aloud, together)
All: Heart of Jesus, do not weary of us!
When we call Thee, O Jesus, because we feel our heart weaken and our love for Thee growing cold . . .
When we call Thee, O Jesus, in the inevitable temptations and when our faith weakens and wavers . . .
When we call Thee, O Jesus, in the exhaustion caused by a life of struggle and incessant sacrifice . . .
When we call Thee, O Jesus, in the despondency occasioned by deceptions as painful as they are unforeseen .
..
When we call Thee, O Jesus, in hours of
perplexity, in the anguish of painful doubt . . . All: Heart of Jesus, do not weary of us!
When we call Thee, O Jesus, to our homes to soothe and heal those intimate worries and misfortunes that no
one but Thou canst cure . . .
When we call Thee, O Jesus, as the Good Samaritan, to the bedside of a sick soul who needs Thy great mercy
...

When finally we call Thee, O Jesus, in our last hour to give us our last embrace in Holy Communion, . . . Oh!
come without delay, in order to bring us life eternal . . .
(Brief pause)
Lord Jesus, in response to Thy request, we wish to pray for Thy beloved priests, for those who minister at
Thy altar and for Thy apostles. Give them, Adorable Savior, the light of a most vivid faith . . . And grant
them the gift of loving Thee with a burning charity and also grant them the treasure of a humility, which will
stand any test . . . Kindle in them, 'O Jesus, immense desires of being saints really holy, and
454 HOLY HOUR
a passionate zeal for Thy glory . . . And, Jesus, since the harvest is so great, increase the number of truly holy
reapers in the field of Thy Church, and send workers according to Thine Own Heart into Thy Vineyard . . .
(Pray for the Sovereign Pontiff. Offer the good works of the first Friday, especially for the sanctification of
priests . . .
May Jesus deign to reveal to us His desires, and may His Voice, which enraptures the angels of the
sanctuary, teach us the way which leads to His Sacred Heart . . .)
(Pause)
III. The Holy Hour
Jesus: All of you are particularly dear to Me because you have responded to My call . . . Know that the love
and compassion of your souls were a delicious and sweet consolation to Me in My hour of agony in
Gethsemane . . . My Heart, bruised by sorrow, discerned you then in the shadows of the Garden of Olives . . .
you were there very close to Me.
You love Me . . . Oh, yes! I know it. You love Me more than many others. And because you give evidence of
more fidelity than the greater number
of your brethren, you have a better right to My confidence . . . I asked the Holy Hour of My spouse, Margaret
Mary, as much to appease My Father's rigor by imploring mercy for sinners, as also to sweeten the bitter
abandonment by My Apostles, whose lack of generosity forced Me to reproach them for not having been able
to watch one hour with Me . . .
What consolation to see you here after the example of Margaret Mary, sharing in all the horrors, the
abandonments and the tortures of My Agonizing Heart!
Dear friends, mount this guard of honor with an ardent charity, in a spirit of reparation to hasten the coming
of My Reign, and to obtain the conversion of unfortunate sinners. Pray, watch with Me. Do not abandon Me
at the moment when I must taste the bitter chalice of My Passion. I will not ask for help from the heavenly
legions. It is you I wish as witnesses of My Agony. I wish that those whom I have redeemed by My Blood be
here to gather these precious drops which flow from My Veins . . . I wish to be supported, not by an angel,
but by My very faithful friends . . . My wounded, agonizing Heart, source of My Tears is this
4S6 HOLY HOUR
Heart of your Savior and your Brother . . . your inheritance, yes, really yours, that shall never be taken away
from you!
"Behold, the hour is at hand when the Son of man shall be betrayed." Make Him then your Captive, and the
Royal Prisoner of your homes. Is it not with this purpose that you surround Me now close to this altar? Draw
then very near, I am Jesus of Nazareth . . . Here are My Feet, here are My Hands, I deliver Them to you, bind
Them with the fetters of a very great love, but above all, take My Sacred Heart that It may be forever the
Prisoner of yours.
Jesus: And now, My consolers, what more would you have? . . . What do you ask of Me? . . .
(Aloud, together)
All: To love and glorify Thy Sacred Heart!
Jesus: But are you forgetting your earthly interests? . . . What do you wish from Me as a supreme
reward? . . . Speak, command!
Jesus: What? Do you not desire some temporal blessings of fortune or health? Speak!
What do you ask in exchange for this Holy Hour?
Jesus: My dearly loved children, your generosity touches Me deeply . . . Do not fear; tell Me what I can give
you, what treasures can I heap upon you for your generous forgetfulness of self?
Jesus: Dear souls, that is the language of saints . . . You have overwhelmed Me, by speaking thus . . . But tell
Me without more delay what do you long for?
Jesus: By answering Me thus you abandon yourself without reserve to My Will . . . You enrapture entirely
My Heart; command then, disclose your most secret wishes to It . . . What are they?
Jesus: But amidst the trials and bitterness of life . . . with its deceptions from the fleeting love of creatures,
do you ask no relief or consolation of Me? . . . What soothing balm do you wish Me to give you?
458 HOLY HOUR
Jesus: And for this great desire to love Me, for this insatiable thirst to glorify Me, what anticipated reward do
you claim during this life? . . .
Jesus: I looked for those who would comfort Me and I have found them in spirit and truth . . . But, for the
hour of your agony, when you are already taking leave of earth, what do you ask of Me for having by this
Holy Hour consoled your God in His Agony?
(Promise the Sacred Heart to continue all during your life the beautiful practice of the Holy Hour and to
spread this devotion so fruitful for salvation.)
IV. The devotion to the Sacred Heart
Jesus: My little children, enemies without number surround you . . . The storm rages furiously about you; it
rises from the infernal abyss where My Name is cursed and where those who would not accept the help of
My grace in the struggle are cast for all eternity . . . The satanic fury stirs up a deadly hurricane
which seeks the destruction of souls . . . but fear not; I have conquered the world and hell. Remain in peace . .
. Behold I have prepared a sign, a standard of victory which will insure the world's happiness! . . . It is My
adorable Heart! . . . Fall on your knees and trembling with immense love, accept It . . . receive It with holy
joy . . . Then adore It, yes, adore It with the most profound gratitude, for It is the Heart of your God and
Savior, Who has loved you unto folly.
I speak to you now with the beats of My Heart, which offers only pardon and mercy . . . It is with groans that
It begs you to love Him above everything on earth and in heaven.
By the thorns which pierce My Head, by the Cross which consummates My martyrdom, and especially by the
deep and bleeding Wound of My Side, I conjure you to procure for My Sacred Heart an immense glory . . . to
make It better known, to make It far better loved by so many unfortunate souls who have need of that
miraculous source of resurrection and of life.
Come, you the banished from an earthly
460 HOLY HOUR

paradise who look for quiet and happiness . . . fear not, enter into the Wound of My Side. There you will find
consolation and hope, reserved for you by a God Who is all love . . .
Come, you, the unfortunate ones of life, so numerous in the world . . . Come, you who are very often
deceived by the wealth and esteem of men . . . Fear not, enter into the Wound of My Side; you will find there
in the midst of the world's trials, light, rest and unknown delight.
Come, come quickly, O you whose soul has found only bitterness in the poisoned pleasures of earth . . . Enter
at the dawn of youth or at the evening of life. Do not delay; enter into the Wound of My Side even if it be the
eleventh hour, and you will find there a Paradise of eternal peace, a happiness without end . . .
Yes, come all . . . Longinus with the lance opened the doors of My loving Heart . . . I have widened this
redeeming Wound . . . and I eagerly call the just and the sinners, the ingrates, and the afflicted, and I offer
them all, in this divine Wound, an abode of ineffable peace . . . He who consecrates himself to the love and
the glory of My Sacred Heart . . . will have life superabundant, eternal!
(Pause)
Souls: Have pity, sweet Jesus! . . . Remember Thou hast promised victory to the armies which combat under
the Labarum of Thy Sacred Heart! . . .
(Aloud, together)
All: Remember Thy promises, O Divine Heart!
Have pity, sweet Jesus! . . . Remember Thou hast promised peace to the homes which lovingly enthrone the
image of Thy Sacred Heart . . .
Have pity, sweet Jesus! . . . Remember Thou hast promised to convert the most hardened sinners by the
mysterious strength of Thy Sacred Heart . . .
Have pity, sweet Jesus! . . . Remember Thou hast promised to soothe the pains of afflicted souls who demand
the consolations of Thy Sacred Heart.
462 HOLY HOUR
Have pity, sweet Jesus! . . . Remember Thou hast promised to melt the ice of religious indifference by
enkindling the world with ardor of Thy Sacred Heart . . .

Have pity, sweet Jesus! . . . Remember, above all, that Thou hast promised that Thy friends, consolers and
the apostles of Thy Sacred Heart shall sleep forever in Thy Arms in a calm and holy death . . .
(Recommend now to the Heart of Jesus your most intimate intentions.)
(Pause or hymn)
V. The institution of a most solemn feast in honor of the Sacred Heart
Jesus: Do you know, My beloved children, why I am drawn to you with such a marvelous effusion of
tenderness? Listen to Me! . . .
I love you so passionately, because I am in a sense your debtor by being the Eldest of Mankind . . . by being
Jesus, Son of Mary and your
Brother . . . Your immense wretchedness, your utter helplessness, your unhappiness without remedy . . . in
fine the vast abyss of your nothingness and of your innumerable miseries attracts the infinite abyss of My
mercy. It is because of you and for you then, that I have a created Heart, a wounded Heart like yours, which
bears the bloody testimony of your redemption, so that you may believe in My love and that you may give
Me yours too!
It is My wish, then, that this alliance of My mercy and your weakness should have a magnificent, mystic
wedding day, a day of celestial rejoicing, the prelude of our eternal union . . .
That is why I have asked that the first Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi should become a special, very
solemn feast to honor My Sacred Heart.
I wish that this day, called the classical day of My Divine Heart, be the great feast of those who suffer, who
live near Me in the shadow of the Tabernacle, of pardoned sinners, the feast par excellence of My infinite
Mercy.
Come to Me on this feast, My little ones: Come, the poor, the afflicted, come, the abandoned, the
464 HOLY HOUR
neglected, the sinners . . . Come that you may celebrate with Me the mysteries of My love, My Incarnation,
My sorrowful Passion and My ever-abiding presence in the Blessed Sacrament; come that you may receive
on this feast the promised fruits of peace, mercy and salvation.
You, My children, celebrate with great splendor this Passover of My mercies. May it be a great feast in your
souls by very intimate union with My Divine Heart. Receive Me very fervently in holy Communion that day
as a reparation to make up for the indignities of which My Heart has been the object ever since It has been
exposed on the altars . . .
Let it be also a feast of grateful joy in your homes, where you must acclaim Me the victorious King Who has
triumphed over your families by His tenderness and meekness . . . a glorious feast in the Parishes and
Communities, a universal feast in the Church to exalt forever, from generation to generation, the
inexhaustible tenderness of My most loving Heart.
(Promise the Sacred Heart to celebrate with holy joy this feast as a family feast, at the foot of the altar and in
your homes)
(Pause)
Lord, Jesus, let us sing a hymn of thanksgiving, a hymn which the angels themselves do not know how to
intone because they have never sinned, because they have never tasted Thy merciful forgiveness or the
ineffable delights of the Holy Eucharist—the food of mortals . . . We, Thy pardoned ones, whose eyes have
been bathed in tears of sorrow and gratitude, we who have need of Thy presence in order to persevere on the
road of life, we wish to address to Thee as an ardent petition, the prayer of the disciples on the way to
Emmaus: Heart of Jesus, "Stay with us."
(Aloud, together)
All: Heart of Jesus, stay with us!
Thank Thee, O Lord, in the name of many ransomed sinners . . . And when our slackness and temptations
would draw Thee from our feeble and powerless souls . . . Good Master, do not leave us!
Thank Thee, O Lord, in the name of the many sorrowful Thou hast consoled . . . And when, in Thy name and
for Thy glory, sorrow visits and tortures our souls . . . Good Master, do not leave us!
466 HOLY HOUR
Thank Thee, O Lord, in the name of the many souls who have been strengthened by hope in Thee . . . And
when the hardships of life weary us grievously . . . Good Master, stay with us!
Thank Thee, O Lord, in the name of the many who have been deceived, but who now, happily, have been
enlightened by Thy grace . . . And when ingratitude rends our souls and detaches us from creatures . . .
Master, do not leave us!
Thank Thee, O Lord, in the name of the many fallen and miserable souls now regenerated by Thy merciful
love . . . And when through frailty we would be exposed to the awful death of sin . . . Master, do not leave us!

Yes, thank Thee, O Lord, for the many dying saved at the eleventh hour . . . And when agony warns us that
the hour of inexorable justice draws near, O Redeemer and Master, do not leave us!
Yes, stay with us in that moment of supreme
agony when all the disillusionments of earth vanish before the dazzling splendor of the infallible Tribunal
from which there is no appeal . Jesus at that terrible hour be near to us . . . give us strength to call upon Thee
and to remind Thee of Thy promises . . . give us courage to ask Thee to read our decisive sentence in that
book of life, where Thou hast written our names . . . Oh! sentence us with the benignity and tenderness of
Thy merciful Heart! . . . Thy Kingdom come! . . .
(Invocations for the Last Agony)
O Divine Sufferer of Gethsemane, Eucharistic Jesus, here are the faithful witnesses of Thy mortal agony in
the Garden of Olives who come to ask the supreme grace promised to the consolers and apostles of Thine
afflicted Heart...
Lord, we do not pray Thee for health, fortune, or a long life. No, but we entreat Thee that in the supreme
struggle of our agony Thou mayest stretch forth Thine arms to us . . . Oh! show us then the burning Wound in
Thy Side and permit us, O sweet Jesus, when dying, to breathe forth our last sigh of praise, of love, and of
atonement in the heavenly Wound of Thy Sacred Heart . . .
468 HOLY HOUR
In that hour when our childhood, our youth, our whole life with all its failings comes before our mind,
remember Thy promises, beloved Jesus, show us the burning Wound in Thy Side . . . Oh! reveal Thy Heart to
us to calm our agonizing hearts . . . When in that decisive moment we will wish to grasp an anchor of
salvation and to embrace Thy Cross and to beg for pardon . . . when groaning we will call Mary to our aid
and stammer Thy name . . . ah! . . . though our lips will not be able to pronounce it, Thou, Jesus, Who didst
offer Thy life for our lives, Thou who embraced us at the table of Communion, Thou who didst smile on us
because we consoled Thee in the Holy Hour . . . draw then near to us, most sweet Savior, and pointing out to
us the Wound of Thy Side . . . reveal Thy tender Heart to us to calm our agonizing hearts . . .
Recall, Jesus, in that decisive hour, how much we wished to love Thee and remember not our tepidity . . . and
recall how much we prayed and worked to save souls and remember not our sins . . . recall our efforts to have
Thee enthroned as King of love and remember not our ingratitude . . . Oh! . . . recall that Thou hast written
our names where they can never be effaced! . . .
We do not ask Thee for the joys of earth, nor for the flattery of false glory or of human love . . . We implore
Thee that in our agony's mortal anguish Thou deignst to show us the burning Wound in Thine open Side, O
Jesus, and to let us breathe forth our last as a supreme prayer of love, of adoration, and atonement in the
heavenly Wound of Thy Sacred Heart!
Now and at the hour of our death: Thy Kingdom Come! . . .
Hour and the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart in families.
A Pater and an Ave for the particular intentions of those present.
470 HOLY HOUR
XV
Holy Hour
For the Apostles of the Sacred Heart who, by suffering, prayer, the Holy Eucharist, and
love, spread and strengthen Its Social Reign.
Especially dedicated to Contemplative Communities.

Thou hast called us, Jesus, in Thy immense Mercy to share the glory of the preachers and missionaries of
Thy adorable Heart . . . We thank Thee! . . .
Thou wishest that on our part and known only to Thee we also should be fishers of souls and of families for
Thee, Jesus, Who art the King of Love . . . We thank Thee! . . .
In Thy Name, invested with Thy power, and believing with a firm faith in Thy love and Thy promises, we
will let down our nets in the dark of night . . . Because of Thy fidelity, we are certain that one day those nets
will break under
471 APOSTLES OF THE SACRED HEART
the weight of the promised miraculous draught of fishes . . . We have no need, Good Master, to see the
miracle with our own eyes . . . We firmly believe that the miracle will take place, because Thou art Jesus,
because we are living in the providential hour of Thy adorable Heart, . . . because Thou hast promised that
miracle of love, Thy reign in souls, to Thy confidante Margaret Mary; she became in Thy Hands, not by
words, but by prayer, suffering, and love, a docile instrument of Thy admirable designs.
Like her, we must also preach by our intimate apostolate the glory of Thy merciful Heart. Oh! grant us then,
Lord, the inestimable grace of enrolling us in that army, which battles in our day to hasten the victory of Thy
Divine Heart over souls, families, societies, and nations.
Through Mary, the Queen of the Cenacle, we entreat Thee, Jesus, to multiply those who pray as did Moses,
and to uphold their suppliant arms until the apostle-soldiers of the plains have enthroned Thy victorious
standard in families and nations.
Behold the praying army! Behold the legion of Cyrenian apostles! Behold the ciboriums filled with t Thy
hosts, who await from Thee, King
472 HOLY HOUR
of the Tabernacle, the supreme lesson of the apostolate! . . . Thy glory is in question, Lord; speak, then, and
give us light and fire from Thy Sacred Heart! . . .
Let us ask the grace to relish and penetrate the sublime teachings of such exceptional interest for the Reign of
His Sacred Heart, that our Lord wishes to give us during this Holy Hour. Let us say in silence a fervent
prayer.
Jesus: Lift up your eyes and see: the harvest is white, completely ripe. It awaits the harvesters . . . But,
children, do not imagine that the apostolate belongs exclusively to the sowers and reapers. What is, in effect,
an apostle if not a chalice filled to overflowing with My Blood and My Life, and pouring out on the world
that overflow from his burning heart?
Come you also into My vineyard, and ask during this Holy Hour that I may find many other apostles like
you, apostles leading the silent, interior life . . . ,
Oh! brilliant preachers are not lacking to Me. But what use is their high-sounding speech if it be not animated
by Me, the Word. It is that Word alone, the Word made flesh, not noisy eloquence, Who conquers souls . . .
Those souls who love Me with a great love, with an ardent, passionate love, of necessity radiate that love,
and I Myself spread it far from them, indeed, very far.
Souls consecrated to Me really preach and work as apostles only to the extent to which they have deeply
enthroned Me in their own inner life . . .
They give themselves to Me . . . and through them, I, in My turn, give Myself to souls . . .
But I keep jealously the secret of their mysterious fecundity. It is a revelation of glory I reserve for them for
Heaven's days of glory . . .
I. The apostolate of "prayers" breaks the ground, opens the furrow, engenders vocations, converts sinners.
Do you know who ploughs the furrow and prepares the field for the seed? Those souls who pray in union
with My Sacred Heart! . . .
Oh! what splendid workers they are! . . . They clear the ground . . . Sometimes they buy new and precious
fields by their fervent prayers . . . Although My angels are instrumental in these miracles, yet there are
interior souls, prayerful souls, who call them forth to work the wonders.
474 HOLY HOUR
There are too many who talk and act more than they pray! . . . You have experienced it, so I come to repeat to
you the great, the sublime lesson of Nazareth . . .
In the humble little house at Nazareth, by My Mother's side I preached for thirty long years! In that sanctuary
of silence in union with Mary I prepared My public apostolate and My miracles.
At Nazareth I chose My Apostles and laid the foundation of My Church . . . In Nazareth, praying constantly
to My Father, I made ready the Passover of the Last Supper and that of My glory, through My saints, My
martyrs, and My apostles . . .
I wish this great truth to be the daily and substantial food in houses of prayer and retreat, the daily bread of
souls consecrated to Me.
My friends of Bethany, those families whose homes are sanctuaries of My Divine Heart, should also feed on
this substantial bread. I have a right to expect that these Bethanies of My love, following My example,
understand and exercise this apostolate of Nazareth.
Pray, then, My children, you the friends of My
Sacred Heart, . . . pray that all, absolutely all. may become My apostles, the precursors of a victory which
you will have prepared.
Pray, . . . pray very much because the efforts of this apostolate begets in the families of My love, other great
apostles who, eventually, will glorify My Heart.
Pray with unbounded confidence, pray without ceasing for your supplications will fall like a Pentecost of
fire, inflaming the lukewarm and reanimating the indifferent . . . Oh, and much more! Your fervent and
constant prayer will break the hardest rock,—the hardened hearts of great sinners . . . You will not always see
this miracle . . . So as to multiply the redemptive power of their prayers, especially in favor of wanderers and
prodigals, I conceal the success of this apostolate from those who exercise it.
Pray with unconquerable faith; pray with Me. Save a world which, having no longer need of prophets,
languishes and dies for lack of praying apostles . . . Ask My Father to send these indispensable laborers into
My vineyard . . . Redouble your sighs and supplications so as to obtain these fiery apostles . . . There lies the
universe; . . . conquer it by the invincible power
476 HOLY HOUR
of your prayers and your interior life, uniting yourself in the seclusion of your homes and at the foot of the
Tabernacle with My unceasing prayer to My Father.
Pray with the faith and love that moves mountains, and I will be given the glory that is My due, . . . glory that
depends on you and which I confide as a sacred deposit to your zeal . . .
(Brief pause)
Souls: Lord Jesus, how Thou hast strengthened our souls athirst for Thy glory by the sublime lesson Thou
hast just given us.
Thou knowest well, Master, our intense desire to serve in the crusade for the fulfillment of Thy merciful
designs . . . Until now we have envied the happiness of the active workers in Thy vineyard, those giants of
the exterior apostolate, those great sowers of love, who, more fortunate than ourselves, traverse the world
like a hurricane
of divine fire . . .
Thou bringest us delicious peace this evening by assuring us that, eveti though we find ourselves unable to
act exteriorly, we can—even more than that—we ought to count ourselves among the best apostles of the
Cenacle! . . .
Oh! be a thousand times blessed, Heart of Jesus, and in gratitude for this signal favor, accept our first
offering of the apostolate through prayer . . . Hear us, answer us, adorable Son of Mary, Queen of the
Apostles.
Jesus of Nazareth, already Savior of the world in the womb of the Virgin Mother . . . deign to accept as an
ardent prayer of the apostolate our desires, our heart-beats, our secret thoughts, all our inner life which Thou
alone dost penetrate! Take it all, King of Love, but in exchange: Thy Kingdom come on earth as it is in
Heaven!
All: Thy Kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven! . . .
Jesus of Nazareth, already our Savior from the crib on Christmas night in the arms of Mary, accept as an
ardent prayer of the apostolate, the smiles and the tears of children, their kisses of love, the first-fruits of their
prayers uttered while on their mother's knees . . . Accept this nectar, O King of Love, from the lips of these
little Benjamins, but in exchange: May Thy Kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven.
All: Thy Kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven!
478 HOLY HOUR
Jesus of Nazareth, already our Liberator in the workshop of Thy adopted father, accept as an ardent prayer of
the apostolate our daily life, the labors and the cares of our family life . . . Accept, O King of Love, in union
with the Queen of Nazareth, Thy Holy Mother, the little joys, the successes without brilliancy, the little
details which are the dust of the ordinary way of existence; accept all that is beautiful in the simplicity and
the poverty of each day of our life, and in exchange: Thy Kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven.
All: Thy Kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven!
(Brief pause)
Let us ratify our offering by a silent and fervent prayer.
II. The apostolate of suffering. — It waters the seed with the blood of the soul. It accomplishes the work of
preachers and of missionaries.
No one, better than St. Margaret Mary, can reveal the beauty and power of immolation and of suffering for
the Reign of the Heart of Jesus.
The adorable Master Himself taught her this
science all divine. It was He Who instructed His messenger on the merit and the practical application of this
apostolate through the Cross. This is the characteristic apostolate of the devotion to the Sacred Heart.
Let us listen to the Saint with the emotion that she felt when she heard Jesus; the voice of the Confidante will
be only the faithful echo of the voice of the Master.
Words of St. Margaret Mary.—You call me . . . And the King of Love sends me to you, the intimate friends
and the apostles of His Heart, to repeat to you, my brothers in the love and the glory of the Heart of Jesus,
what His Mercy taught me, His humble disciple . . . Oh! if you knew the glory with which this King has
covered me for all eternity, because He has deigned to cast His look upon His poor little servant.
Yes, He Who is great has made me great. He has lifted me up from the very dust to make of me the
instrument of His merciful designs. In exchange for His adorable Heart, I gave Him mine to fashion
according to His liking, in order to establish and extend His reign of love in the world . . .
480 HOLY HOUR
In His goodness He accepted the offering of my heart with its boundless desires, He accepted my love and
my whole life . . . And do you know what the Savior then did to make me docile, fruitful, and powerful in the
mission He wished to confide to Me? . . . He inspired me at the same time with a burning thirst for the Cross
and with a love of immolating myself—of suffering, of living, while dying of love in order to make known
and loved the Lover.
From that moment, until my last breath, all my work of the apostolate was concentrated in the joyful,
spontaneous and grateful acceptance of the crosses He sent me . . .
The lines which I sometimes had to write, asking for the homage of love which His adorable Heart implored,
were eloquent and victorious— and will be so in the future—only because I wrote them with the blood of my
soul and in the martyrdom of my crucified heart! . . .
In that same way, in spite of Satan and his satellites, you also, Apostles of the Heart of Jesus, will work for
the victory of the King of Love, for Him, Who has chosen you to consumate the initial mission that was
confided to me . . . And if I, called by His grace to be
the first apostle of the devotion of the Heart of Jesus, labored through pain and suffering, so also you, the
happy precursors of His Social Reign, must follow the gospel which He himself preached on Calvary and in
Paray . . .
It is necessary that you know how to suffer while loving and to sing while suffering for the glory of Jesus'
Heart! . . . Oh! how He desired to be baptized with the baptism of blood, . . . to be lifted up (jn the Cross, this
King of Love, in order to draw all to His Heart! . . .
Let Him then draw you today from His Gethsemane to His Calvary! . . . Do not fear, do not tremble, do not
hesitate. He, Who gives the desire, gives also the superabundant grace to accomplish it . . .
Come, then, to the Tabernacle with your bodily sufferings . . . Bring to the King of Love the misery and the
treasure of your illnesses. Place this offering in the wound in His Heart, and say to Him with peace, zeal, and
love; "I accept, Lord, the glory of suffering for love, . . . and the honor of being a particle of the Redeeming
Host that Thou art, Jesus . . . But, in return, cure sick souls, . . . and, in exchange for our Calvary, ascend the
Thabor of Thy glory, Jesus." 16
482 HOLY HOUR
All: Ascend the Thabor of Thy glory, Jesus.
Come to the Tabernacle with the tortures of your soul . . . Offer as a rich treasure your ignorance, your dark
hours, and your doubts. Place this offering in the wound of His Heart, and say to Him with peace, zeal and
love, "I accept, Lord, the glory of suffering for love, and the honor of being a particle of the Redeeming Host
that Thou art, Jesus . . . But, in return, cure the many who are spiritually blind . . . Give them Thy saving
light, . . . and, in exchange for our Calvary, ascend the Thabor of Thy glory, Jesus."
Come to the Tabernacle with the sufferings of your heart . . . Bring to the King of Love the misery and the
treasure of your sadness, your troubles, and your agonies . . . Place this offering in the wound of His Heart
and say to Him with peace, zeal and love, "I accept, Lord, the glory of suffering for love, and the honor of
being a particle of the Redeeming Host that Thou art, Jesus, . . . but in return, heal the many wandering,
perverted hearts, that are dying far from Thee . . . and in exchange for our Calvary, ascend the Thabor of Thy
glory, Jesus."
Come to the Tabernacle with your family sufferings . . . Bring to the King of Love the misery and the
treasure of the cruel deceptions, the material and moral preoccupations, all your sorrow or grief for deaths . . .
Place this offering in the wound of Jesus' Heart, and say to Him with peace, zeal and love, "I accept, Lord,
the glory of suffering for love, . . . and the honor of being a particle of the Redeeming Host that Thou art,
Jesus, . . . but, in return bring the prodigals back home, bless families in tribulation, and in exchange for our
Calvary, ascend the Thabor of Thy glory, Jesus."
All: Ascend the Thabor of Thy glory, Jesus. (Brief silence)
In the eternal glory of Jesus' Heart, I remain still more than at Paray-le-Monial, His Confidante, His
messenger, His apostle . . . Listen to the voice of Margaret Mary, your sister in the same vocation:
Sing, you, the sick, you whose hearts are wounded; sow love by the apostolate of suffering! . . .
Sing, you, the afflicted, the tried, the dejected
484 HOLY HOUR
because of tribulation; sow love by the apostolate of suffering.
Sing, you, the great and the little, who secretly fight an interior battle and are exposed to the assaults of hell
or of man: sow love by the apostolate of suffering.
Sing, you unfortunate ones, who have been struck by material reverses or losses: sow love by the apostolate
of suffering.
Sing, oh, sing, consecrated souls who, wishing to be fervent, groan under temptations, aridity, and coldness
of heart: sow, sow love by the apostolate, strong as the Cross, fruitful as charity: sow the divine fire by the
apostolate of suffering!
Yes, Jesus will reign, His Heart will triumph by the Cross and by the ardent love of His crucified
apostles! . . .
(An appropriate hymn) III.
Apostolate through the Holy Eucharist.— It multiplies the radiating power of the apostles who preach.—
Secret power of expansion.
Before that last day when we will see Thee, O Jesus, coming on the clouds of heaven to judge the living and
the dead, and carrying Thy Cross which will accuse the guilty, we wish to contemplate Thee in the brilliancy
of another majesty, that of Thy infinite compassion.
Without tearing away the veils of the Eucharistic Mystery, appear radiating to the eyes of our Faith. Oh!
show Thyself, do not delay; come again, O King of Love, in the majesty of Thy victorious mercy . . .
And as St. Margaret Mary saw Thee on a First Friday with the monstrance of Thy Heart glowing on Thy
Breast, in the same manner come from Thy altar throne into the midst of Thy children; open the tabernacle
and advance as an irresistible conqueror, victorious through Thy Divine Eucharist . . .
It was from the tabernacle that the great revelations and promises were made to Thy Confidante, Margaret
Mary; and it is toward the same tabernacle that the interests of souls, families, and societies should converge
—drawn thereto by the appeals of Thy Sacred Heart.
Jesus-Hostia, restore Thy Kingdom, the

486 HOLY HOUR
Israel of the New Law, the spiritual Kingdom of souls and societies, Thy Heritage in time and for eternity.
Jesus—Hostia, we know that Thy Kingdom is not of this world. But here below Thou wert the Eldest Brother
of the family. In the tabernacle tent Thou still remainest with us amid the desert sands of this life . . . So it is
only just and right that Thou shouldst reign over this world, which belongs to Thee by the same title as
Paradise itself, Thy Heavenly Father's dwelling-place.
While awaiting Thy coming to pass the final sentence on the living and dead, come forth O Jesus in the
Eucharist, . . . come forth as King of Love, and pass sentence of resurrection and of life on those dead who
can still find, through the victory of Thy Sacred He£it, immortal life . . .
The Church wills it; She urges us to demand the triumph of Thy cause by the triumph of the Holy
Eucharist . . .
Hearken then, through the grating of Thy prison of Love, to the spontaneous, unanimous cry of the elite of
Thy friends, who come in the
name of all the souls and of all the Eucharistic undertakings of the entire world to cause Thee by a sweet and
holy violence, to hasten the hour of salvation, the hour of Thy supreme victory here below . . .
Hear us, Our Lord and Our King!
Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, extend Thy Reign by the Holy Masses of Thy priests, by the perpetual Sacrifice
offered throughout the entire world . . . Let not a drop of Thy Precious Blood be lost. And by this sublime
prayer, the delight of Thy Church, sanctify Thy priests, the heralds and dispensers of Thy love! King of
Love, reign by sanctifying Thy priests!
All: King of Love, reign by sanctifying Thy priests!
Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, extend Thy reign by the frequent and very fervent Communions of those millions
of chosen souls who, in the cloister or in the world, have vowed to belong only to Thee . . .
Oh! Make of each one a burning bush which Thou wilt consume in the flames of Thy charity. And by those
flames, increase the virtue, the supernatural beauty of these spouses . . .
488 HOLY HOUR
All: King of Love, reign by sanctifying Thy spouses!
Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, extend Thy Reign through the fervent Communions of so many predestined souls,
pure and loving, who while living in the midst of worldly society, praise Thee and serve Thee with admirable
fidelity . . . They wish to unite themselves still more perfectly to Thee . . .
Oh! Make of these valiant souls instruments of Thy glory; multiply their number; increase the faith of these
loyal friends . . . King of Love, reign by sanctifying Thy friends! . .
All: King of Love, reign by sanctifying Thy friends!
Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, extend Thy Reign by the fervent Communions of the army of crucified souls, of
suffering hearts . . . Thou knowest how numerous they are, . . . those souls who love Thee because Thou hast
crucified them. They know that Thou hast sent them these crosses for their good and for Thy glory. Thou
dost find these souls in families, Thy Bethanies-Thou dost find them also, Jesus, in cloisters, in hospitals, and
in garrets . . .
Oh! how these victim-souls cling to Thee, the Victim of Love . . . and yet, they wish to love Thee much more
. . . Take them all for Thyself; make them strong, Lord, and scatter that fire far . . . and still farther . . . Bless
these victim-souls and heap upon them Thy choicest graces.
All: King of Love, reign by sanctifying victim-souls!
Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, extend Thy reign by the fervent Communions of children, Thy great friends . . .
These little ones, these spoiled ones, enroll themselves by the thousands in the army of apostles of Thy,
adorable Heart . Come again among them, Jesus, . . . come into these homes, . . . come near them in their
cradle and visit them in the school . . .
Smile on these fragrant flowers. Bless them with a benediction which rejoices Mary, their Mother and Thine .
. . Keep for Thyself their caresses, their kisses, the springtime beauty of these lilies . . . Ravish their hearts . . .
Make them, Lord, Thy little soldiers, Thy great friends and apostles . . .
All: King of Love, reign by sanctifying Thy child apostles!
490 HOLY HOUR
Let us promise ardent love to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, and offer Him this love for the
extension of the reign of His Sacred Heart.
(Here sing a hymn to the Heart of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.)
IV.
The apostolate of love.—It intensifies the
•work of active apostles. It assures the
permanence of the harvest fruit.
It is written, good Master: "How beautiful are the feet of the messengers of peace, of the messengers of
good!" But, Lord Jesus, King of Love, are not those ardent hearts still more beautiful who, unable to traverse
the world with a torch in their hand, confide to Mary, the Queen of Love, the burning torch of their own
souls!
All cannot preach, Lord, . . . all cannot work, alas, all cannot communicate as often as they desire, . . . all
cannot suffer constantly; Thou dost not even permit it, Jesus! But all can love Thee . . . all can increase and
develop this divine flame in each sigh of happiness or pain . . . All can love Thee above all and always—in
the
church and in the homes, that is to sav, in daily life and in death . . .
Yes, all, little and great, rich and poor, in the world and in the cloister, in moments of joy and along the
sorrowful way, . . . all of us everywhere can love Thee . . .
Oh, what an immense gift! . . . and that depends only on ourselves, . . . on nothing but ourselves . . .
Troubles and joys come and go at Thy pleasure . . . The manifestations of our faith, our retreats, prayers,
penances, works, often do not depend on our ardent desires . . . But no one, not even Thou, God of love, can
hinder us from loving Thy all-loving Heart!
Thou playest with us, because we belong to Thee! . . . But Thou canst not prevent us from loving Thee either
in life or in death. On the contrary, when Thou seemest to go away from us, when Thou seemest to abandon
us to our own great weakness in the desert or on the battlefield; it is then above all that Thou art nearest to
our hearts, and it is then, also, that we can love Thee better!
Death, cruel and pitiless, will come, Lord,
492 HOLY HOUR
cutting at the root with icy hand all the power of man . . .
But even and especially then, while definitely yielding up to Thee the gift of life, we will offer Thee a
supreme holocaust of our love! . . . To die thus is the culminating grace; it is to fix us forever in the Heart of
God, infinite Love! . .
Magnificat! . . . Our souls praise Thee, bless Thee, thank Thee, Lord, for having given such heavenly,
immortal, and victorious power to our poor, weak hearts of clay . . .
And now, adorable Master, hast Thou not a last word to say, a last lesson to give this legion of intimate
apostles? . . .
Speak to us, for who can teach us to be apostles of love if not Thou, King of Love? . . . Confide to us the
secret communings between Thy Heart and John's as Thou didst say farewell at the Last Supper . . .
Let there be such profound recollection that our souls may hear the throbbings of the Heart of Jesus.
Jesus: "Sitio! . . ." I thirst; give Me love to drink, all the love I claim from the apostles of My Heart . . .

Never forget that the true apostle must be the lover, radiating love . . . But to radiate, to communicate itself to
others, this love must be strong, boundless, almost infinite, and it must nourish itself in My adorable
Heart . . .
Ah! If it were only understood in consecrated homes devoted to retreat, prayer, and good works, and also in
the families where My Heart reigns, that one single, poor, ignorant, little soul on fire with love, preaches
better and does more for My glory and spreads and advances My Reign more than a whole army of active
workers, who busy themselves about many things, but who love Me with nothing but common love!
The world would go to its ruin, in spite of the activity of the good, if I had no sanctuaries of chosen souls,
who have understood the beauty and the redeeming power of the mission of Mary ef Nazareth and Mary of
Bethany . . . Their part is, and always will be, the better part, both for themselves and for Me, and also for the
souls to be redeemed by their love . . .
I prepare and multiply this legion of fire to arrest, on the way leading to destruction, a world growing cold. It
is charity, and only charity, that saves, redeems and sanctifies . . .
494 HOLY HOUR
An act of burning love from a hidden soul is equal to a mission.
And who cannot love-thus among My friends who have received the secrets of My Sacred Heart? . . .
I know that all cannot be active workers for My glory, for I have distributed with wisdom the gifts and the
vocations . . . That is My secret . . .
But My Heart belongs to all through love, and I expect, I claim in return from all, immense love because love
is the first, the simplest, and the most fruitful of apostolates! . . .
"Sitiol . . ." "I thirst! . . ." Give Me to drink of the love of your hearts, you, the little and the poor; you, the
sick, the helpless, and the sad; you, the tempted, the sorely tried; you the richly endowed with My graces, . . .
all of you, the spoiled children of My tenderness, on whom I have heaped the gifts of My loving Heart; be
instructed in the meaning of My Gospel.
All: May we die of love, O Jesus! . . .
We love Thee, Jesus, because Thou
art Jesus!
"Sitiol . . ." "I thirst! . . ." Give Me to drink of all the love of your hearts, in order to
convert and transform those unhappy souls who live by hate, who see in Me the tyrant they would dethrone
from souls and altars . . . All: May we die of love, O Jesus! ; . . We love Thee, Jesus, because Thou art Jesus!
"Sitiol . . ." "I thirst! . . ." Give Me to drink of all the love of your hearts, in order to pay for the many who,
having received much from My mercy, have wasted and lost all those great treasures, and live today in
misery, dying of hunger! . . .
All: May we die of love, O Jesus! . . . We love Thee, Jesus, because Thou art Jesus!
"Sitio! . . ." "I thirst! . . ." Give Me to drink of all the love of your hearts, in order to attract those whom I
have endowed with hearts of gold, with hearts capable of loving nobly and generously, but who have made
an idolatrous offering of these riches to creatures, leaving Me with empty hands and sorrow in My Soul . . .
496 HOLY HOUR
"Sitio! . . ." "I thirst! . . ." Give Me to drink of all the love of your hearts, in order to conquer those who have
abandoned Me because of their crosses, who have denied Me because of their trials and sufferings, and who
have failed to recognize Me on Calvary . . . They would gladly rejoice in My glory but refuse to taste My
bitter chalice! . . .
"Sitio! . . ." "I thirst! . . ." Give Me to 'drink of all the love of your hearts, in order to bring souls near Me and
to win those who remain far from Me because of fear, those who shut their eyes to the ineffable beauty of My
infinite love, seeing in Me only an awful Judge, and a Master spreading consternation . . .
A Pater and an Ave for the universal triumph
of the Sacred Heart, especially by daily Communion, the Holy Hour, and the Enthronement of the Sacred
Heart in families.
A Pater and an Ave for the particular intention for all present.
A Pater and an Ave for our country. Sacred Heart of Jesus, Thy Kingdom come!
(5 times) Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.
(3 times)
Saint Joseph, pray for us. Saint Margaret Mary, pray for us.
(Appropriate hymn)
9
498 HOLY HOUR
XVI
Holy Hour
Our Lord's Passion at Jerusalem, on the Altar and in Souls
(Aloud)
All: May Thy Blood, O Jesus, be upon us and upon out children! (3 times)
Yes, Lord, may It be shed as manna upon our souls, like dew upon our hearts, as a heavenly blessing upon
our families, and upon our country . . .
All: By It may Thy Kingdom cornel (3 times)
The Passion of oui Savior did not end on Golgotha, it is perpetuated on the altar and in souls . . . But in the
same manner as the divine mercy has caused a source of redemption to break forth from the Wounds made
on Calvary, so a fresh and abundant source of grace will flow out anew from the Wounds reopened by
ungrateful
499 OUR LORD'S PASSION AT JERUSALEM
humanity . . . For truly, behold again Gethsemane and Calvary on our holy altar! . . .
An hour of darkness was that of the dungeon on Holy Thursday . . . may it be here an hour radiant with
light! . . . An hour of hate, of crime, was that hour of Judas! . . . may it be here an hour of praise, love, and
reparation!
Let us go forth to meet Jesus agonizing, Oh! let us watch one hour with Him. Our companionship will repair
the great and numerous sins which reopen His Wounds . . .
(Let us pray with great faith.) •
Souls: Lord Jesus, the Apostles, awakening at the approach of the traitor, saw the drops of Blood falling
upon the earth from Thy adorable Body . . . Thy Immaculate Mother, Saint John, and Magdalen saw also Thy
opened Wounds, fountains from which flows our life . . . Oh! show to us this evening Thy transpierced Side;
show to Thy consolers the deep Wound of Thy Heart; . . . we wish to place in It the balm of our tenderness . .
. Increase our faith, that it may be given to us to contemplate the heaven of flames and sorrows which in
Paray wrapt in ecstacy Thy confidante Margaret Mary . . . Oh! hast
500 HOLY HOUR
Thou no secret for Thy friends who answer this evening Thine appeal? "Loquere, Domine": Speak, Jesus,
reveal Thy plaints, disclose Thy wishes, and above all, teach us the "science of love" and that of suffering
while loving in union with Thine agonizing Heart . . . Speak, Jesus! . . .
(Profound recollection)
Jesus: Blessed are those who thirst to know Me, by penetrating the secrets of My intimate passion. I reveal
them solely to My friends, those ardent lovers of My heart . . . Listen to Me: the drops of Blood which drench
My altar are the tears of My Soul betrayed and wounded by ungrateful ones!
I have molded their souls by My wisdom . . . I have embellished them with My beauty . . . I have nourished
them with My Flesh . . . I have sheltered them in the depths of My Heart . . .
I have surrounded them with My Angels . . . I have enriched them with My treasures . . . I have confided to
them My secrets . . . I have entrusted them to My own Mother . . . I have promised them an eternal
heaven . . .
And all this at the price of an infinite pain and infinite love! . . .
Where are they, all My spoiled children, where are they? . . .
Alas, cowardice has done its work; . . . frailty has carried them down the slippery path of evil; passion has
increased the distance, and finally, neglect and ingratitude have consummated the work of darkness and of
death!
Weep with Me, you, My faithful friends, My apostles. Ungrateful ones have forgotten Me; they have
departed, bearing the sting of remorse. But, today, many of them sing and laugh in the revelry of a corrupt
world. I, Jesus, do not count with them any longer . . .
Alas! there is still worse: some among them have become wretched apostates, who have for Me nothing but
hate . . . They have betrayed Me for a creature, for they have preferred to Me wealth, pleasures, a
position, . . . all things which tomorrow will be changed into a handful of ashes in a tomb . . . and then there
will be the hour of terrible and eternal justice! . . . And these are My children, brought to life by My power
and by My Blood, who behave thus! . . . Oh, what
S02 HOLY HOUR
sorrow to see My children blush today at My Crib . . . at My Cross . . . at My Altars! . . .
After having loved them so tenderly, I now see them throwing at My Face the ignominy with which I would
cover Myself that I might fill them with glory! . . .
Weep, O, weep with Me, My fervent friends, zealous apostles! . . . Is there not in your home, at your own
hearth, one of those ungrateful ones? . . . Perhaps it is a son, a brother, a husband, a father who is far, very far
from the altar of his First Communion. The Holy Hour is an act of reparation for their sins, and this
reparation will be the beginning of their salvation. Courage! . . . let us save those dear ones in spite of
themselves . . . And as they do not weep let us weep in their stead; let us pray for them . . .
(Brief silence)
Souls: More than tears from our eyes, we wish to offer Thee, Heart of Jesus, the prayer of our soul; we
present it to Thee rich with love because it is offered in the chalice of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, our
great Reparatrix . . .
Heart of Jesus, bruised by our sins, turn upon us Thy glance marked with an infinite sadness,
and when so many disloyal friends abandon Thee: come, let us console Thee!
All: Come, let us console Thee!
Heart of Jesus, when under pretext of human prudence Thy sovereign rights are forgotten: come to our
homes, let us console Thee!
Heart of Jesus, when through motives of worldly wisdom the voice of conscience is unheeded, Thy Cross is
mocked, and Thy love spurned: come, let us console Thee!
Heart of Jesus, when in order to obey social customs, the laws of Thy Holy Gospel are disregarded: come to
our homes; let us console Thee!
Heart of Jesus, when men seduced by worldly vanity, trample upon all Thy laws: come, let us console Thee!
Heart of Jesus, when in order to satisfy the culpable demands of scandalous fashions Thy
504 HOLY HOUR
Flesh is torn to pieces: come, let us console Thee! All: Come, let us console Thee!
Heart of Jesus, when by sacrilegious machinations Thou art placed on equal terms with Barabbas: come, let
us console Thee!
Finally, Heart of Jesus, when proud science would suppress Thy Name and Thy rights in society under the
pretext of the welfare of liberty and progress: come, let us console Thee!
(If we have an intimate request to ask, a conversion to pray for, let us profit by these precious moments. A
few steps away, in the Sacred Host, the King of mercy listens to us . , .)
(Brief pause)
Let us follow our Savior step by step along the dolorous way of His passion . . . Behold Him a Prisoner in a
dungeon; in a few hours He will be a Victim on Calvary . . . Why this drama? The world has placed Jesus on
an equality with Barabbas . . . and the bandit has triumphed over Him . . . Alas! it is the crime of all times.
He is God . . . He has overthrown the idols.
He is the Victim . . . Dying, He has vanquished death . . .
He is Love . . . He has vindicated hate and passion. That is why the powers of darkness have plotted against
Him, have assailed Him, and have condemned Him! . . .
He is supreme Beauty: He must condemn all license . . .
He is supreme Truth: He must condemn free-thinking . . .
He is supreme Justice: He must reprove false liberty of conscience . . .
He is the Word of uncreated Light, He is Love and Life, He must condemn the dissoluteness of the mind and
the senses! . . . There is the vengeance of idols, broken into fragments! . . . There are the gates of hell trying
in vain to prevail against Him, the Lord of lords! "We will not have Him nor His Reign of truth and love!
Away with Him!" So cry the apostles of free thought, of a false liberty . . . But He is and will always be the
Judge, the Liberator and the King of nations!
506 HOLY HOUR
All: We want no other Master but Thee, Jesus! (3 times)
We entreat Thee to teign over us, Jesus! (3 times)
Convert Thy enemies, Jesus! (3 times)
(An appropriate hymn)
Like many of our own time who pride themselves on the title of Christian, Herod did not know Jesus, except
by name . . . Let us contemplate that striking scene: Jesus before Herod! . . . He is interrogated, harassed by
questions, and the gentle Victim keeps a majestic silence . . .
He lent an ear and opened His Heart to the weak, to the most repulsive lepers; but for this proud and corrupt
scoundrel, His Lips remain closed; Jesus is silent before those who profane His Crib and defile His Cross
through pride . . .
It is then, O Jesus, that Thy judge avenges himself by clothing Thee with the robe of a fool . . . And at that
painful and solemn moment Thou dost still keep silence as if Thou acceptest the gesture of Thy accuser . . .
Yes, Thy Incarnation, Thy Cross, and Thy

Tabernacle speak to us of the "foolishness" of Thy infinite charity . . . And behold in the Host Thou art still
robed in white, to preach to the world the sublime folly of Thy love . . . and this divine folly repairs the evil
wrought by the false wisdom of men on the eternal happiness of souls . . .
Alas, but Thou knowest, O Lord, after twenty centuries, the world still throws in Thy Face as an insult, the
foolishness of Thy Cross! Jesus, give vent to Thy bitter sorrow in the intimacy of this Holy Hour . . .
Speak to us ignorant, prone to error, and enveloped in darkness; speak Thou, uncreated and eternal
Wisdom! . . .
(Listen with emotion of soul to Jesus' reproach, and make it known to the great number of those who need it,
to the many Christians whose judgment is perverted by the maxims of the world.)
Jesus: I am the Light that is come among you to scatter yjur darkness, but that darkness did not comprehend
it . . . Judge, you who are My friends, between the folly of the world and the divine wisdom of My Gospel
and My Cross.
508 HOLY HOUR
I will smother My sobs so that you may hear My words.
(Very slowly, with unction.)
According to the world, it is lawful to sacrifice the health of the body for fleeting and dangerous
pleasures . . . It is but just, they say, to sacrifice the repose of night for certain worldly reasons. It appears all
very reasonable to worldlings to sacrifice for social motives and temporal affairs, the calmness of life, the
peace of spirit, and the repose of the body . . . Alas! but if I ask a quarter, or even less, of those sacrifices
offered to vanity and pleasure, if I dare to beg for one extra hour of the day or night for Myself, promising as
reward peace here below and heaven up above . . . then, I will be rebuffed by a cruel refusal . . . To yield to
My desire would be imprudent. To make this offering to Me would be a ridiculous exaggeration, and I, the
King of kings, must often withdraw the Hand that I have extended as a beggar . . . I, alone, am always the
Fool!
(Aloud)
All: O Jesus, we adore the divine folly of Thy Cross. (3 times)
Jesus: My little children, the world deems it just and reasonable that you spend long hours in social duties, in
the exchange of visits, in maintaining friendly relations . . . It is done often unwillingly, nevertheless it is.
done . . But if I ask more frequent Communions more fervent visits to My Prison of love, some moments of
prayer in the sanctuary of the home, My most fervent pleadings are considered absurd requests . . . a God has
not this right . . . I, alone, am always the Fool! . . .

Jesus: You see daily, dearly beloved friends, with what eagerness even those who are called Christians in our
day, change their ways and follow the course imposed upon them . . . accepting with docility the dictates of
the world, dictates very often tyrannical, and nearly always dangerous to purity of conscience . . . full of
perils to peace and to the sanctity of the home . . . But it is the fashion . . . the world has spoken, and it is
always right; there is not the least temptation to resist . . . But if I dare to ask greater effort in the practice of
virtue . . . more sacrifice in the love which is My due . . . if,
510 HOLY HOUR
through the voice of My Church I require some acts of prudent and simple mortification, they cry out
immediately at the impossibility, the imprudence, and they go their way, continuing to tread on the poisoned
thorns of the world, turning their back on Me: I, alone, am always the Fool!
Jesus: The children of the family have always the full liberty of choosing their career, on condition,
however, that they decide to remain among the dangers of the world . . . The parents respecting the wishes of
their children as a sacred thing . . . prepare them for a brilliant position, an alluring future . . . But if I venture
to knock at the door of a Christian home . . . if My Divine Voice calls one of their daughters or one of their
sons, in order to make of them a celestial spouse or an apostle of My glory . . . Oh! then, the family
protests . . . this vocation, they say, is but the fantasy of a moment, a dream that will disappear . . . And these
parents who know by bitter experience the agonies and deceptions of the world, cry out as against a thief
when I call their child, whom I have but temporarily
confided to their care . . . Ah! how they forget that I am the Master of the destiny of these souls! . . . The
family is Christian, but, O grief, I alone am always the Fool.
(What immense sorrow for the Heart of Jesus to be thus ignored even among good, Christian people: for
them piety is folly; mortification is folly; folly the contempt of the world and the pious Christian life of the
home; folly, the priestly or religious vocation of the children . . . and in the meantime the world has every
right when it encroaches upon the laws of the King of kings . . . Ah! let us console the Adorable Master by a
fervent prayer of reparation.)
Souls: Lord, because Thou art good, but also because Thou art King, arise, control the tempest, restore Thy
Sovereignty practically ignored . . . arise by the almighty power of Thy Heart, and reign by the divine
wisdom of Thy Cross!
All: Reign by the divine wisdom of Thy Cross!
Come, be the King of all homes where consciences are anaemic and souls dangerously
512 HOLY HOUR
pine away, and reign by the divine wisdom of Thy Cross!

- Come, be the King of many homes where Thou hast been so cruelly banished, and reign by the divine
wisdom of Thy Cross!
Come, be the King of many homes where in the place of honor which Thou dost claim, worldly idols are
enthroned . . . Come and reign by the divine wisdom of Thy Cross!
Come, be the King of many Christian homes who serve Thee with a mean and lukewarm love, and reign by
the divine wisdom of Thy Cross!
Come, be the King of many homes where they fear Thy yoke and the demand of Thy love, and reign by the
divine wisdom of Thy Cross:
Come, be the King of many devout families, wherein there is fear of a priestly or religious vocation, and
reign by the divine wisdom of Thy Cross!
All: Reign by the divine wisdom of Thy
Cross!
Come, be the King of many families who consider as absurd exaggeration, expressions of fervor, generosity
in love, and reign by the divine wisdom of Thy Cross!
(Brief pause)
Good Jesus, hast Thou no reply to make to the cries of love of Thy friends? . . . Say but a word and our souls,
healed, will become strong and capable of sustaining the struggle for Thy cause!
(The Divine Response has never kept us waiting. Listen then with love in your souls:)
Jesus: My Soul was desolate and sorrowful; but you, My intimate friends, you have consoled Me . . . O! how
I bless you! . . . But I see that
17
514 HOLY HOUR

you wish still more . . . witnesses of My agony, you would want to be also the partakers and witnesses of the
promised victory of My adorable Heart! . . . In order to hasten this hour of triumph wherein we shall become
partakers of its glory, what do you wish, faithful friends? . . .
Knock, knock with complete confidence on the door of Thy Tabernacle . . . what grace do you ask of Me
today?
All: The flame of Thy divine love!
Jesus: Your petition is touching, My children, but what do you want of My Sacred Heart as a heavenly
remedy for the evils which affect you?
Jesus: You need it and you shall have it . . . But, what would you wish as a divine force in order to invigorate
your enfeebled souls and your weakened hearts?
Jesus: I am all powerful . . . stretch out then your hand in the interest of your own sanctification . . . what do
you wish in the way of grace . . . what wings for your desires? . . . Answer Me!
Jesus: And your troubles . . . perhaps you forget them because of Mine! . . . This touches Me, inclines Me
toward you . . . But ask for a heavenly balm for your wounds . . . What do you desire?
Jesus: Is there not some special r.nterest of your family for which to entreat Me? What treasure would you
like to see Me bestow upon your homes? . . .
Jesus: Oh, you have stolen My Heart! . . . Take this opportunity to beg for that which you desire for your
prodigals, those poor lost sheep whom you love . . . What secret of Paradise do you beg of Me for them? . . .
Jesus: But before ending this Holy Hour, think of the last hour of your agony . . . When you will be on the
threshold of eternity, . . . what saving assurance of salvation do you ask for at that supreme moment?
(Let us ask the Heart of Jesus by a fervent and confident prayer for the immense grace to
516 HOLY HOUR

love Him, if possible, as He has loved us.)
(Brief pause)
The world today was not the first to inflict upon its God this treatment of a slave . . . It did but sadly imitate
the conduct of Pilate . . . He found Christ innocent and just, but . . . to appease the enemies' thirst for the
blood of the Master, he sentenced Him to be scourged.
Thus in its turn has the world done through the centuries . . . It does not always dare to deny boldly that Jesus
is what He is . . . but, condescending to the voice of flesh and blood, to the furious cries of pride, of ambition,
and of all the follies of modern society, it delivers Jesus to them and orders Him scourged as a slave! . . . And
this cruelty of the Roman soldiers was certainly not greater than that of these elegant and refined
executioners of our own time . . .
Name these executioners for us, Lord Jesus, in order that we may avoid the dangers which surround us, and
may render more intense reparation during this Holy Hour.
Jesus: Miseremini mei! . . . Have pity on Me and also on your own souls, you who are
intoxicated by dangerous pleasures and enfevered by deadly sensuality! . . . Why do you scourge Me by
trampling upon My Divine Law? . .. .
Miseremini mei! . . . Have pity on Me and also on your own souls, you who spend your time going to
dangerous movies, in clubs, in fashionable circles, and along scandalous beaches . . . Why do you scourge
Me by trampling upon My Divine Law? . . .
Miseremini mei! . . . Have pity on Me and also on your own souls, you who bend before all the dangerous
and immodest demands of fashion, who provoke evil by your sinful daring! Why do you scourge Me by
trampling upon My Divine Law? . . .
Miseremini mei! . . . Have pity on Me and also on your own souls, you who foolishly waste your money,
your youth, and your health . . . Why do you scourge Me by trampling upon My Divine Law? . . .
Miseremini mei! . . . Have pity on Me and also on your own souls, you who pursue the joys of a fleeting
hour, who indulge in the madness of unbridled passion . . . Why do you scourge Me by trampling upon My
Divine Law? . , .
518 HOLY HOUR
Miseremini mei! . . . Have pity on Me, Christian mothers, wives, and maidens, who, misled by the mirage of
worldly vanity, tarnish your moral beauty . . . Why do you scourge Me by trampling upon My Divine
Law? . . .
Miseremini mei! . . . Have pity on Me, you, the infatuated lovers of shows uncensored, where the sixth
commandment is a jest . . . Stop, My children . . . Oh! in the light of the Tabernacle and that of eternity which
is approaching, look at the surge of vileness, of frivolities, of hideous immodesty, of degrading sensuality,
which insultingly arises at My Feet, which menaces the faith and morals of the home, and the innocence of
your children . . . Why do you scourge Me trampling upon My Divine Law? . . . Mercy, have pity for Your
King, do not hold Him enslaved, He Who is your God! . . .
(Here recite "Spare O Lord, Spare Thy people, be not angry with us forever! 5 times in honor of the Five
Wounds of Jesus crucified.)
(Pause)
Consideration: Saint Francis of Sales has eloquently said that if, in order to discover the cause of the death of
Jesus the King, an autopsy
of His Divine Body would have been made, as for kings of the earth, it would have been found that His Heart
had been deeply wounded ever since His Incarnation, long before the thrust of the lance of Longinus . . . The
chief cause of His Passion and of His death was that profound Wound of love in His Heart . . . He was born
wounded by love!
O Lord, because Thou hast loved the little ones, the poor, the unhappy, the crowd, and even Thy enemies,
Thy executioners, because Thou hast loved them to the end, Thy judges and Thy people cry out: "Reus est
mortis, He is worthy of death." And that same cry and that same thrust of the lance still pierce Thy Heart
today. We chastise It in Its excess of love by our ingratitude! . . . Are we not right, O Jesus? Answer us by the
bleeding Wound of Thy adorable Heart! . . .
(Pause)
Jesus: You say the truth, My little ones, I have delivered Myself up out of love; the great guilty One is My
Heart! . . . But there is another guilty one, and you must know it; it is your own heart. You often weep over
your
520 HOLY HOUR
maladies and misfortunes; weep above all over your lack of generous love; weep over Me, so little loved!
In peace and in war you demand your rights. And what do you do about My sovereign right of being
loved! . . .
But I never repent of My gifts . . . I renew today the gift of My Sacred Heart . . . Dearly loved friends, do not
leave this sanctuary, do not let this Holy Hour end without offering to Me in exchange for My Heart your
hearts burning with the same flame which consumes Mine . . . Oh! give Me your hearts!
Souls: Jesus, let this cenacle of Thy friends acclaim Thee as its King of love . . .
In the name of all those who bless Thee and love Thee, and in solemn reparation for the sins of the
unfortunate ones who ignore Thee, who forget Thee and who curse Thee, we wish to declare that we love
Thee, Jesus, because Thou art Jesus.
In the name of Thv friends, all the little ones
and the children, we love Thee, Jesus, because Thou art Jesus!
All: We love Thee, Jesus, because Thou att Jesus!
In the name of Thy friends, the helpless and the poor, we love Thee, Jesus, because Thou art Jesus!
In the name of Thy friends, the neglected, the outcasts, and orphans, we love Thee, Jesus, because Thou art
Jesus!
In the name of Thy friends, the just and the fervent, we love Thee, Jesus, because Thou art Jesus!
In the name of Thy friends, the converted, the repentant, and the pardoned, we love Thee, Jesus, because
Thou art Jesus!
All: We love Thee, Jesus, because Thou att Jesus!
522 HOLY HOUR
In the name of Thy friends, the ill-treated, the sad and the afflicted, we love Thee, Jesus, because Thou art
Jesus!
In the name of Thy friends, apostles, priests, and consecrated souls, we lave Thee, Jesus, because Thou art
Jesus!
In reparation for the treason of Judas, the traitor: Thy Kingdom come!
In reparation for the derision of Herod, the infamous: Thy Kingdom come !
In reparation for the sentence of Pilate, the coward : Thy Kingdom come !
In reparation for the outrages on the Via Dolorosa—the Sorrowful Way: Thy Kingdom come!
In reparation for the ignominy of Thy redemptive Cross: Thy Kingdom come!
In reparation for all that Passion of sorrow, of crime, of apostasy, and of shame, which sin has made Thee
endure for twenty centuries in the Holy Tabernacle:
Final Prayer
(All standing)
In the presence, O Jesus, of Mary the Immaculate Queen and of the Angels who adore Thee in this Host, in
the face of Heaven and also of this ungrateful and thankless earth . . . we acknowledge Thee, Jesus, as the
only Sovereign and Master, the only source of authority, of all virtue, and of all beauty . . .
Therefore on bended knees and in the spirit of social reparation, we say to Thee: (all kneel) "We do not
acknowledge a social order without God or against God. Thou art the foundation of social order, Jesus!"
All: Thou art the foundation of social order, Jesus!
S24 HOLY HOUR
We do not recognize the laws of any progress without God or against God. The law of true progress is Thy
Law, Jesus!
All: The law of true progress is Thy Law, Jesus!
We do not recognize the Utopias of a civilization without God or against God. The source of civilization is
Thy Gospel, Jesus!
All: The source of civilization is Thy Gospel, Jesus!
We do not recognize justice without God or against God. Thou art eternal Justice, Jesus!
All: Thou art eternal Justice, Jesus!
We do not recognize any brotherhood without God or against God. The only brotherhood is Thine, Jesus!
All: The only brotherhood is Thine, Jesus!

We do not recognize any truth without God or against God. Thou art essential Truth, Jesus!
All: Thou art essential Truth, Jesus!
We do not recognize love without God or against God. Thou art uncreated love, Jesus!
All: Thou art uncreated love, Jesus! (3 times)
S25 OUR LORD'S PASSION AT JERUSALEM
(Chanting of the Credo)
Sacred Heart of Jesus, Thy Kingdom Come! (5 times)
526 HOLY HOUR
XVII
Holy Hour
Meditation on the Holy Thursday Dungeon and the Tabernacle Prison
A dungeon enclosed Jesus after He had been seized in the Garden of Olives, the evening of Holy Thursday.
THE TABERNACLE is the NEW PRISON in which Jesus has shut Himself for love of us and where He will
dwell until the end of time.
Twenty centuries have elapsed; but today as then, in one prison as in the other, He is still the same Jesus,
treated with contempt, scoffed at, buried in opprobrium.
This Holy Hour should be an act of solemn reparation for the grievous sin committed by the ever-increasing
number of Christians who practically pretend they love Jesus and the world with equal love . . . Let it be at
the same time a merciful and stern lesson to the many Catholics who in their exterior religious life protest
their
527 HOLY THURSDAY DUNGEON
loyalty to Our Lord, but in their social life ignore and gravely violate the Law of the supreme King of Love . .
. The words of Jesus are eternally true: "No. man can serve two opposite masters," especially when the
masters are so diametrically opposed . . . Christ and the World . . .
What a wonderful grace if, through our faith, we could pierce the mysterious veil of glory to look on the
Word! . . . Yes, vision of faith, because as long as we live in this exile, God will remain always on heights
inaccessible to us. However, Jesus' mercy has deigned to make up for our powerlessness. He Himself has
come down to dwell among us, and He stays within reach of our hearts behind a thin veil.
Come all, and draw near this evening, for we wish to look on the Word in another phase of His glory, that of
the prison of Holy Thursday. Contemplate, in an ecstasy of faith, the scene that astounded the angelic choirs:
As royal palace, an underground prison; for a throne, a stool; for diadem, thorns of sorrow; for scepter, the
reed of contempt . . . and, finally, this King's court, a soldiery drunk with wine, intoxicated with satanic
hate! . . .
528 HOLY HOUR
Let us gaze together upon our King Jesus, in this prison, the butt of mockery, sarcasm, and blows: meek, but
majestic in His humility, a supplication for love and for pity in His Eyes, and dire anguish portrayed on His
adorable Face, bathed in His Blood, and yet always athirst for the gall of sorrow! . . .
Souls: Such is the state in which we find Thee, Jesus, this evening after twenty centuries have gone by. Thou
art in the same prison of love and glorious ignominy . . . a prison that Thy Heart wished to perpetuate
forever . . .
The pomp, of Thy royal but bloody Majesty is always the same, O King immortal. Nothing is altered, neither
the chains of love that make Thee our prisoner, nor the wretched attendants who load Thee with outrages,
and with ignominy, nor the hatred of the judges and the cruelty of the jailers . . . But Thy Heart above all, O
Jesus, Love of our loves, has not changed. It remains what it always was, always the same, immutable in Its
merciful resolution to remain our Captive even to the consummation of the world . . .
Indeed, divine Master, it is we who should and would change our rebellion into an altogether
glorious captivity and transform the chains of sin into the chains of burning love uniting us faithfully to Thee.
That is why, with repentance and love in our hearts, we cry out this evening: "Jesus in the Eucharist, make
our hearts like unto Thine."
(Aloud)
All: Jesus in the Eucharist, make our hearts like unto Thine!
Captive King of Love, restrain by a living faith our oft abused liberty! . . . All: Jesus in the Eucharist, make
our hearts like unto Thine!
Captive King of Love, with chains of fervent charity bind our hearts, so mean in their love, so cold in
gratitude! . . .
Captive King of Love, by Thy victorious grace, restrain our rebellious senses! . . .
Captive King of Love, by Thy supernatural might enchain our weak and inconstant will!
530 HOLY HOUR
All: Jesus in the Eucharist, make out hearts like unto Thine!
Captive King of Love, by salutary fear restrain our proud minds! . . .
All: Jesus in the Eucharist, make our
hearts like unto Thine! Captive King of Love, by Thy tenderness and pity enchain our cold-hearted,
vacillating nature! . . .
Oh yes, divine King of the Tabernacle, grant that, from unfortunate slaves of this deluding world, which
smilingly sells us poison and damnation, we may become loving and happy slaves of Thy adorable Heart. To
love and serve Thee always—is that not on honor, a greater glory than to reign over men?
And now, beloved Master, through the grating of Thy prison deign to cast a glance on the happy legion of
Thy friends, the faithful whom Thou seest here . . . They are those, Lord, who were missing at G-ethsemane,
and who this evening before the Tabernacle atone for the abominable ardor of Judas and of Thy many
enemies . . .
Ah, they make honorable amends especially for that countless crowd who sleep and take their rest while
Thou art in agony! . . . They mount guard here; near Thee they replace those who at the hour Thou wast
seized, basely abandoned Thee by flight . . .
Do not call Thine Angels, Jesus, for they have a glorious eternity for themselves! . . . Reserve for Thy friends
on earth the intimate confidences of Thy Heart in the Tabernacle! . . . O, speak to- us, Jesus in the- Eucharist,
with the tenderness of a Father, with the intimacy of an elder Brother, with the sweet intimacy of a Friend!
Speak to us with the suppliant and plaintive language of an adorable Prisoner and at the same time with the
authority of Master and Lord.
O Jesus, speak and give us light!

All: Jesus, speak and give us light!
Jesus, speak and give us love!
All: Jesus, speak, and give us love!
Jesus, speak, and Thou shalt conquer!
All: Jesus, speak and Thou shalt conquer!
Yes, Lord, speak, for Thou alone hast the words of life, truth, and love that lead to eternal Life.
532 HOLY HOUR
Let all creatures be silent to hear Thee, Jesus, and hear only Thee, the Word of God!
Let the Heavens bend down to hearken, Eternal Word, to hear only Thee! Delay no longer, Jesus. Thy
servants, Thy children, Thine atoning friends await Thy words.
(Listen with recollected mind to the voice coming forth from this wonderful, divine prison; let there be
absolute silence, the calm silence of souls in prayer . . . Take the place and also the love of the Angels during
the woeful night of Holy Thursday.)
Jesus: My little ones, My friends, behold the Heart which has loved you beyond the debasement of the Crib
and of Nazareth, even far beyond the Crucifixion of My Body and Soul on Calvary; behold this Heart which
has loved you unto the complete giving of Itself, unto sublime madness; this Heart which will keep Me your
Prisoner forever, your Captive in the holy Tabernacle . . . Here in the divine Eucharist, I have exhausted My
inexhaustible Love. Alas, it is also here that man comes to exhaust his boundless ingratitude!
You, parents, naturally so sensitive, whose hearts have suffered so much from cruel hurts
inflicted by your own children whom you have oftentimes spoiled, add up, if you can, all your bitternesses,
add to that all the tears shed since the beginning of the world, in the Garden of Paradise. All that is but a drop
of water compared to the fathomless, shoreless ocean of My anguish on the holy Altar . . .
Come! All of you, come close to Me, you who are bruised by deception and pierced to the heart by your own
at home; come, you who are crushed by injustice, tortured by cruel separations, by misfortunes and anguish
often more sorrowful than death itself! . . . Come also, you who are deprived of prosperity here below, all of
you, so numerous, whose souls are torn in shreds! . . . Finally, come you who have tasted the chalice of all
griefs, you who have been touched by all the cruelties of life . . . O come, all of you, come unto Me, not only
to be consoled, but, that in the light of the Tabernacle you may understand, as Christians, that the torrent of
your misfortunes is only a drop, hardly a drop, of that bitter ocean that God the Father pours out on His Son,
your hidden God! . . . He expiates in this prison the ingratitude of man who forgets his God and wounds his
Savior as never the most ungrateful
534 HOLY HOUR

of sons drenched his parents with shame and anguish! . . .
See Me disdained, put in the last place, forgotten as even the most ordinary of friends would not be forgotten,
despised as even the worst scoundrel would not be despised! . . . And yet, I am the Master, the Savior of the
world! I am Jesus, your God and your Brother! My little ones, have pity on My soul, sorrowful unto death!
(Meditate on the infinite bitterness of this plaint.)
(Pause)
But for forgetfulness I do not return forget-fulness! My revenge is love! That is why, from the depth of My
prison, tearfully I follow the multitude of children, who though redeemed by My Blood, never receive Holy
Communion! . . .
They live by My side; our houses are close together; I have given them a fireside, bread for their table, and
comforts that should remind them of Me! . . . Alas, they have never come to My door, asking for Me, the
Bread of eternal life. And those children will die of hunger just outside their Father's house! . . .
There are also many souls like the Samaritan
woman who have conversed with Me on the edge of the well of My love. I have called them tenderly . . . I
have worked miracles to draw them to Me . . . They have come to the brink of this well, which is the
Tabernacle, but they have refused to quench their thirst. They have not been willing to taste of those living
waters that flow from My transpierced Side unto life everlasting . . .
Ah, what shall I say now, My children, of the very many who taste a thousand and one times the nectar of
My Heart in the Holy Eucharist, whose lips have so often adhered to the delicious Wound in My Side, and
who have then forgotten Me and have gone off, never to return! . . . I always await them, but alas, in
vain! . . . Their ingratitude transpierces My soul and rends it bitterly . . .
Behold finally, the innumerable souls made giddy by the pleasures of the world—those who, grudgingly, and
more out of fear than love, devote to the God of the Tabernacle an occasional few moments snatched from
their own concerns and from creatures. They are convinced, moreover, that in approaching Me they pay Me
quite a gratuitous honor! . . . Even if the little they
536 HOLY HOUR
do were well done! But they go away quickly; they are in such a hurry that it would seem as if they had not a
minute to give to Him who offers to them and reserves for them an eternity! . . .
(Pause)
Consideration: Have you not, perhaps, one of your own? . . . a member of your household— in one of these
three groups of ingrates? Behold this is the hour of mercy! . . . Weep and pray for him; love, Oh, love in his
name for it is to scatter graces that Jesus instituted the Holy Plour. Let us ask Him with confidence to pour
His graces over us and our loved ones, and for that intention, let us unite in an earnest reparatory prayer. May
it obtain the salvation of all those souls who without knowing it, are famished for their Eucharistic Jesus,
wither away for lack of Christian life, and die of their unconscious homesickness—homesickness for the
Host . . .
Souls: Jesus in the Eucharist, immortal King of ages, Who from the humble throne of the Tabernacle would
conquer the world, O Jesus, d® not permit that any of us who are close to Thy Sacred Heart, the never-failing
source of
living water, should perish of thirst. Do not permit the members of our household to fall fainting en the road
of life because they refuse to nourish themselves with Thee, the Bread sent down from Heaven for earth's
exiles.
Because Thou art Jesus, cross the abyss that separates them from Thee; pay no attention to their ignorance;
win them in spite of their weakness, heeding only Thy pity and the prayer of faith and love that, unknown to
them, we offer Thee at Thy merciful request. O Jesus, save them by Thy grace! . . .
By the Immaculate Queen, let them drink the chalice of Thy love!
All: Let them drink the chalice of Thy love!
Infant Jesus, dost Thou remember the exquisite tenderness with which Mary surrounded Thee in the Crib of
Bethlehem? . . . Thou hast certainly not forgotten the first caresses, the first smile, and the first loving kiss of
Thy Immaculate Mother! . . . O, if Thou still lovest her as Thou didst then that first Christmas night, draw to
the Tabernacle through her the souls we wish to save. Let them drink the chalice of Thy love!
538 HOLY HOUR
Infant Jesus, dost Thou remember that it was in Mary's arms that Thou received the homage of adoration
from the Shepherds and Kings? O, recall this evening that it was on the throne of her virginal bosom that the
incense of reparatory adoration was first burned in Thy honor . . . If still Thou lovest her as when an Infant
God, draw to the Tabernacle through her the souls we wish to save: Let them drink the chalice of Thy love!
Infant Jesus, dost Thou remember Thy flight into Egypt in Mary's arms, resting in perfect safety on her
Heart, hidden from Herod's anger by her maternal mantle? . . . O, Thou hast not forgotten the vigilant care of
Thine incomparable Mother nor hast Thou forgotten her loving eagerness during that painfully hard sojourn
in the land of exile! . . . If still Thou lovest her as when an Infant God, draw to the Tabernacle through her the
souls we wish to save. Let them drink the chalice of Thy love!
Infant Jesus, dost Thou remember the heavenly

oasis of Nazareth and Thy first prayers at Mary's knee? . . . O, Thou canst still hear the musical murmur of
the hymns with which she sang Thee to sleep in Thy cradle! . . . Thou hast not forgotten the vision of the first
tears that Thine eyes saw in Mary's eyes! . . . If still Thou lovest her as when an Infant God, draw to the
Tabernacle through her the souls we wish to save. Let them drink the chalice of Thy love!
Jesus the Youth, dost Thou remember Thy Mother's poignant anguish during the three days that she searched
for Thee in Jerusalem? And dost Thou still recall the brightness of that great joy shining in her face and the
violent throbbing of her Heart when she embraced Thee after finding Thee in the Temple? . . . If Thou lovest
her through all eternity as Thou didst then, lure to the Tabernacle through her the souls we wish to save. Let
them drink the chalice of Thy love!
And finally, Jesus, Savior and King, dost Thou remember Thy farewell to Mary, that Thursday evening . . .
and the depth of her sorrow when
540 HOLY HOUR
she met Thee on the way to death? . . . Thou hast kept for eternity all that her eyes said to Thee in that
moment of supreme farewell in agony . . . If still Thou lovest her as when an Infant-God, draw to the
Tabernacle through her the souls we wish to save. Let them drink the chalice of Thy love!
(Pray a moment for the eternal salvation of all prodigal children.)
What is this bond as powerful as it is mysterious, this chain so strong that it makes a God the prisoner of
ungrateful and treacherous man? . . .
What is this luminous yet impenetrable secret of the Eucharistic mystery? . . . What can be the supreme
explanation for this miracle of miracles? . . .
O Jesus, Thou Thyself must answer the outcry of our faith—these supplications of our love— for neither
angels nor men can give us the key to this profound, this unfathomable Mystery. Oh! give us the explanation
of Thy Tabernacle! . . .
Why this prison? . . . Why hast Thou set it up against the onslaught of ages and of the
coldness and hatred of Thy children? . . . O King of Kings, having a Paradise, why hast Thou made Thyself
Thine own guard and our voluntary Captive? . . . Thou knewest in advance on Holy Thursday, all the vileness
of our hearts . . . It is Thou then, Lord, Who in the first place art responsible for Thy captivity in the
Tabernacle prison! . . . Who could be powerful enough to force a God to accept these chains? . . . Who keeps
Thee here? . . . Lift the veil of this mystery, Jesus, and answer us!...
(Listen with profound faith to the Master's answer.)

Jesus: The holy, the divine delirium of My
love! . . . It was My Heart that betrayed Me,
conquered Me, enchained Me! . . .
Listen to Me, My little ones and My friends. If it was love that caused My incarnation, and love that nailed
Me to the Cross, O, you must know that it was love, too, nothing but love, that determined the institution of
the Holy Eucharist, the greatest marvel of My infinite charity . . .
(Slowly and with pauses) Beloved soul, I am Your God, and you are
542 HOLY HOUR
only a poor, guilty creature. And yet it is for you, pitiable being, for you, rebel dust, that 1 dwell in this Host,
yes, only for you! . . . O, give Me at last, then, your sadly profaned heart; give it to Me in exchange for
Mine . . . Love Me as I love you!
I am your God, and you are an invalid, a sick soul, blameworthy for your sickness! . . . And in spite of that it
is for you that I live in the Host, only for you. O, then, give me at last your sinful heart in exchange for
Mine . . . Love me as I love you!
I am your God, and you are only a waif of the earthly paradise, an unfortunate who sought out his own
misfortunes . . . But for you, only for you, a branch cut off and destined for the fire, I stay in the Host in order
that you might have a new life fed by an immortal vital sap! O then, give Me at last your bloodless and
failing heart in exchange for Mine . . . Love Me as I love you! . . .
Ah, would you know what mysterious power roots Me to this earth, watered, drenched with My Blood?
Listen to My answer . . . Never forget that it is love, nothing but love! . . . And
would you know, cherished soul, what is the bitterest of my sufferings now? Listen once more . . . and weep
as you hear Me: It is to love as only a God can love, and then not to be loved by My own! . . . Yes, it is My
own, My predestined children, the spoiled loved ones of My Heart, those who call themselves My faithful,
My intimate friends, who do not love Me as they might; ah! as I wish they would! . . .
That is My profound grief . . . And yet, you have such a power of loving, for you love so many others at
home! . . . If at least, you would give your God of love what you accord those who are dear to you! .. . . Alas,
creatures often get first choice and your King must content Himself with the crumbs left over! . . . Is that how
you treat your Jesus?
Those you really love, you love so much and so well, that in loving them you give yourself without reserve;
you do everything to prove lo them your affection which is often excessive . . . You keep for them your
exquisite tenderness and the transports of your generosity and delicacy. You have attentions, thoughtful
kindnesses, and gratitude for them . . . But, when I come to you, you no longer know how to love with the
544 HOLY HOUR

same eagerness. For Me, the Prisoner of Love, your heart—a moment ago still overflowing—is empty of its
best treasures . . . Is that how you treat your Jesus? . . .
You are good to the poor and to orphans, you surfeit the forlorn with love, you have tenderness and tears of
pity for those who suffer, whoever they may be, relatives or strangers! . . . But when it is a question of Me,
all those noble and profound feelings disappear. Is that how you treat Me, the great Forsaken One, the
Pilgrim without shelter, the voluntary Exile from Paradise? . . . Have pity! Do not treat in such a manner the
adorable Child of Bethlehem, the Divine Beggar and Prisoner of the Tabernacle! Indeed, what are all your
friends and your poor? A fleeting shadow . . . But I am the divine Reality, I am the God of Love, I am Jesus!
I am the wounded One, par excellence, and My Wound is as deep as the ingratitude of those who should love
Me . . . And in spite of all, My complaint is only a sigh of tenderness, and My reproach is the caress of My
Heart which would conquer yours . . . O, give Me more love, but especially a truer and more ardent love!
"Sitio"! I thirst to be loved with a more
generous love, a love of sacrifice in the perfect obedience to My Law! . . .
"Sitio"! I thirst to be loved with that love which would make you hate this futile world, which having
crucified Me in time, would in its cruelty, crucify you also, My children, in an eternity of unhappiness! . . .
Behold Me languishing with anguish and love in this garden of My mystic, sacramental agony. Strengthen
Me, O My consolers, as did the angel of Gethsemane and even better . . . O tell Me, with fire in your soul,
that you really love Me, and that you will always love Me more and more! . . .
(Brief pause)
(May the sentiments that follow be the faithful expression of the profound feelings that animate you. Relish
them with love, and may your hearts repeat them in throbs as vehement as they are sincere.)
Souls: Adorable Jesus, filled with confusion but still animated with firm confidence, we acknowledge very
humbly that our ingratitude is only equaled by the greatness of Thy love. Yes, Lord, we Thy friends have
sinned through 18
546 HOLY HOUR
lack of real love. We admit that the gall of our sins has been more bitter to Thee than were the redoubled
blows and the deicide of Thy cruel executioners . . . But since Thou art Jesus, especially for Thy friends, we
dare to hope, yes, we are even convinced that Thou awaitest us in this Holy Hour to forget and to pardon . . .
O Jesus, forget our errors and pardon us here and now for having chosen petty interests and earthly affections
and enjoyments in preference to Thine adorable Person. And to assure us of this pardon of which we are very
unworthy, deign, O Master, meek and humble of Heart, to accept along with our repentance, a great promise
for the future; we offer it through the hands of our Immaculate Queen. Listen to it, Jesus, smiling through
Thy tears! It is the spontaneous cry of our souls: Jesus, we vow to give Thee love for love!
All: Jesus, we vow to give Thee love for love!

In grateful homage for Thy tears in the Crib, we will love Thee especially when in our turn we have to prove
our love by tears. And as reparation for those who do not appreciate the
merit and the glory of trials: Jesus, we vow to give Thee love for love!
In a homage of reparation for Thy crown of thorns, we will love Thee, Lord, when Thou conferest on us the
glory of sharing that royal crown. And for the many Christians who lose themselves in the mad fever of
pleasure, Jesus, we vow to give Thee love for love.
As homage to Thy hidden sorrow and anguish, we will love Thee, Lord, when Thou offerest us a crumb of
that bitter bread. And in reparation for our lack of courage in accepting crosses which come to us from Thine
adorable Hand, Jesus, we vow to give Thee love for love!
In heartfelt homage for all Thou hast had to suffer from Thy friends and elect we will love Thee, Lord, when
Thou allowest a few drops from that very bitter chalice to fall on our lips. And in reparation for our lack of
meekness
548 HOLY HOUR
and humility in accepting this trial, Jesus, we vow to give Thee love for love!
As homage of reparation for the twenty centuries of abandonment, ingratitude, and outrage in the captivity of
the Tabernacle, we will love Thee, Lord, when Thou allowest us to be treated by our brethren as Thou art
constantly treated by Thine own children in the Sacrament of the altar. In reparation for all the affronts Thou
hast received from us through our lack of faith and resignation in bearing this cross, Jesus, we vow to give
Thee love for love!
(Now make a firm promise of fervent love.)
(Pause)
The end of the Holy Hour is already drawing near . . . About eleven o'clock Holy Thursday night, Jesus
underwent the gross outrage of the first iniquitous judgment. That tribunal received His as the furnace
receives dry wood which falls into its flames . . . A few moments later the Judge of judges, the King of kings,
was thrown
ignominiously into a horrible dungeon and left to the ferocity of soldiers worse than cruel, to torturers paid to
push their savagery to extremes . . . It was then, that in the half darkness of that underground prison, one of
the saddest and most shameful scenes of the Passion was enacted before the indignant eyes of Angels. It was
there, that not only the Master's Body was profaned but also His Heart . . . It was there that not only Jesus'
garments were torn to shreds, but His innocent Soul as well. Truly, the Christian remains trembling and mute,
overcome by fear, when he considers in the light of faith this horrible scene of Holy Thursday night. There is
about it a mystery of divine suffering which no one, except the divine Prisoner Himself is able to explain or
solve . . . Therefore let Him unveil to us the cruelties and the fruitful beauty of His agony! . . . Ah, it was then
that the unchained powers of darkness, in a fit of fury, took vengeance beforehand on the adorable Captive
for the series of wonders He would work in the ages to come, by the radiance of that supernatural life and
that sacred liberty which would emanate from that other sublime Prison: the Tabernacle.
550 HOLY HOUR
Yes, let Jesus speak to us! . . . Let us listen with holy emotion and profound recollection to His sweet,
luminous, plaintive Voice . . .
Jesus: Why do you ask me, My little ones and My friends, to unveil the mystery of a sorrow that today, even
under your eyes, breaks forth with sinister gleams? . . . You know the mystery, for in our own day you see
the sad reality of that passion! . . . Do not ask Me to recall to you a history, which unhappily is renewed every
day. It is a history both of yesterday and today, ancient yet modern for it continues in lasting reality on My
altars . . . The dungeon of Holy Thursday has disappeared, but My prison remains; ah! here it is . . . The
Eucharistic Tabernacle! . . .
Alas, My Passion in this prison is renewed not only by My enemies who scourge Me, who insult My
Majesty, who outrage My Royalty . . . it is often caused by My own, My friends . . . There, in the dungeon of
Holy Thursday, only torturers and mercenaries struck me . . . Here, alas, children of My Heart, My friends,
My very own offend Me! . . .
Souls: Jesus, adorable Jesus, permit that a
cry from this flock which wishes to be faithful to Thee, interrupt Thy complaint by a cry like that which
broke forth from Thine Apostles at the Last Supper on Holy Thursday evening. Allow it to express the
violent shock of our anguished souls. O beloved Master, who are* those unhappy friends, those unfaithful
children who make a dungeon of ignominious torture out of Thy glorious prison? Oh, have pity; tell us who
they are; name them . . . For all of us here present', all of whom in Thy boundless mercy Thou hast chosen,
have sworn to defend and follow Thee unto death . . . O Jesus, "is it one of us?" . . .
Jesus: Today you are all innocent, but alas, it is not always so! Among those who sit at My table, who eat
from My dish, who drink of My chalice, and are, consequently, My children, My friends, My brothers, My
beloved disciples, are some who rend My Heart and pierce it cruelly! As you listen to Me, do not cast your
glances toward the rabble, the ignorant of city slums who know not what they do when they blaspheme My
Name . . . They are not the most infuriated and guilty in their insults! O no! It is all those unhappy wretches
who call themselves Christians
552 HOLY HOUR
but who outrage Me hatefully in their social life! How cutting are the blows I receive from those worldly
Catholics, blows that reopen on My Shoulders the Wounds in My divine Flesh and lay My Bones bare . . .
Do not those Christian souls—now and then pious—scourge Me atrociously when they dare to lead Me at
night by vile and abominable paths after swearing fidelity to Me in the morning at the Holy Table? Do they
forget that I am Sanctity Itself? . . . Yes, you deceive yourselves, My little children, when, running counter to
the principles of a Christian conscience, you proclaim that immodesty is something permissible. that art
authorizes and excuses the paganism and the scandals of your modern theatre . . . that henceforth evil may
impudently placard itself everywhere! . . . How could you so deceive yourselves if you realized that I crushed
Venus and paganism; I have cursed all impurity; I have condemned all license, all instigations of brazen
immodesty . . .
Reflect then, how My Heart must burst with grief when Christian souls can be found who pretend that the
condemnation passed against evil fashions, romances, sensual movies and theatres
is nothing but exaggerated childish scruples . . . souls who break My Law in the gravest and most delicate
matters and then trample the broken pieces underfoot. What poignant anguish My Heart endures in seeing
My children, My friends contributing money to keep up filthy fashions, provocative lewdness, stimulants of
passion! . . . under pretext of pleasure, of social obligations, of modern demands! . . .
I beg of you not to talk about torturers who are in their tombs; rather look around at this Christian public that
runs the streets, fills the theatres, accepts and tolerates, applauds and encourages actions on the stage which it
would condemn as a sin in its own conscience, as a crime in its own home . . .
How those souls with double-dealing consciences make Me suffer! At the foot of the altar they outwardly
profess their faithful friendship, but in their social life they basely betray My honor and My law and
encourage My torturers! . . . I am perpetually scourged by their guilty complacence! Money used for
admission to indecent theatre performances and films is like to the thirty pieces of silver given to Judas; it is
red with My Blood! . . . Tremble and weep
554 HOLY HOUR
with Me, for it is written: "Woe to him by whom scandal comes!" . . .
Have pity on Me, all you who because of your name, your fortune, your social position, can by your example
either react energetically against this uncontrol of the passions, or alas, can draw others after you into the
depths of the abyss! . . .
Have pity on Me, you who live; you the rich, the powerful, the influential; you who accept as legitimate
every novelty of custom, every social diversion, and all new forms of sensual and pleasurable excitement;
you who because of your name, your social credit, authorize with a stamp of good taste and elegance, the
inventions of refined sensuality, of depraved instincts, equivocal and dangerous pleasures, worldly gatherings
and amusements—all those keen stimulants which excite passions and lead to the abyss . . . Take care that
your responsibility does not one day crush you! . . .
Bathed in My Blood, weeping over these offenses, scourged by social lust, I implore you to pity Me!
Have pity on Me, you the great, the noble, the high living of this world, whose drawing-rooms should never
tolerate all those liberties, dances, and pleasures denounced by My Gospel and
publicly condemned when I broke the pagan idols to fragments . . . Alas, among those who come to
Communion at My table, there are found some who mean to set those same idols up again, for, they say,
times have changed . . . Yes, times have changed, but I Who am the Law and the Judge never change! . . .
Have pity on Me, you the mothers and wives whom I have ennobled . . . mothers and wives whose great
influence may be used in My favor or against Me, on the souls of your own who love you . . . especially you,
mothers and wives who in My goodness I have placed on a Christian pedestal, that in the complete
accomplishment of your duty, you might be a model for those around you. O, do not be afraid of
exaggerating the divine law of modesty which is the reflection of purity in the social practice of virtue! . . .
Make sure that in your homes the sparkling beauty of Christian modesty will always shine from the brow of
your daughters. By your care and for My glory make that virtue the glorious endowment of their youth! . . .
With anger repel far from the family threshold the perverse and
556 HOLY HOUR
corrupting world . . . In this struggle never forget that I, I alone, am the only Master in your home! . . . A day
will come when it will be My turn to judge, and then the laws of this world will give way to My eternal Law .
. . Mothers and wives, remember that I am the only Master, the only Lawmaker in the Church as in the family
circle, in private life as in public life, in life as in death . . .
And you, the joyous revellers of life— weakened souls, so easily seduced by the sirens of pleasure, by the
changeable and lying goddess of vanity, sickly souls, caught in the social whirl, thirsting for sensations . . .
good-hearted, but whose weak character and lack of solid virtue often make too complacent . . . too easy-
going consciences, changing ideas, fashions, doctrines with every wind that blows . . . halt in your march
toward the yawning gulf of this corrupt world, the vestibule of Hell! Stop! My Gospel does not deceive you!
My Law is your safeguard; the wisdom of My Church is your wisdom! . . . O, stop, I pray you! By your
worldly life do not
continue to trample underfoot My Cross covered with Blood! . . . No one loves you with true love but I . . . I
stretch forth My arms to you; 1 forget your wandering; love Me in return with a love entirely loyal that you
may enter My Side! Enter, enter by it and take for yourself the Heart of a God in love with yours . . . Take it
forever; May it be yours for time and eternity! But have pity on Me!
(Pause)
(After having heard this divine plaint, unhappily too just and too well-founded, it only remains for us to make
the Prisoner of Love an answer vibrating with loving reparation and filled with humble repentance . . . this
prayer, which should have the import of a sincere and solemn promise, should come from the depths of our
hearts, even more than from our lips . : .)
Souls: Adorable and beloved Master, it is most certainly not Thou who shouldst entreat pity from Thy guilty
children. O no! Rather remind us of Thy sovereign rights and have pity
558 HOLY HOUR
on us! Renew indelibly in our mind the thought of the Sovereignty of Thy divine Law, the only absolute law
which governs society, redeemed and reformed by Thy Blood . . . Yet society discards Thee and banishes
Thee with caution and prudence but with a sureness which, silently and little by little, veils from it the love
and the light of the Sun of Justice . . . Lord, have pity on Thine ungrateful friends!
And following the example of Thine Angels, of Magdalen, and of Veronica, who on the evening of Good
Friday, searched with love for Thy blood-stained footprints that they might kiss and gather from the dust,
from rocks and stones, and from the instruments of Thy torture, the still fresh drops of divine Blood, we,
Thine intimates, heartbroken and repentant, retrace this evening, on the wings of faith, the stations of Thy
public scourging . . .
Without the least fear, without yielding to worldly conventions, or to sinful actions, let us visit in spirit those
homes, those elegant parlors, those splendid drawing-rooms, those scandalous theaters, scenes still stained
with the divine Purple flowing from Thy broken Veins . . . Ah! We weep this evening at the thought of these
antique
tapestries, these ornamental paintings, these rich carpets, all accusing witnesses still bearing the marks of Thy
Blood, shed now as cruelly as in Pilate's hall in the dark dungeon where Thou wast shut up on Holy Thursday
night . . .
Jesus, King, have pity on all Thy friends, disloyal more from weakness than from malice. As perfect revenge,
worthy of Thine inexhaustible mercy and as proof of Thy pardon: Let fire from Heaven consume us, the fire
of Thy Love.
All: Let fire from Heaven consume us, the
fire of Thy Love!
Jesus, King, have pity on those families who are sincerely good, but who led away by their weakness are too
weak to throw off the yoke of the fashionable world's pagan demands . , . As the revenge of Thine
inexhaustible Mercy and as proof of Thy Pardon: Let fire from Heaven consume us, the fire of Thy Love!
All: Let fire from Heaven consume us, the fire of Thy Love!
Jesus, King, have pity on those mothers whose excessive compromises too often endanger the reserve and
modesty of their daughters . . . Have pity also on those young girls who through
560 HOLY HOUR
thoughtlessness and ardor of youth are carried away in attitudes and fashions by vanity or human respect, and
who unknowingly are a scourge which tears Thine innocent Flesh . . . As the revenge of Thine inexhaustible
Mercy and as proof of Thy Pardon: Let fire from Heaven consume us, the fire of Thy Love!
All: Let fire from Heaven consume us, the fire of Thy Love!
And now, good Jesus, as we say farewell to the Holy Tabernacle and leave Thee to Mary and the Angels in
this garden of agony and glory, allow us to sing Thee a hymn in praise of Thy Holy Eucharist . . . The
Sacrament of our altars is above all the gift of Thy Heart. It was to give us a pledge of immortal life and to
strengthen our courage during our exile here below that Thou gavest us the Holy Eucharist. And in Thy
merciful goodness Thou hast instituted it on the night of Holy Thursday during the hour when Thy children
and subjects were plotting the blackest plots against Thine adorable Person, pronouncing an iniquitous
sentence of death against Thee, the meek King, the Christ of peace! Captive King, smiling through Thy
Tears, draw near the grating of Thy prison of love to
listen to the psalm of praise, of reparation, and of love, that we in the name of Thine elect wish to sing to the
glory of Thy Eucharistic Heart: O Jesus, Thou hast blessed us as Thou never hast blessed the flowers of the
field and the lilies of the valley when Thou passed them by . . . and we have often been the briars and thorns
of Thy Crown:
All: O Jesus, do not grow weary of us, have mercy on us always!
O Jesus, Thou hast blessed us as Thou never hast blessed the wheat fields and gardens of Galilee . . . and we
have often been the guilty tares in Thy Church:
All: Do not grow weary of us, Jesus, have mercy on us always!
O Jesus, Thou hast blessed us as Thou never blessed the birds of Heaven, the flocks of Bethlehem and
Nazareth . . . and we have often wounded Thee by our lack of trust in Thine infinite Goodness:
All: Do not grow weary of us, Jesus, have mercy on us always!
That is why, in loving reparation, we wish to end this Holy Hour crying with the Prophet:
562 HOLY HOUR
Angelic spirits, heavenly court of the Lord, bless His mercy toward us! Hosanna to the Creator who has
become creature and Host out of love! Hosanna to the Prisoner of Love!
Stars, moon, and sun, unfold your mantle of light over His Tabernacle, holier than Jerusalem's, since it
contains the sweet Majesty of the Word made flesh, become food for mortals! Bless His mercy toward us:
Hosanna to the Creator who has become creature and Host out of love: Hosanna to the Prisoner of Love!
Light of dawn, morning dew, fruitful clouds, praise the fruitfulness of the Lord's grace! Bless His mercy
toward us: Hosanna to the Creator who has become creature and Host out of love! Hosanna to the Prisoner of
Love!
Ocean in heavenly calm, tempest-tossed ocean, sing the magnificence of the Lord! Bless His mercy toward
us. Hosanna to the Creator who has become creature and Host out of Love. Hosanna to the Prisoner of Love!
AH: Hosanna to the Prisoner of Love!
Peaceful breezes, unleashed hurricanes, streams and torrents, sing, sing the glory of the Lord! Bless His
mercy toward us: Hosanna to the Creator who has become creature and Host out of Love! Hosanna to the
Prisoner of Love!
Snows, forests and harvests, volcanoes, hills and valleys, sing, sing the power of the Lord! Bless His mercy
toward us: Hosanna to the Creator who has become creature and Host out of Love! Hosanna to the Prisoner
of Love!
All creation, hasten to our aid; make up for our powerlessness to thank and to bless . . . Come, stifle by the
majestic chanting of nature all the cries of blasphemy; atone for the silence and coldness of ungrateful and
guilty man! Bless, O, bless the mercy of the Lord toward us! Hosanna, Hosanna to the Creator who has
become Child, Victim, ind Host out of Love! Hosanna to the Prisoner of Love!
A Pater and an Ave for the world-wide triumph
564 HOLY HOUR
of the Sacred Heart, especially by daily Communion, the Holy Hour, and the Enthronement of the Sacred
Heart in families.

565 SOULS WHO SUFFER
XVIII
Holy Hour
For Souls Who Suffer
PRELIMINARY NOTE: Many pious persons think that crosses are principally a punishment merited by their
sins. They imagine that the almost exclusive purpose of suffering is one of expiation . . . the cancelling of a
strict debt toward an offended God. That is perfectly true, but there is more than that. To this point of view
must be added another more consoling one; namely, that crosses are often a precious pledge of the love of
Jesus for souls. They are a true gift, a testimony of the mercy and of the exquisite tenderness of His Sacred
Heart. It is for this reason that He gave a share in His Passion to His Immaculate and Sorrowful Mother,
Queen of Martyrs, and it is for this reason also, that He permits souls who are very dear to Him to enrich and
to sanctify themselves
566 HOLY HOUR
by suffering. Suffering, then, is not always the receiving of a blow from the lash of a vengeful God; rather it
is often the shining proof of the exceptional love His Heart bears towards gener-w souls.
Jesus: Come unto Me, You who suffer, You who groan under the weight of your cross . . . O come before
you fall on the sorrowful way! Hasten! for I wish to be your Cyrenian of love . . . Come! . . .
Yes, I wish to sustain you and to console you, to lighten your cross and to sweeten the bitterness of it! . . .
And then, I wish also and above all, My children, to teach you the science of suffering in peace, the great
science of suffering with Me . . .
Remember, children of My Divine Heart, that I have experienced your sufferings—all of them I have known
them as God . . . and I have tasted them all as Man-God . . . as Jesus! . . . Never forget that you suffer to share
in My voluntary sufferings, you suffer to sanctify your life! . . .
Oh, do not fear your Crucified Savior when He gives you a share of the glory of His Stigmata!

You are then, more than ever, the privileged ones of His Loving Heart! . . .
I know that miserable nature revolts, accepts not this bloody glory, this sublime doctrine of Calvary . . . It
would sacrifice very willingly a part of the celestial glory procured by this martyrdom in order to enjoy
greater well-being here on earth.
My children, because I am Wisdom and infinite Mercy, allow Me to make you happy, not after the manner of
the world and of your own humor, but after the manner of a God become your Father, your Friend, your
Savior, through love and by His cross.
Come, O come to Me without fear . . . Let My Wounds, on the contrary, attract you . . . They speak to you of
yours. Come, because your souls are saturated, like a sponge, with. the bitterness of your tears. To sweeten
them it is necessary to cast them into the torrent of My tears . . .
In order to suffer with courage, with peace and with fruitfulness, you must suffer in My Arms and weep all
your tears into the chalice of My Heart.
568 HOLY HOUR
Behold this chalice! I offer it to you, my consolers. Do not delay, for it is Jesus, the Divine Consoler, Who
calls you, Who awaits you.
(Let us ask the grace to understand the serious lessons of this Holy Hour by saying five times in honor of the
Five Wounds of Our Lord:)
All: Agonizing Heart of Jesus, have pity on us!
Five great sorrows nail us to the Cross of our Savior, Jesus; five great sorrows which are, as it were, five
precious nails, if not for all men, at least for many'Christians and apostles . . .
Like Mary Immaculate, John, and the holy women on Good Friday evening, let us examine with faith and
with a sacred emotion these five nails tinged with the Blood of our Redeemer. If we but wish it, these great
trials, more precious than the material nails which transfixed our Savior's Hands and Feet to the Cross, will,
for His glory and for our good, attach us to Jesus Crucified.
I. Ingratitude and Injustice of Creatures
Souls: How glorious for us, O King of Calvary, if our grief could always parallel Thine: Our tears are only as
drops of an ocean of agony
which Thou dost carry in Thy adorable Heart . . .
Because Thou wert never understood, Lord, and because Thou art not yet understood after so many centuries,
Thou dost permit that in our rurn we should suffer from the ingratitude of creatures . . .
We bless Thee, Jesus, for the bitterness of the simple and of the great, of the poor and of the rich, of the
worldly and of the holy who are being scourged by those whose duty it is to render justice tempered with
charity.
Have pity, good Jesus, on the forsaken, the mistrusted . . . the censured . . . the condemned. Have pity on
them, because the world, still more culpable, is inexorable and cruel towards its victims.
Hasten, good Master, to come to their assistance with the balm of Thy tenderness . . . Hasten to prevent the
lash which, if not today, will tomorrow strike souls, who, though blameworthy, are not wretched but weak
and sickly . . .
O, King of kings, we are not alone before this tribunal where men sit in judgment of their brothers. Thou, O
God, hast been there
570 HOLY HOUR
before us and Thou art still very often judged, disregarded in Thy rights, and condemned by Thine own
creatures.
Give us, O Lord, during this Holy Hour a profound lesson in humility; raise our dejected spirits; strengthen
by Thy example, and this evening by Thy word, the spirit of faith of Thy children . . . speak to us, adorable
Master.
(Brief pause)
Jesus: You, My little children, are not above your Master, and the world has misunderstood Me, its Light
and its Savior . . .
The powers of darkness judged Me, and for centuries I have suffered under the consequences of their
sentence . . .
The injustice of men, of those supposedly honest, prudent, and wise, has made a target of My Gospel and of
My Heart . . .
Are you more just, holier, and stronger than I? I have preached to a people who have always remained ready
to contradict, to cast aside both My doctrine and My appeals of love . . .
You, creatures wounded by the ingratitude of other creatures, meditate on the outrage committed against a
God misunderstood by His
own . . . by His privileged friends . . . by His chosen apostles . . .
This was done yesterday; it is renewed still today! Who are they who wish to draw near Me in order to know
Me better? Who are they who study Me?
Alas! Numberless are those who attack My doctrine, who struggle to discredit My Church, who dig a grave
to entomb Me in the eternal forgetfulness of men whom I have redeemed with My Blood! If I, the green
wood, have been treated thus, what may you not expect from the world, you, the dry wood, ready for the fire?
Is it astonishing that men scorn and slight you, the little ray of created light that you are, if they treat Me, the
uncreated Sun of Justice and Truth, after this fashion?
O My children, atone, before all, for the sin of ingratitude which offends Your Lord and Your God, . . . and I,
always gentle and compassionate, I will also atone for yours . . .
Make reparation, above all, for your own ingratitude toward Me. Since you speak of the injustices that
creatures have committed against
572 HOLY HOUR
you, never forget those which you have committed against Me, your King and Lord . . .
With these sentiments of humility and of immense confidence, come to Me . . . Draw near My Heart! . . .
Come to Me, the great forgotten Savior of the earth! . . .
(Let us, deeply moved, meditate on these words so sadly true . . . Let us humiliate ourselves! Let us make
reparation! . . . Let us go to the Heart of Jesus in all confidence! . . .)
Souls: We blush for shame, O Jesus, for having come to bewail misunderstandings and scourges dealt us by
our brethren—for having come to complain to Thee, the great disowned One, the God, scourged by the
injustice of creatures! . . .
We have fully merited our punishment, but, wherefore, O adorable Jesus, art Thou always bound to the
pillory of shame and forgetfulness!
Ah, Thy beloved Face, -covered with spittle, and Thy transpierced Heart, these Thou hast presented, Jesus, to
the justice of Thy Father, and they have arrested His just and rigorous wrath!
Thank Thee, Lord!... Have pity, O Jesus!.. .
God of infinite charity, King ignored, be Thou blessed in the disregard that wounds and pains us, and because
of it give us the glory of Thy Confessors . . . the grace of knowing and loving Thee, O Jesus, as Thy
Confessors! . . .
God of infinite mercy, King ignored, be Thou blessed in the disregard which wounds us and pains us; but,
because of it, grant us the glory of Thy Virgin Spouses . . . the grace of knowing and loving Thee, O Jesus as
Thy Virgin Spouses! . . .
Angels and Archangels of the Lord, give us your purity that we may know Jesus better and make Him
acknowledged everywhere as the adorable King of Love!
Principalities, Thrones and Powers, lend us your celestial light that we may know Jesus better and make Him
acknowledged everywhere as the adorable King of Love.
Virtues and Dominations, give us your intelligence that we may know Jesus better, and make Him
acknowledged everywhere as the adorable King of Love.
Cherubim and Seraphim, give us your celestial flame that we may love Jesus, Who is Love,
574 HOLY HOUR
and make Him acknowledged everywhere as the adorable King of Love.
(Appropriate hymn)
II. Trials of the Heart! Not to Be Loved! Ingratitude!
Souls: Master, we have a deep wound in our hearts—we are not always loved!
In Thy divine wisdom, O Jesus, Thou dost permit that creatures turn their affections from those who
rightfully expect them or who merit them . . . It is then, Lord, that one suffers solitude of the heart . . . a
tearful solitude.
It is then, also, that there awakes in us, as a torture, but as a grace also, the thirst, the yearning for an affection
stronger, purer, more faithful!
Oh, what agony this provokes! Thou knowest it only too well, Jesus, through the coldness and the
indifference of Thine own!
And this agony does not come alone, does not remain isolated; it is accompanied often with the breaking of
intimate bonds in the family . . . and ingratitude is almost always either the bitter sap or the poisoned fruit of
it . . .
W'.at an unassuaged hunger for love we then
experience in those moments! . . . How the abyss of the heart grows even more profound! And if, in this
distress, we have the unhappiness to knock at creatures' doors, even at the doors of those whom we have
loaded with favors, in the place of bread we often receive a scorpion— a refusal! . . .
Then we look about, awaiting a slight sign of interest, of pity, but alas! we only encounter a barren waste . . .
sullen forgetfulness.
And to think, O Lord, that, as in the history of Holy Thursday, in the case of Judas, it is always a selfish
interest that is at play! . . . Then dulled to nobler sentiments, the heart consumed by the fever of earthly
pleasures hardens itself and loses all noble sense of right and duty and gratitude!
Console, Lord Jesus, those souls wounded to the heart . . . The caravan of those wounded as we are by lack of
love, is very long . . .
Pity them, O Heart of Jesus!
Pity us also, O Jesus Crucified!
(Brief pause)
(These grave reflections are a profound and precious lesson for the Christian. There must be
576 HOLY HOUR
found in each tear and in each deception an appeal froni Jesus, the Only, the alurays faithfnl Friend . . . His
Voice never deceives; listen to It, follozv It . . . It resounds in this holy tabernacle)
Jesus: To whom do you come to confide the pain caused by lack of love? . . . You know it well, My friends,
it is to Me the great Wounded One . . . behold My transpierced Heart!
If creatures do not love you, it is because they do not love Me Who am Love! . . . O! I have experienced this
mortal bitterness, a bitterness greater than all other grief s!
My children, I suffer with you; I sympathize with you in this cruel suffering which tortures you. I participate
intimately, as no one else could, in your agony, but I have something to say which shall enlighten you with a
great supernatural light . . . Hear Me, children nf My Heart:
Do you not complain too bitterly of those who are ungrateful toward you? . . . Have you no remorse for
having been ungrateful toward Me?
Your friends have forgotten you! . . . Ah! but you, have you not forgotten Me in loving
creatures too much? You say they robbed you of the love which is your due, but have you not also robbed
Me when you snatched the affections others owe Me? . . .
To give your affection to creatures is not the remedy f or this evil. Oh, no! It is to come close by a way of
generous love to Me your Creator . . .
Come, O come to Me all who have a thirst for true love, because creatures have not the power to satisfy you;
they are so poor in nobility and generosity! . . .
Come to Me and you shall find in My Sacred Heart the source of true love; then give Me first you-r love.
You who suffer from lack of love, come and see how great and profound is My grief, when you refuse Me
the same gift vour brothers deny you . . .
I thirst with burning love!
(Brief pause)
(Let us note here this affirmation which may appear strange to Christians, that the only one who has a right to
be loved is our Lord. Happy 19
578 HOLY HOUR
coldness of creatures in our regard, which com-pensates and repairs our coldness toward the adorable
Master!)
Souls: Heart of Jesus, mortally saddened by our lack of love, love us despite our ingratitude, but love above
all those who suffer from coldness of heart through lack of love.
AH: Oh, gtant that they may love Thee mote and motel
Heart of Jesus, mortally saddened by our lack of love, love us despite our ingratitude, but love above all
those who suffer from an affection cruelly shattered.
All: Oh, gtant that they may love Thee more and more!
those who suffer disloyalty in friendship.
All: Oh, gtant that they may love Thee more and mote!
those who suffer from a lack of love in the family.
All: Oh, gtant that they may love Thee more and mote!
Heart of Jesus, mortally wounded by our lack of love, love us despite our ingratitude, but love above all those
who suffer the bitter consequences of guilty love.
Al-1: Oh, grant that they may love Thee more and motel
H'eart of Jesus, mortally wouncled by our lack of love, love us despite our ingratitude, but love above all
those who suffer from an agonizing loneliness of heart.
All: Oh, grant that they may love Thee more and more!
Heart of Jesus, mortally wounded by our lack of love, love us despite our ingratitude, but love above all those
who are not sufficiently loved—the good; the generous, the noble ones.
All: Oh, gtant that they may love Thee more and motel
And to sanctify us through the deceptions that come to us from creatures, and to make reparation for so much
mediocre love tovvard Thee: Heart of Jesus, increase our love!
All: Heart of Jesus, increase our love!
To sanctify us through the deceptions that come to us f rom creatures and to make reparation
580 HOLY HOUR
for the lukewarmness of the faithful: Heart of Jesus, increase our love!
All: Heatt of Jesus, inctease our love!
To sanctify us through the deceptions which come from creatures and to make reparation for the
forgetfulness of a great number: Heart of Jesus, increase our love!
All: Heart of Jesus, inctease our love!
Tb sanctify us through the deceptions which come to us from creatures, and to make repa-ration for our lack
of generosity: Heart of Jesus, increase our love!
All: Heart of Jesus, inctease out love!
To sanctify us through the deceptions which come from creatures and to make reparation for the sterile
religion of so many Catholics without love: Heart of Jesus, increase our love!
All: Heart of Jesus, increase our love!
(Pause)
(Appropriate hymn) III. Physical and Material Trials
Souls: The body Thou hast given us to serve Thee, Lord, the earth that Thou hast entrusted to us, and all the
temporal goods that Thou hast
placed at our disposal for our benefit, have conspired through our fault against Thee, Jesus, the Divine
Benefactor . . . Peccavimus: We have sinned! . . . Miserere! . . . Have mercy! Yes, Have pity on us in the
overwhelming temporal sufferings that are let loose against us through our own fault.
Oh! return yet once more, Merciful Master, by our roads and pass along our way because Thou must comfort,
bless, and cure the innumerable legion of the unhappy. Hasten because our sick ones await Thee on the road.
All: Lotd, if Thou ivillest, Thou canst cttre usl (3 times with fervor)
Come back over our highways, Master and Friend divine; knock at the door of the many homes where
desolation and despair reign! . . .
But if they do not respond to Thee, then, even then, enter, Jesus . . . This silence speaks to Thee already of a
great misery that must be healed . . . Enter!
Look around Thy Tabernacle! What an accumulation of ruins! . . . Behold the destruction of so many
projects, of so many dreams of well-
582 HOLY HOUR
being, of so many fancies forged and caressed by our sickly nature!
Look around Thee again, Jesus, and see the smoking embers, the broken homes, the reversed fortunes, and
alas, under their ruins see, perhaps, some of Thy friends.
Cast Thine eyes on them, recompense with a beat of Thy Heart those who yesterday out of their abundance
bestowed generously a charity which today they implore of Thee . . . They weep over a material disaster
which threatens to engulf everything.
All: Jesus, Son of Maty, have pity on the suffering ones (3 times aloud)
(Brief pause)
Adorable Samaritan, we know that what Thou dost permit contributes wisely to our eternal happiness, and
that is why we strive this evening to bless Thee in these misfortunes, although we do not always penetrate
their secret of happiness and of mercy.
We do not pretend to understand the enigma of our life, and much less we do not revolt against Thy decrees
which many times are contrary to
the interests of our health, of our concerns, and of our projects here below . . .
O Lord, we wish our life to be just as Thou dost will it for us, neither happier nor less unhappy . . . 'We
accept it just as Thy Heart has designed it for us . . . It suffices us to know that not a hair of our head will fall
without Thy permission, and that through love.
And because we believe that Thou art, O Jesus, the revelation of the Bounty and the Mercy of the Father, we
rest blindly in Thy Arms and on Thy adorable Heart!
Lord, Who dost command the tempests, we will obey Thee through love; and in riches or in poverty we will
say to Thee: "Thank Thee, Jesus, Thy Will be done!"
All: Thank Thee, Jesus, Thy Will be done!
Lord, Who dost command the moral laws, we
will obey Thee through love; and, in riches or in
poverty we will say: "Thank Thee, Jesus, Thy
Will be done!"
Lord, Who ordained the laws of nature, we
will obey Thee through love, and in the success
or failure of temporal affairs we will say to Thee:

584 HOLY HOUR
Thank Thee, Jesus, Thy Will be done!
All: Thank Thee, tesus, Thy Will be done!
Lord, Who dost direct the laws which govern society, we will obey Thee through love, and in honors as in
humiliations we will say to Thee: Thank Thee, Jesus, Thy Will be done!
Lord, Who hast dominion over the laws of life and death, we will obey Thee through love, and, in the full joy
of life, or at the hour of our departure for eternity, we will say to Thee: Thank Thee, Jesus, Thy Will be done!
(Pause)
IV. The Agonies of the Mind and the Emptiness of All that is human
Souls: Good Jesus, Thou knowest better than we that the most cruel blow of our crucifixion is neither
sickness nor the lack of the goods of fortune. O, no! It is agony of mind; it is the inquietude provoked by the
emptiness and failure of everything . . . it is the insecurity of the future; it is the lack of interior repose, of
intimate peace . . .
S85 SOULS WHO SUFFER
All: Oh, Be Thyself out peace, Jesus! (3 times)
Yes, Thyself, and Thou alone be our repose, our peace, most adorable Master . . . Thou deceives! not! . . .
Thou changest not! . . . Thou diest not! . . .
All: It is so cold without Thee, Jesus! (3 times)
We have long sought creatures, but they held not the secret of our happiness.
Thou alone hast it, Jesus, Thou alone! . . .
In the name of the Wound of Thy Heart: Be our joy, O Jesus!
All: Be our joy, O Jesus! (3 times)
In the name of Thy crown of thorns: Be our glory, O Jesus!
All: Be our glory, O Jesus! (3 times)
• In the name of Thy sweat of blood in Gethsemane: Be our love, O Jesus!
All: Be out love, O Jesus! ( 3 times)
(Brief pause) Jesus: Yes! . . . I wish to be your peace . . .

586 HOLY HOUR
Your joy . . . Your glory . . . Your onl> happiness! . . .
But you also, Oh, be My glory . . . My love! My jubilation!
You speak to Me of your agonies of mind, of the tortures of your soul because of the failure of wealth and of
persons, and because all things here below are perishable . . .
Yes, but you are not unhappy chiefly because of that . . .
My children, it is the heaven of My love that you need! . . . But I, too, need your hearts . . . they belong to Me
. . . they have failed Me . . .
Your material pains are small, you say, in comparison with the moral torture, the mental suffering.
O yes! I know it by your own conduct toward Me.
Ah! Indeed far more cruel than the destitution of Bethlehem and of Nazareth was My agony of
Gethsemane . . .
I know the depth of the abyss in which your mind often struggles under the hardships of raging storms . . .
Behold Me near you this evening . . . approach, My children, come very
close to My Heart; . . . confide to Me all your cruel anxieties—your future, your grave family cares, your
anxieties about business affairs, your fear of impending unhappiness . . .
Pour out, without fear, the chalice of your agonies into My Heart which loves you . . .
(The Holy Hour is an hour of intimacy and reciprocity between the Heart of Jesus and our hearts. Tell Him,
then, very intimately, in the language of silence, all that pains you.)
(Pause)
Jesus: And now, My little children, think also of My Gethsemane . . . Your sufferings dispose you to
meditate in a vivid way on the infinite bitterness with which My Heart was tried! . . .
In your griefs and uncertainties . . . in your deceptions and the surprises of sorrow, think, O! think of the God
of love—of Gethsemane— the same God Who resides here on the holy Altar . . .
You are only creatures . . . You have gone astray . . . You have wandered away far from the sheepfold . . .
You have forgotten Heaven for the forbidden fruits of the earth, and you now
588 HOLY HOUR

bear the sad consequences, softened by My immense mercy . . .
Oh! what would your life have been if I had not planted in the midst of your sorrows My Cross which
redeems, which comforts, which blesses! . . .
Love Me with your wounded hearts; love Me in your agonies of sorrow!
Ah! all you who have come to meditate and to recall to Me My dolors, while recounting to Me your own,
approach and see if there be any sorrow like unto the sorrow of My Heart, misunderstood and forsaken,
betrayed and outraged . . .
Come and see if there is a love like unto My love; it heals all wounds except that of My Heart, a wound
which always remains open for My children who grieve!
(Appropriate hymn)
V. Life passes swiftly. All is transient! Separations . . .
Nothing is permanent outside of Jesus! He is the Divine, the Eternal Reality! The rest— creatures and
fortunes, dreams of grandeur, sensations of pleasure, oases of fugitive joy,
flashes of human glory . . . all pass, all of them crash and are carried away by the fury of time.
In the midst of this deluge of tears, at the edge of the abyss of all ruin, and at the threshold of eternity which
pierces with its lights and shadows the Master, the Savior, the King, the Friend . . . Jesus, the only living
Reality, presides over life and death . . . above all, over death, the most poignant, the most decisive of the
separations here below . . .
Oh! how marvelously comforting it is to contemplate the Word of God, Jesus, struggling with this great grief.
How sublime and sweet is that lesson!
(Let us "meditate for a few moments on four scenes traced from the sorrows and the tears of the Heart of
Jesus:)
1. THE DEATH OF ST. JOSEPH—Let us consider the great trial which hovers one day over the little house
of Nazareth. Joseph, the just man, whom Jesus, with respect and affection calls His "Father," is dying . . . his
failing body is sustained in the Arms of Jesus; . . . his head reposes on the adorable Heart of Jesus.
590 HOLY HOUR
Mary is in tears . . . She, the Queen, the loving, tender, and faithful spouse, has her heart torn with grief . . .
But Mary is not alone in her grief . . . Jesus, the King Who received from this just man caresses and bread,
earned by the sweat of his brow, also weeps bitterly, and He is a God!
Heart of Jesus have pity on the widows and orphans in great distress! (3 times aloud) (Silence)
2. THE FAREWELL TO NAZARETH— Let us consider Jesus, in the blessed sanctuary of Nazareth,
bidding farewell to Mary Immaculate whom He is about to leave in order to begin His public life . . .
Jesus knows what awaits Him in the life He is about to embrace . . . He knows that He leaves forever His
peaceful home, where He had lived during thirty years in the most tender and the most marvelous intimacy
with His incomparable Mother . . .
The Heavenly Father calls Jesus and He sets out! So it is also that children of a home, like the birds of the
nest, must one day, with broken hearts, set out from the family sanctuary and
leave the abode of their weeping parents who bless them as they set forth . . .
But the events of life, the painful duties to be performed, are the expression of the Will of the Most High, and
it is necessary to obey in faith.
Heart of Jesus have pity, have great pity, on children and parents who suffer this agony! (3 times aloud)
(Silence)
3. THE FAREWELLS OF BETHANY— Let us consider Jesus on Holy Thursday, bidding farewell to His
intimate, faithful friends of Bethany, in order to go voluntarily to death.
Those who had given Him the repose of friendship and of intimacy, received His supreme confidence, the
revelation of the Golgotha of tomorrow . . . What must have been the sorrow that overshadowed these souls
during this supreme farewell of their unique Friend . . . the King Friend of Bethany. He left them, saying:
"Until tomorrow on Calvary!"
This is also the farewell of the elect, predestined to a life of immolation, whether it be in the cloister, or in the
world which must be redeemed in blood:
592 HOLY HOUR
Heart of Jesus, have pity on families and souls, who must submit to this agony of the heart! (3 times aloud)
(Silence)
4. THE FAREWELLS OF CALVARY— Let us consider Jesus Crucified, making His last farewell to the
Queen- of Sorrows in the overpowering agony of Calvary!
Death has already received from the Father the permission to draw near, to stiffen the Body of the Savior,
this same Body, thrice holy, that Mary warmed on Christmas night, when pressing Him close to her Virgin-
Mother heart . . .
One more glance of infinite tenderness . . . and to His Mother He confides John, the Church, the world, and
His own Heart . . . and then Jesus inclines His bleeding Head . . . and . . . He expires!
Heart of Jesus, have pity on mothers, on families in sorrow who have suffered or will suffer the pitiless blow
of death! (3 times aloud)
(Silence)
Through the hands of the Queen of Martyrs I present to Thee, agonizing Heart of Jesus, the tears of mothers
and of desolate spouses . . .
the sufferings of so many dismembered homes ravaged by evils. I present, too, the sighs and tears of so many
young hearts, saturated with bitterness in the springtime of their life!
Agonizing Heart of Jesus, offer them the repose of divine peace, an increase of strength, and the consolation
of supernatural light in their dolorous way . . .
And Master Crucified, come, take with us, in the intimacy of our loving souls, in the intimacy of our
families, the repose of love for which Thou hast thirsted since Thy death on Calvary! And in order to prove
to Thee, Jesus well-beloved, that we have understood the lesson that Thy sufferings and ours have taught us,
we will end this Holy Hour saying with a cry of great faith and immense love:
(Aloud)
"Heart of Jesus, thank Thee for the glory of suffering!" (3 times)
One Pater and Ave for the agonizing and sinners.
One Pater and Ave for the universal triumph of the Sacred Heart especially by daily Com-
594 HOLY HOUR
munion, the Holy Hour, and the Enthronement of the'Sacred Heart in families.
A Pater and Ave for the personal intentions of all present.
A Pater and Ave for our Country.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, Thy Kingdom Come. (5 times)
595 INTIMATE, FAMILY AND SOCIAL REIGN

XIX
Holy Hour
The Intimate, Family, and Social Reign of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Oh! the profound meaning and importance of the great Feast of the Epiphany!
The King of Heaven shivers with cold in a manger of straw. He, Whose Empire extends over all creation,
smiles and gives His blessing from Mary's arms . . .
The Three Kings, the Wise Men, come from afar to acknowledge this Child as the great Liberator, the King
of kings, the divine Conqueror of souls, of societies, and of nations . . .
Heaven had already proclaimed Him its Sovereign by singing the royalty of His love in the stable . . .
The happy shepherds had also adored Him, kissing His Feet and embracing Him . . .
596 HOLY HOUR
Nothing was lacking to Him but a throne, a throne more royal than the crib, and a purple even more splendid
than the mantle of His Immaculate Mother . . .
This throne is the Cross!
How wonderfully beautiful, how powerful, how majestic Jesus is covered with the purple of His Blood! . . .
Let His subjects, all those souls and nations that the Father has given Him as His heritage, come to celebrate
the Epiphany of His glory, to acknowledge Him as K\ng, and to submit to His Empire of truth, of mercy, and
of love. Then His Royalty will be universally made manifest!
His Reign began twenty centuries ago and it has spread since then as a deep flood of light, penetrating
regenerated humanity and giving it a new soul of Christian beauty . . . But only in the measure in which the
Kingdom of the Crucified Master comes on earth, will a permanent Pentecost in the Church foster and stress
His victory.
The great revelation at Paray-le-Monial has certainly given a strong impulse to the triumphal chariot of the
King of Love . . . A new Pentecost
of fire envelops the world . . . seizes souls . . . revolutionizes societies . . . re-animates the 'apostles . . .
confirms hopes, and impels the Church victoriously onward . . .
And the whole earth from pole to pole resounds with this cry of hope, of victory, and of love: Sacred Heart of
Jesus, Thy Kingdom come!
Yes, the King of Love returns! . . . See on His Breast that radiant sun, His Heart, all aglow and bursting with
love! . . .
See His gesture of benediction which beckons, which attracts with an irresistible force . . .
Be silent . . . Hearken to a divine word that fills the universe with an invincible hope for us, but fills with
horrible dismay Satan and His followers! . . .
Jesus promised: "I will reign by My Sacred Heart!" . . .
Let us answer in the name of our families, in the name of our country, in union with the Church: "Hosanna to
the Son of Mary, our King!"
(With heart-felt emotion)
All: Hosanna to the Son of Maty, our King!
Jesus, we wish Thee to rule over us! . . ,
598 HOLY HOUR
All: Jesus, we wish Thee to rule over us!
Hosanna to the Heart of Jesus, the only King! . . .
All: Hosanna to the Heart of Jesus, the only King!
(Calmly and slowly)
But even more than acclamations, the Heart of Jesus demands works which ratify the sincere Hosanna that
resounds in His Tabernacle today . . .
Alas! Too often He has received ovations of lip-service and then . . . a deadly blow struck at His. Heart!
How often is the complete reversal of attitude of the people of Jerusalem renewed . . . Applause and songs of
victory change in less than a week, to cries of anger and death . . . Palms and laurels become the scourges of
cruel flagellation in the hands of these ingrates . . . They throw down the flowers they had gathered in order
to pick up stones . . .
(With lively faith)
No, it is not thus, O King of kings, that we wish to welcome and acclaim Thee during this Holy Hour . . .
Thou Who canst read the
depths of our hearts, Thou Who dost see all, Thou knowest that we love Thee and that we wish, with a
determination as deep as it is sincere, to co-operate in the extension of Thy Reign over souls and over society
...
And it is with this intention, that we come as subjects and as soldiers to take Thy divine orders, resolved to
give all, to sacrifice all in order to hasten the hour of Thy divine victory . . .
Behold Thyself, this time, O Jesus, a Prisoner in our hands—more of a Captive now than at Gethsemane . . .
But, Jesus, do not repeat today the miracle Thou hast worked twenty centuries ago to escape from Thy people
when, for their own temporal interest, they had a moment's fancy to acknowledge Thee King . . . Remain our
Prisoner, this time, that for Thine own glory we may make Thee our King! . . .
Yes, Thy glory as well as ours is involved . . . Dictate Thy orders; command as Master, since too often, alas,
Thou art refused that title and the right it confers! . . .
We have already learned the lessons, taught by Thee to Thy confidante and disciple of Paray . . .
600 HOLY HOUR
But wilt Thou not, O King of Love, manifest to us also the brilliant light that shone before her eyes? . . .
Give us, good Jesus, a crumb, Oh! merely a crumb from that royal table where Thou revealest the secrets and
the designs of Thy merciful Heart . . .
Show us that Thou art generous, more generous than the most liberal of all kings . . .
We will listen to Thee, Jesus . . .
(Great recollection, deep silence)
Jesus: Quid dicunt de Me? What do they say of Me? What do they think of Your Master, My children?
Do they believe in My Truth and My Justice? Above all, do they believe in My Love? . . .
My first Kingdom is interior; it is in your hearts . . . I insist on laying the foundation of My divine
Sovereignty within you in the hidden sanctuary of your souls.
And this must be a kingdom of light, for I am the Light of the world and whosoever believes in Me shall not
live in darkness.
O grief! that the Son of Man no longer finds great faith on earth . . .
(Slowly and gravely)
You believe in the wisdom of the learned and in the sincerity of intriguers . . . You believe in the friendship
of creatures and the loyalty of the human heart . . . You believe in the promises of the great of this world, and
in the flattery of persons serving their own interests . . . Yes, you believe in the nobility, the righteousness,
the goodness of men in spite of horrible deceit, in spite of startling surprises of every moment . . . In the
wound of the heart still bleeding, flourishes faith in the creature who has stabbed you . . .
But I, wounded to the Heart to spare you mortal wounds . . . I, the only Friend, the Friend Who is always
faithful . . . I, the Truth, Who can neither deceive nor be deceived . . . I, Wisdom Who never errs . . . I, the
infinite Love . . . the Mercy of the Father . . . I, the Savior nailed to a gibbet to bring to the threshold of
Paradise My repentant executioners . . . I, alone, do not find faith, the sublime faith that would proclaim Me
Master of intellects, and King of consciences . . .
602 HOLY HOUR
And yet I am and I remain the Light of the World!
How much I desire to obtain this victory of light flooding your souls! . . . Give it to Me! . . .
Why are there fewer and fewer in the ranks of those who, famished for love, come to find Me at the Holy
Table? . . .
It is their lack of faith which withdraws them from my Eucharist! . . .
Oh! the ignorance and false respect which arrests on the way, through lack of ardent faith, those whom I
await here in order to give them to drink of the living waters of which I am the Source! . . .
If you had faith, great faith in My love, you would not allow yourselves to be deterred by this false fear
which exhausts your affection, and wounds Me to the Heart so cruelly.
If you knew . . . and you would know if you were animated by a living faith . . . O yes, if you knew Who
awaits you, Who it is that calls you to the Tabernacle! . . .
Let me conquer you and transfigure you by faith; faith that will reveal to you the secret
treasures My Heart reserves for you; faith which will wrest from Me, as of old, the most startling
miracles . . .
Let Me blind you by My light . . . then you will revel in the rapture caused by the revelation of My beauty
and the magnificence of My love.
Children of My Heart, atoning friends, believe with deep, living, immense faith; believe in Me; above all
believe in My love.
Do you really wish Me to reign in your souls by an intimate and permanent victory? . . . Ask Me to increase
your faith! . . .
(If this Holy Hour could re-animate your faith, too often lifeless, it would be an immense benefit. The evil of
our day is not so much the incredulity of the wicked as the weakness of the faith of believers. The glory of the
Heart of Jesus is involved in this.)
Souls: Jesus, Light of our souls, put Thy creative Hands on our darkened souls . . . Command as King, and
the scales will fall from our eyes! . . . Oh! grant us to see Thee! Reign over us by increasing our Faith!
All: Reign over us by increasing our Faith!
Jesus, Light of our souls, in the numbered
604 HOLY HOUR
hours of inner joy, when Thou allowest us to enjoy for a few moments the sunshine and flowers of life! Oh!
grant that we may see Thee in those hours of joy. Reign over us by increasing our Faith!
Jesus, Light of our souls, when in the bitterness of secret sorrows Thou allowest us to suffer anguish that
creatures can neither console nor comprehend, Oh! grant that we may see Thee in this internal storm. Reign
over us by increasing our Faith!
Jesus, Light of our souls, in those harsh struggles between conscience and our miserable nature, between our
desires and the hard realities of life, Oh! grant that we may see Thee in this painful conflict. Reign over us by
increasing our Faith!
Jesus, Light of our souls, in our happy and peaceful aspirations, when we plan for the temporal and Christian
future of those dear to us, Oh! grant that we may see Thee in those plans. Reign over us by increasing our
Faith!
All: Reign,over us by increasing our Faith!
Jesus, Light of our souls, in the agonizing uncertainties of life, when the horizon grows black around us, and
when men and heaven seem to abandon us, Oh! grant that we may see Thee in this dark tempest. Reign over
us by increasing our Faith!
Jesus, Light of our souls, in the inevitable sacrifices that duty imposes upon us, when anguish of heart puts to
a test the ones who love Thee, Oh! grant that we may see Thee in these bitter crises. Reign over us by
increasing our Faith!
Jesus, Light of our souls, in the delicate problems of our inner life, when Thou wisely permittest what we
would not have willed: struggles, contradictions, and unforseen trials, Oh! grant us to see Thee in that grave
hour. Reign over us by increasing our Faith!

Thou only, Lord, art the Way, the Truth, and the Life. To whom shall we go when Thou alone hast the words
of eternal life? . . . Like
606 HOLY HOUR
the blind man in the Gospel, we cry out with all our heart: Son of David, have pity on us, give light to our
souls . . . Oh! grant us to see Thee everywhere and always. Reign over us by increasing our Faith!
All: Reign ovet us by increasing our Faith!
(Brief pause)
An angel came down to Nazareth one day to announce to the Queen of Virgins that, with her consent, the
Savior-King would reign over Israel and over all the world.
But Heaven made as condition the construction of a Tabernacle, a home! Mary would be the Queen, and
from there her Son would reign over the House of David and over all the races of the universe.
Today it is not an angel but the King of kings Himself Who comes down once more to propose to us His
social Reign, His great victory which will be at the same time our salvation. It is Margaret Mary who has
transmitted this wonderful message to us.
But this time again He requires living tabernacles, homes from whence He will rule triumphantly over the
world.
These sanctuaries have been built already by Him and for Himself alone with a view to achieve the victory of
His Calvary! . . . But alas! He has been banished from them . . . He is unknown there . . . He is often treated
not as a King, but as a mendicant, and worse, as an intruder.
He knocks at all doors . . . Here out of ignorance they ask: Who is He? . . . There, with insolence: by what
right does He knock? . . . Elsewhere they dismiss Him with courtesy or anger depending on mean human
motives.
Again are realized the words of St. John: "He came unto His own, and His own received Him not."
If those souls and families but knew Who It is that raps in this hour of mercy at their doors . . . Who It is that
brings them the peace they long for . . . What would not this divine Friend do if He reigned with the complete
sovereignty of a Lover over those families! . . .
He is listening to us there, in the Tabernacle Oh! I profit by Jesus' silence to draw here a simple, evangelical
picture . . . Grasp and relish it as those fortunate ones who saw and heard the
608 HOLY HOUR
gentle Master when telling a parable to. the multitude enthralled by His divine words . . .
Listen: It is a cold winter night, the snow is falling . . .
About midnight a Pilgrim out of breath knocks at the door of a humble cottage. His Hair is wet; His Face
drawn and pale is incomparably beautiful . . .
The door is opened to Him and He enters saying: "My peace be with you!"
The wonderful music of His Voice sweetly awakens the children, the little ones . . . They feel themselves
secretly called; they come running; They press forward; they surround Him; they make Him sit near the
fire . . .
"See," the parents say in low tones, "you can read the cruel agony of His Heart in the beauty of His Eyes . . ."
The children whisper to one another: "How
good and kind He is . . . but just see, there's
blood on His Hands, and His Forehead is cut!"
The Pilgrim speaks, and His words are
revealing, they unveil a Heaven and what a
Heaven it is! . . . All think to themselves: "He seems to carry heaven in His Heart! . . ."
From the time He has entered, a celestial air of ineffable peace has stolen sweetly over the happy, captivated
souls . . . All their trouble has been quickly forgotten; no one now feels the icy cold that was blowing in
before this mysterious Pilgrim came . . . How warm are all those hearts, close, very close to Him! . . .
One thing seems strange. They guess that He is a King, but no one is afraid of His Majesty: not the parents,
for they have suffered . . . nor the children, for they are pure.
But the mild and piercing Eyes of the Pilgrim-King have already detected the deep anguish in the parents'
hearts. Out of pity for their grief, He does not speak of the absent . . . He has counted the empty places . . .
The little ones are there, but the others . . . What has become of the older ones? . . .
They have gone from the shelter of their home! . . . Then to this anguish, other troubles have been added
which the Pilgrim silently recalls to them by a heavenly glance, and the parents fall sobbing at His Feet . . .
20
610 HOLY HOUR
"Do not weep without hope," He says . . , "Weep, yes, but with Me, Who know you and Who love you . . .
Your mourning and your tears drew Me here . . ."
Ah, the heavenly Stranger weeps too! . . . And as His tears moisten the brow and hair of the little ones who,
leaning on His Heart, embrace Him . . . a calm, new, hitherto unknown peace hovers over this home . . .
Heaven seems to have visited this corner of earth!
He wipes His Eyes only to cast a glance of pity, of deep love on this simple, beautiful Bethany, an exiled
King's oasis . . . Opening His smiling Lips, He says with sweet sadness: "I, too, had many children . . . They
have left Me and I am always looking for them . . . I am always in quest of 'their repentance, of their love . . .
"My hospitable friends, the cold outdoors, the gale in the countryside, is nothing in comparison with the
anguish that rages, like a storm, here, in My Heart . . ."
As He says this, He uncovers His Breast . . . What a Wound He there discloses . . . His tunic is covered with
blood! . . .
A moment's silence, then He goes on: "Your kind welcome will be generously rewarded, for I am a King; but
do not fear, for / am a King of Love!"
(Slowly, and with passionate love)
"And behold now, here is a secret, My secret: you who thirst for happiness, love Me! Tell Me all your
troubles: yesterday's griefs, today's anguish, and the trials of the future. Confide to Me all your treasures,
your hearts, your little ones, and especially your hope for the resurrection of those gone away. Confide
everything to Me . . . Keep My secret of unalterable peace: Love Me with an immense love! . . . "
Those words of healing, of strength, and of light caused a flood of tears, but they were happy tears . . . tears
shedding hope and love! . . .
Those tears still flowed when parents and children, kissing His Hands which caressed them, spontaneously
cried out: "King of Love, zt'hat is Your Name? . . . Who are You?"
"/ am Jesus," He said, stretching forth His Arms to them all . . . "I am your King!"
"Oh! yes," Bethany answered; "then stay and
612 HOLY HOUR
live our life with us, forever . . . Be our Friend! . . ."
(Brief pause)
The Heart of Jesus wishes this scene to be a living reality in each of our homes . . . He knocks insistently on
our doors. During this Holy Hour He wishes to enter as King . . . He asks to remain as Friend . . . He wishes
to rule over our families with an intimate, profound, living reign . . . He asks our solemn promise; let us give
it to Him loyally and sincerely.
Jesus: Behold your meek King comes to you. He brings you peace and He offers you the divine friendship of
His Heart. But you can not serve two masters at the same time; you cannot unite Jesus and the world in the
one same love . . . Which will prevail in your family? Who will be the King of Love?
Souls: Heart of Jesus, Thou only shatt be our King!
Jesus: And who is your choice as intimate friend ?
Souls: Thou alone, O Jesus, the Friend of Bethany!
Jesus: From now on, may I enjoin My divine Law upon you, and reign as Master in your home? . . . Will you
hail Me as your King?
Souls: Heart of Jesus, Thou only shall be our King!
Jesus: And who will be the intimate friend in the secret sorrows of your family?
Jesus: Henceforward, then, your persons and goods belong to Me . . . I may do with them as I will . . . But
whom do you admit has the right to dispose of all events, sad and joyful, happy and unhappy, in your lives?
Who will decide the path your family is to follow ?
Souls: Heart of Jesus, Thou only shalt be our King!
Jesus: When in My wisdom I impose struggles and sufferings on you, who will be your Confidant, your
Consoler?
Jesus: If I command as King, My authority must reach over all the actions of your daily life.
614 HOLY HOUR
Will you accept that I design with wisdom and love the ordinary routine of everyday?
Jesus: But I wish so much to have you always give Me My part and . . . the best part, even in the smallest
details of your family life In the monotony of the daily task, who will always be your great friend?
Jesus: Then invite Me to be always the Master and Counselor in important decisions . . . in the hours of cruel
crises, when creatures abandon you to your sorrows . . . Shall I, as absolute King, rule from this moment, as I
rule in Heaven, over this blessed corner of the earth, your home, which has become Mine? . . .

Jesus: And at the hour of forced departures and painful separations, in the hour when death on the wings of
illness or from an unforeseen misfortune draws near you . . . Who will be
at that supreme moment the intimate, inseparable, the first and last Friend of your home?
Souls: Thou alone, O Jesus, the Friend of Bethany! ,
(Never let a great joy, a cruel sorrow, a grave decision, any anniversary whatever in the home, pass without
reneiving in the family, the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart, the Royal Friend of Bethany.)
The glorious victory of Jesus cannot remain a victory only in the family. It ought to become a social victory;
still more, it must be transformed, when the hour comes, into a national victory.
As the World War rages, the suppliant cry rises unceasingly to Heaven: "Lord, give us the victory, it is
justice, it is our right!"
So say all the belligerents who still have the faith . . . But, alas, how many fall on their knees to say to the
dethroned King, to the ignored Master, to the exiled Lord: "Before all else, give us the grace and the glory of
Thy own victory? . . .
"Heart of Jesus, Thy laurels first, Thy
616 HOLY HOUR
Kingdom come, then all things will be added unto us! . . ."
We are living in the providential hour of the Sacred Heart, King and center of the Catholic world . . . To save
the nations from collapse, let us call to our aid the only Liberator, the divine King-Conqueror . . . It is an
urgent necessity that we do so for the interests of peace, justice, and the felicity of families and of society . . .
Alas! Nations and governments have leagued together against God and against His Christ . . . The world has
banished the One Who is the Peace of Heaven; it has crucified the One Who is Life. So we see the world,
like the hill of Calvary, tremble and split asunder, in a convulsion of agony, a sigh of certain and near death.
Let the people come back to the crucified One and His holy Gospel; let the King of Love be profoundly
enthroned in hearts and homes, and the work of regeneration will begin; the world, hopelessly doomed to
ruin, will be saved . . .
Let us call on the Savior-King for it is necessary and urgent that His social Reign extend over us.
Since the Holy Hour is above all, a great
prayer of reparation, let us draw near to Our Lord, Who is treated as a malefactor, yea, as a fool, by modern
social apostasy, and render Him the homage of deeply felt adoration; let us offer His ignored Royalty the
amends of faith and love . . . Sharing His outrage and His sorrow, let us speak to Him from a deeply contrite
heart.
Souls: O King of Love, show us the five adorable Wounds of Thy tortured Body! . . .
Thou art still nailed to an ignominious gibbet by the very ones Thou awaitest on the threshold of Eternity . . .
May our loving reparation transform Thy Wounds into sources of life! May Thy Cross become a throne of
grace and mercy from which Thou wilt draw to Thy Sacred Heart the people who have strayed away! . . .
Guided by the Queen of Sorrows, we draw near Thee . . . In pressing our lips to Thy Wounds let us leave
there the prayer of love and reparation Thou Thyself asked of Margaret Mary . . .
Let us kiss, while adoring it, the Wound of
618 HOLY HOUR
the right Hand, a Wound re-opened by the School without God.
All: We will love Thee, Jesus, for those who hate Thee! (3 times)
Let us kiss, while adoring it, the Wound of the left Hand, re-opened by Divorce law, as wicked as it is
infamous.
All: We will love Thee, Jesus, for those who outrage Thee! (3 times)
Let us kiss, while adoring it, the Wound of the right Foot, re-opened by crimes that profane and destroy the
Christian home.
All: We will love Thee, Jesus, for those who scourge Thee! (3 times)
Let us kiss, while adoring it, the Wound of the left Foot, re-opened by anti-Christian laws.
All: We will love Thee, Jesus, for those who betray Thee! (3 times)
Let us kiss, while adoring it, the Wound of the Sacred Side, constantly re-opened by ingratitude, by apostasy,
by base social compromises, and by horrible Jansenism which insults the generosity of His Love . . .
All: We will love Thee, Jesus, for those who ignore Thee! (3 times)
(Brief pause)
(Say in your hearts a prayer of reparation for the sins of our country.)
And now, Adorable Master, forget the sentence of deicide by which many Pilates, abusing the power Thou
hast conferred upon them, have tried so often to put Thee to death Pardon their wanderings, and, to save the
people for the sake of the just who are found among them, come as Conqueror, ruling over the tempest; Heart
of Jesus, extend Thy social Reign!
All: Heart of Jesus, extend Thy social Reign!
Lord, in our era there are many like the members of the Sanhedrin and the Doctors of old, law-makers of a
day, who have worked with infernal fury to bar Thy Name, Thy Spirit, and Thy Laws from public institutions
. . . Arise, Lion of Judah, and coming forth from the Tabernacle rule over the tempest; Heart of Jesus, extend
Thy social Reign!
The race of Judas has long determined and
620 HOLY HOUR
worked with hellish rage to destroy Nazareth, profaning, and even wiping out if possible the Christian
family . . . O adorable Nazarene, for the sake of Mary, Thy Mother, who is also our Mother, come back as
Conqueror to this turbulent world, dispel by a royal gesture all the modern imitators of those who brought
about Thy Crucifixion; there are so many of them today; rule over the tempest; Heart of Jesus, extend Thy
social Reign!
And now, O King of Love, listen to the farewell and the last prayer of Thy faithful friends, of Thine apostles:
O Jesus, in the presence of the Immaculate Queen and of the Angels who adore Thee in this Host, in the face
of Heaven and also of this ungrateful and rebellious earth . . . we acknowledge Thee, Jesus, the only Lord and
Master, the only Source of all authority, of all virtue, of all justice, of all beauty . . .
That is why, in a spirit of solemn reparation, we assert that we do not recognize a social order without God or
against God; Thou art the foundation of the social order, O Jesus!
All: Thou art the foundation of the social order, O Jesus!
We do not believe in the Utopias of a civilization without God or against God; Thou art the principle of
civilization, O Jesus!
All: Thou art the principle of civilization, O Jesus!
We do not recognize any virtue of justice without God or against God; Thou art absolute Justice, O Jesus!
All: Thou art absolute justice, O Jesus!
We do not recognize law without God or against God; Thou art the source of law, O Jesus!
All: Thou art the source of Law, O Jesus!
We do not recognize liberty without God or against God; Thou art the only Liberator, O Jesus!
All: Thou art the only Liberator, O Jesus!
We do not recognize fraternity without God or against God; Thine is the only Fraternity, O Jesus!
All: Thine is the only Fraternity, O Jesus!
We do not recognize truth without God or
622 HOLY HOUR
against God; Thou art Truth itself, O Jesus! All: Thou art Truth itself, O Jesus!
We do not recognize love without God or against God; Thou art uncreated Love, O Jesus!
All: Thou art uncreated Love, O Jesus!
(Say the Credo or recite the Act of Consecration.)
(Leo XIII)
Most sweet Jesus, Redeemer of the human race, look down upon us, humbly prostrate before Thy Altar, We
consecrates himself today to Thy most Sacred Heart. Many indeed have never known Thee; many too,
despising Thy precepts, have rejected Thee, have mercy on them all, most merciful Jesus, and draw them to
the prodigal children who have abandoned Thee; grant that they may quickly return to their Father's house
lest they die of
wretchedness and hunger. Be Thou King of those who are deceived by erroneous opinions, or whom discord
keeps aloof, and call them, back to the harbor of truth and unity of faith, so that soon there may be but one
flock and one Shepherd. Be Thou King of all those who are still involved in the darkness of idolatry or of
Islamism, and refuse not to draw them all into the light and kingdom of God. Turn Thine Eyes of mercy
toward the children of that race, once Thy chosen people. Of old they called down upon themselves the
Blood of the Savior; may it now descend upon them, a laver of redemption and life. Grant, O Lord, to Thy
Church assurance of freedom and immunity from harm; give peace and order to all nations, and make the
earth resound from pole to pole with one cry: Praise to the Divine Heart that wrought our salvation; to It be
glory and honor forever. Amen.

624 HOLY HOUR
XX
Holy Hour
For the Friends of the Sacred Heart Specially Dedicated to Consecrated Souls
Adorable Jesus, our Lord and our Friend, behold Thy brothers and Thy intimate friends knocking on the
Tabernacle door; they wish to speak with Thee far from the crowd; they have secrets to tell Thee in
confidence; they come to talk alone with Thee, speaking heart to heart with the intimacy of John, with the
unrestraint of Lazarus, of Martha and Mary, with the sincerity of Nicodemus . . . Open Jesus, open wide the
doors of the Tabernacle of Thy Heart, for it is the thirst to love Thee and to make Thee loved that impels us,
with sweet and holy violence, to Thy Feet this evening . . . We do not come to ask Thee to show Thyself to
us in that splendor which dazzled the eyes of Thy three favored Apostles on Thabor. O no, Lord! . . .
625 FRIENDS OF THE SACRED HEART
But even more blessed than those three friends we come to implore another revelation of Thine infinite
mercy, the most beautiful of all, the most fruitful, that of Thy merciful Heart in the immolation of the Crib, of
the Cross, and of Thy divine Eucharist . . . It is here, Jesus, in the splendor of Thy suffering love, that we
insist on knowing Thee, in order to love Thee with a love stronger than death.
Then open to Thy friends this ineffable Wound! Here are Thy brothers, Thine intimates, who wish to speak
to Thee in the language Thou Thyself hast taught them at Bethlehem, on Calvary, and at Paray-le-Monial . . .
Open, good Jesus, without delay, for it is already late. Shadows may fall on us; creatures, distract us;
sorrows, unman us; and hell disturb our peace . . . It is during the Holy Hour, which Thou, Thyself,
originated, O King of Love, that Thou dost wish to receive from Thy favored ones and to give them in return
those loving confidences which are a prelude to the eternal intimacy Thou wilt one day establish between
Thy Heart and ours . . .
Kneeling, trembling with happiness and love,
626 HOLY HOUR
we adore Thee, like the Shepherds and the Wise Men, or better still, as the Immaculate Queen herself adored
Thee; . . . we adore Thee with the ardor of Magdalen the day she was forgiven, with the faith of Thy disciples
on Ascension Day, with the charity of Thine apostles at the hour of Pentecost, . . . thus, King, Elder Brother,
adorable Friend, Jesus-Savior, deeply moved and trusting, we adore Thee in the Holy of Holies of Thy poor
Tabernacle Home . . .
May Mary tell Thee what our lips can only stammer, what our beggarly hearts do not know how to feel or
express . . . In all confidence and humility our helplessness entreats Thee to speak to our souls during this
Holy Hour . . . O Word of God, vibrate once more, resound on earth, speak to us those words which inebriate
the blessed . . . those same words which were kept in the heart of Thy Mother and preserved in the souls of
the Apostles for the salvation of the world . . . Speak to us those words of supreme truth and eternal life . . .
Speak, loving Jesus; Thy friends listen! . . .
(In absolute silence and profound recollection, as if you saw Jesus in the Host, make an interior act of faith in
the real Presence, and above all
present to the Divine Master the homage of your atoning love.)
Since it is not in our power to suppress the line of traitors and of Calvary's torturers, let us at least increase
the number of friends of the Crucified, the ranks of those who remain faithful in loving and following Him,
braving all dangers and all outrages . . .
Ah! How cruel was the agony of Gethsemane, even more cruel than that of the Cross! . . . On Calvary, Mary,
the incomparable and unique Mother, the Queen of Saints, is very near, touching the blood-stained wood . . .
At her side penitent Magdalen is weeping . . . John and a few loyal friends are nearby . . . But at Gethsemane,
it is the anguish of solitude . . . It breaks Jesus' Heart . . . The drowsiness of the three elect, His chosen ones,
is stronger than their love . . . They sleep while the Master is in agony a stone's throw away . . . Jesus is alone
with the horrible spectacle of our crimes . . . But alas, those infuriated with hate are not asleep. They mean
this very night to have the prey for which they crave. They are on the watch; . . . fury is in their hearts . . .
628 HOLY HOUR
Oh! May our vigil be a vigil of f-aithful love. Let us offer this Holy Hour of the true friends of the Master in
solemn reparation for the sins of fickle, lukewarm, and careless friends, of friends who fear and tremble, who
do not know how to love as they themselves are loved. For it is above all others, His very own friends who
wound Jesus; He is so little understood and often so little loved by those who have freely received the gift of
His divine friendship! . . .
That is why this evening like the Angel of Gethsemane, though with more reason, and in company with the
Queen of Sorrows, with Saint John, Magdalen, and Margaret Mary, we will press close to the Adorable One
in Agony . . . With holy emotion and with melting hearts, listen to the plaints of our Beloved, His desires and
His demands, and His burning Sitio (I thirst) which implores our thirst for love to assuage His.
(Let all be hushed around us; let everything be withdrawn from our sight except Jesus. He Himself, will let
us hear His Divine Voice.)
(Very slowly and with unction) Jesus: So long have I been with you and you
do not yet know Me! . . . Well-beloved souls, My Heart is the prey of infinite sadness on account of the
ingratitude, and the lack of generosity of My friends . . . My real friends, where are they? I look around Me in
the hour of combat and darkness . . . How few there are, so few, who are able to watch with Me during one
hour of agony . . . My friends always find Me to help them climb the steep slopes of their own Calvaries; but
they leave Me alone, forsaken in My sorrow . . . My Heart watches, this Heart they have so wounded . . .
They sleep, while traitors urged on by hatred, hurry to accomplish their crime . . . The hatred of my enemies
is stronger, more zealous, than the love of My friends . . . While My friends take their rest, the torturers
fiendishly make ready the scourges, the nails, the crown of thorns, the Cross! . . . They work until they are
weary, increasing the army of My enemies; they scatter money about lavishly to pay for cowardly betrayals,
and to buy the cries of blasphemy, of legal insult . . . Oh, yes, legions of Angels could come. My Father
would send them if I asked Him, but when I weep, I wish to have with Me only friends who can shed
tears . . . You, My brothers, you are those
630
HOLY HOUR/
friends—you, the elect of My Heart—the Heart which has been ground to bits for your well-being . . . Oh, do
not abandon Me in the hour of Gethsemane; come close around Me. Uphold with your faithful hearts the
Heart of your Jesus . . . My soul is sorrowful . . . sorrowful unto death . . . I die because I am not loved by My
own! . . .
(Brief pause)
Souls: We are absolutely resolved, Lord Jesus, to atone for our faults . . . But, adorable Savior, make known
to us Thy complaints . . . Do not fear to humiliate us . . . Enumerate these faults, these failings of Thy
friends . . . What is the bitterness with which the chalice of Thine adorable Heart has been filled? . . . Speak,
Oh, speak to us again, dear Jesus! . . .
Jesus: Listen, "filioli," My little ones, yes, I wish to lay before you the entire cause of My sorrow . . . On
hearing the recital of your weaknesses, instead of turning aside from Me in fear and trembling, come rather to
seek in a greater intimacy with the Friend of the Tabernacle a remedy, the only efficacious one for your
wretchedness . . . Here, I am your Savior
and Friend; on the threshold of your eternity, I will, in truth, be your Judge! . . .
Your faults, My friends? . . . Above all, your lack of generous love! 1 hunger! Is there nothing to eat, My
children? . . .
You do not have to buy bread, as did My Apostles in Samaria . . . It is you, My friends, that I want, you
without reserve or measure . . . Oh! I hunger, not for a glance from your eyes, not for a -fleeting smile on
your lips, not for a word from your mouth or your heart, no . . . I hunger for your whole soul . . . In exchange
for My Heart, I claim your heart for Myself alone! I have given you so much. I have given you
everything . . . And you? Oh! Why do you always measure out the love you give Me?
Creatures, ah, they, first of all, they have the preference . . . And the servant, the pauper, the beggar at the
banquet of your life . . . it is 1, your God!
For a long time I have awaited the total gift of yourself which belongs to Me by right . . . My patience is
infinite because I am Jesus! . . . It is often only after long months, even long years of loving expectation, that
I finally receive a
632 HOLY HOUR
miserable crumb that falls from your table! . . . I accept it . . . I bless this crumb which speaks to Me of you,
but I also weep while picking it up. For a long time I have awaited a place, the first place in your souls, in
your home, and everywhere. Fortunate creatures have, alas, often taken it, this place of honor . . . They will
not, they can not wait, say they . . . and they go in . . . !!...! await at the door. I await a call from your Heart,
often it is the last . . . And too often I await in vain! I seat Myself on the door step and bide My time because
I am eternal Mercy! . . . And I live on your crumbs, while waiting until I can give you this Banquet, which
from all eternity has been prepared for you in Heaven . . . that Bread which is Myself . . . I offer you eternal
happiness, and I very often receive from you only morsels of your time . . . You even count the moments that
you grant Me . . .
(Brief pause)
And the proof, My children, of this lack of generosity on the part of My friends is their lack of gratitude
totvard Me . . . Through natural, noble sentiments, you thank effusively those you consider your benefactors .
. . Alas!
I am often excluded from their number . . . I have loaded you with My favors; I have freely given you
tenderness, enlightenment, pardon, consolations, but when the hour of thanksgiving comes, you forget
Me . . . Where are all those fine promises of gratitude you poured out so lavishly when you implored
graces . . . even miracles? . . . Ah! those I reserve for My generous friends, for the very generous friends, for
grateful souls . . .
But this is the hour of repentance, of reparation, of mercy . . . Assure Me that you will love Me from now on
with an immense gratitude and an unfailing generosity . . . Do not fear the eternal and patient One Who calls
and awaits . . . awaiting only to enrich those whom His Heart pardons . . . I hunger for your love, for the
bread of your hearts . . . Come to the God of Love, Who deliglits in calling Himself your Brother, your
Friend, your Jesus! . . .
(Any hymn of thanksgiving here, or better still, if possible, the Magnificat, with Our Lady)
Souls: Good Master, Thou hast still in the dregs of the chalice a loving and just reproach to make us . . . How
Thy cries and tears set the
634 HOLY HOUR
heart on fire while at the same time they heal it. Ah! then, speak again and wound our hearts by showing
them the Wound in Thine . . .
Jesus: You, My little flock of favorites, draw still nearer that I may in greater confidence tell you of a sorrow
that rends My Heart . . . My Friends do not loz>e Me with trusting and simple love . . .
They fear Me! . . . How hard it is to be feared rather than to be loved when I am the God of Love! . . . And
what more can be done to cure this evil which works such havoc in the ranks of My best servants . . . They
dare not consider Me their Friend . . . I tell them, I repeat in the most touching terms: "It is I . . . Be not afraid
. . . you are My friends" . . . But these timorous souls do not dare to take for themselves the delicious honey
of My words . . . What more can I do to win a trusting love from them? . . .
Beloved soul, I have given up the mantle of majesty for you, and you fear Me . . .
Look at My Crib: I made Myself small, very small, to look like your brother, to draw you close to Me, and
you are still afraid! . . . Meditate on My life at Nazareth, so simple and poor . . . My
obscure and laborious life in the workshop of Joseph, the humble carpenter . . . What is there to terrify
you? . . , And yet you are afraid! . . .
Follow Me as I preach; I draw the multitude; I stretch forth My arms, and the little ones, the sick, the
beggars, all the outcasts of society crowd around Me; they contend for the joy of approaching Me . . . I am
the same Jesus . . . and still you fear Me! . . .
I do not venture to invite you, cherished soul, to the banquets of Zaccheus, of Simon, of Levi, or to those of
the publicans and public sinners. You would not accept My invitation . . . and, nevertheless, I came to save
that which was lost, the fallen, the spiritual corpses, the scum of society, those who are at heart great
sinners. . . Are you of that number? . . . And yet you fear! . . .
Do you not know of the marvels of My love at the Last Supper? . . . Have you also forgotten My last words
of hope and pardon on the Cross— My Heart's testament confided to My Mother, who is also yours? . . . You
know all that. And you still fear! . . .
And see Me here abased, smaller than in the
636 HOLY HOUR
Crib, poorer than at Nazareth, sweeter, tenderer, more patient, and more merciful than in Samaria, at
Capharnaum, in Galilee; more of a Savior, if that were possible, than on the Cross . . . Behold Me here in the
Host where I am above all the God of Love . . . and you still fear! . . .
Ah! Then tell Me, beloved soul, what more must I do to drive away your fears, to awaken and increase in you
the immeasurable trust that I claim from My friends as the precious proof of their love! . . .
Do not forget that it is love that saves, and that love, which on My side is pity and mercy, should produce in
him whom I call My friend, open-heartedness, joyous simplicity, and unbounded confidence . . .Oh, I see . . .
I already read in your soul the answer you are going to make Me. You turn pale at the remembrance of your
past sins . . . You live in remorse instead of living by love . . . Your faults? Confide them all to Me . . . I have
already forgiven you! . . . Believe, Oh, believe in My merciful love and come, throw yourself into My
Heart! . . .
What! You fear your own great wretchedness? . . . Is not My tenderness there to provide

for it and to cure it? . . . You fear your weakness? . . . I grant it . . . But what of the power and strength of My
grace? . . . You look for still another excuse through fear of My justice . . . You should know it is terrible
only to those who refuse My mercy . . . O cherished soul, live in the present hour, the blessed hour of grace,
of strength, and of light! . . . Your sins of the past are no more . . . Remember that my name is Jesus, which
means Savior! . . .
(Brief silence)
Souls: It is true, only too true, Lord Jesus, that we have not been always faithful to our title of friends of Thy
adorable Heart . . . It is most certainly not that Thou hast failed to stretch forth Thy Arms and Thy Heart to
Us . . . but because our hearts have always remained closed to our divine Friend, for want of that loving trust
that with such good reason Thou claimest from us . . . Jesus, forgive us, Thy friends, our distrust, our lack of
faith in Thy love, our excessive fear, all of which have often hurt Thee so cruelly . . . Listen today to our
repentant voices crying to Thee: In spite of . . . and because of our sins.
638 HOLY HOUR
(Aloud, all together) All: We believe in Thy love fot us! In spite of . . . and because of our ingratitude, All:
We believe in Thy love for as! In spite of . . . and because of our weaknesses, All: We believe in Thy love for
as! In spite of . . . and because of our blindness, All: We believe in Thy love fot us! In spite of . . . and
because of our temptations, All: We believe in Thy love fot us! In spite of . . . and because of our spiritual
poverty,
All: We believe in Thy love fot us!
In spite of . . . and because of our abuse of
Thy favors,
In spite of . . . and because of our great
cowardice,
• In spite of . . . and because of our relapses
into sin,
Yes, sweet and merciful Jesus, to prove to
Thee our boundless faith in Thy love, infinitely greater than our misery, we will go to Thee . . . Hereafter we
will have prompt recourse to Thy compassionate Heart, especially when we feel the sting of our
wretchedness and of our remorse. Dost Thou wish more, beloved Master? . . .
Jesus: O yes! . . . I want your intimacy, for I truly want your friendship . . . As you may well know, it is only
by condescension on My part that you have any right to that intimacy. But this condescension obliges you to
render Me, in your turn, a friend's real love with all the intimacy that it connotes . . .
So from now on I do not want any distance between us . . . Meditate on the teaching of the Host, which
delivers Me to you in an intimacy which astounds even the Angels . . . My wisdom united to My mercy has
suppressed in the Holy Eucharist the infinite abyss that separates us . . . If, even after knowing your misery, I
have filled in this abyss . . . if, in spite of your failings and unworthiness, I persist in calling you, and if I go
so far as to order you to come and rest in the peace and freedom of My Heart, why should you wish to reopen
that abyss? . . . Is it right
640 HOLY HOUR
to give a lesson concerning justice to your Master? . . .
You have this intimacy with your mother, your brothers, and your friends. Do not make Me jealous by
refusing it to Me, the divine Friend of the poor, of the sorrowful, of the sinners, and of the little ones, who
were the first to be invited to My banquet of choice delights . . .
It is the great promise I expect from you during this Holy Hour, for I do not want slaves, but intimate friends,
overflowing with confidence, and abandonment.
(In silence, in burning prayer, let us promise the Heart of Jesus henceforth to give Him the complete trust,
the sweet intimacy He demands of us . . . let us recollect ourselves . . . let us speak to our Divine Friend . . . )
(And as external and solemn profession of this silent promise, say five times in honor of our Savior's five
Wounds, two short but eloquent ejaculatory prayers, which will give joy to the Prisoner of the Tabernacle:)
(Aloud, all together)
All: We love Thee, Jesus, because Thou art Jesus! (5 times)
All: Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, we place our trust in Thee. (5 times)
(Brief silence)
Jesus: O you, My friends, loaded down with My graces, come and see if there is a sorrow like to My sorrow!
. . . For centuries I have climbed painfully the mount of Calvary . . . Where are then the Cyrenians of My
Heart? . . . Where are then My real friends? . . . Crowds pressed around Me the day I multiplied the
loaves . . . I had many disciples on Palm Sunday*. . . My friends did not fall asleep on Mount Thabor . . .
They surrounded Me in the Cenacle, but where were they at Gethsemane? . . . What had become of them in
the Praetorium? . . . on Calvary? . . . They ask to sit at My side in the future Kingdom of glory but here below
they seek sensible love, comfortable piety, easy virtue . . . They do not lofe with the real love of the Cross, of
sacrifice! I receive protestations which, alas, are often only the outbursts of passing enthusiasm, the vagaries
of a love which is not anchored in the depths of the soul . . . My friends, sometimes My best friends, fear the
Crucified One and the Cross! . . . When I show Myself as the God-Man 21
642 HOLY HOUR
of sorrows, as Pilate exhibited Me . . . when 1 intimate to My friends a desire to share the glory of wearing
My royal mantle dyed in the purple of My Blood . . . Oh! . . . then I am left alone with My Mother, John, and
Magdalen . . . Do you not wish to join this small, this courageous family? . . . Will you, too, abandon Me
when I ask you to follow Me to Calvary? . . . Ah, if you would only understand that I am never sweeter,
never more loving than when I entrust My tears and My Cross—My treasure and yours—to My close
friends! . . . Can you drink of My chalice? Answer Me . . .
(Without hesitation, let us promise with the inner voice of a loyal heart that the Master will find faithful
friends in us, undaunted and generous Cyrenians, who to confirm their love will follow Him as unwaveringly
to Calvary as to Thabor) .
Souls: Yes, Jesus, Crucified Master, we adore Thee above all in the beauty of Thy transfiguration when
covered with blood for us; we will chant Thy glory and prove our love by imprinting on ourselves the
stigmata of Thy Passion . . .
Reflecting on our heart-rending griefs, our
family concerns, the reverses of fortune, cruel disillusionments, and our interior trials, we say with heart and
lips:
In bodily suffering, under the cross of illness we will love Thee more than ever . . . Hosanna to the King of
Calvary!
All: We will love Thee more than ever . . . Hosanna to the King of Calvary!
In the most agonizing struggle, in the hours of extreme sadness . . .
In our hidden and secret sorrows, in hours of unbearable isolation . . .
All: We wilt love Thee more than ever . . . Hosanna to the King of Calvary!
In the contradictions of daily life . . . in family trials . . .
In our grieving and heart-breaks,' when our friends deceive and betray us . . .
644 HOLY HOUR
When we feel the rigor of Thy merciful justice, in the hour of necessary separations . . .
When defeats and mishaps spoil our plans . . . in the hour of human injustice . . .
(Brief pause)
We are reaching the end of this Holy Hour. Taking the place of His friend, John, in the Cenacle, let us draw
still closer to the Heart of Jesus so as to lose not a drop from the chalice or a spark of fire and light of that
Furnace . . .
Jesus: Sitio! I thirst, My children, faithful friends of My Heart, I thirst with a burning thirst that may be
quenched by your zeal! . . . I have given you so much; you have received everything from my bounty . . . and
what is the interest on this immense capital? . . . My glory! Do you wish to be just and grateful, faithfully
paying your debt of honor? . . . O, then give Me souls, many souls! . . . Sitio! I thirst . . . and give Me to
souls!
Do you wish to atone for the crimes of sinners, and at the same time for your many failings? . . . Spread My
Reign of Love!
Do you wish to win even more of My Heart, to draw closer the bond of friendship that unites you to It, to
oblige It to pour forth on you, more abundantly, the riches of Its mercy? . . . Be apostles then on fire with
love . . . 7 thirst! . . . Yes, I thirst for souls. Give Me souls in exchange for all I have done for you . . .
' If you knew the infinite desire I have to distribute the treasures of My Heart through My friends! . . . Oh, if
you really love Me, let all of you become docile instruments to draw souls and families to My Sacred Heart! .
..
To perform this mission, so glorious for you and for Me, is beyond your power you say . . . The wicked speak
not in this way . . . They are always able to make Calvary ready. Can you not possibly prepare Thabor? . . .
What a fathomless ocean of graces, what a Heaven I reserve for the real apostles of My Heart . . . The
inexhaustible treasures of Its tenderness and Its almighty power belong to you; come and take them and
distribute them to so many of
646 HOLY HOUR
the poor, hungry, ignorant, blind, halt, who have never received what I have given you, who have never
known what you know of My goodness . . . They are My children and your brothers . . . Have pity on Me in
the souls of those brothers who perish . . . What! . . . Must I allot to others more zealous than you the secrets
and interests of My glory? . . . Time presses; My hour of mercy, the hour of My Reign over the world by the
power of My Heart has come. I have promised it and I will keep My word, for the world, with its follies and
all it swears by will pass away; but My word and My promises will never pass away without being realized. I
am a faithful God, I am the God of Love!
Sitio! . . . I thirst for love! . . . Take then the sparks from the furnace of My Heart, and go forth to conquer the
world. Go forth, kindling this flame, this doctrine of My Love, so little understood! Sitio! . . . Love Me
passionafely and make Me loved with boundless love! . . . I confide to you My Heart, Its treasures and My
glory, for time and eternity . . . I must reign by love! . . .
(Answer the King of Love by a last prayer said with the ardor of a fiery apostle.)
Final Prayer
O Jesus, King of Love and Mercy, we implore Thee by the promises Thou didst make to Saint Margaret
Mary in favor of souls devoted to Thy Sacred Heart, that the Reign of Thy adorable Heart may be spread by
Thy priests and apostles over the whole world. If we are truly Thy friends we must have at heart the keenest
desire to make Thy glory shine forth!
We ask that Thy kingdom may be spread by this special work of the Enthronement which the Church has
blessed, and which has already brought back so many souls to Thy Heart. May it be the mustard seed, grown
into a great tree, sheltering thousands of families, who in their joys and sorrows sing Thee a Hosanna of love.
Let Thine all-powerful Sacred Heart bless this work that it may fulfill all the requests Thou didst make at
Paray-le-Monial, and by sweet violence make Thee accomplish with us the promises made to Thy apostles.
Thou hast said, "I wish to reign by My Heart." Then bless this work that it may be more and more fruitful,
and cause those who are charged with the Church's interests to bless it also that
648 HOLY HOUR
they may be sanctified by Thy love and this apostolate. Thy glory is our glory; Thy cause, our cause; Thine
interests, our interests; Thy love, our love; because, by Thy great mercy, Thy Heart is our heart! . , .
Therefore, we beseech Thee, by Mary Immaculate, Queen of families, by Margaret Mary, Thy confidante
and first disciple, by the fervor of all the apostles devoted to the glory of Thy Sacred Heart, that in us, Thy
friends, and through our apostolate, Thou dost deign to carry out Thy munificent and ineffable promises of
mercy. And because we are poor, sorry creatures, accept us as the docile instruments of Thy merciful
designs. By all the means that Thy providence places in our hands, we promise Thee to be everywhere and
always, apostles of Thy social sovereignty, of Thy Kingdom of Love.
We thank Thee a thousand times, beloved Master, for the undeserved vocation with which Thou hast blessed
us in confiding to us the glory and the incomparable treasures of Thy merciful love. Thy Kingdom Come!
(Final Acclamations)
Jesus, we believe in the victory of Thy Cross! (Twice)
Jesus, we believe in the victory of Thy Holy Eucharist! (Twice)
Jesus, we believe in the victory of Thy Church! (Twice)
Jesus, we believe in the victory of Thy Kingdom of Love! (Twice)
Rule, Lord, in spite of Thy enemies! (Twice)
650 HOLY HOUR
(At the end of the Holy Hour the Credo, if possible, or otherwise a hymn to the sovereignty of the Sacred
Heart.)
651 A MOTHER'S HOLY HOUR
XXI
A Mother's Holy Hour

For a Mother Watching Beside the Bed of Her Child
PRELIMINARY REMARKS. This Holy hour was written especially for mothers who are vitally interested
in the thorough Christian formation of their children.
In order the more easily to appreciate the supernatural value of this form of prayer and to understand the
dominant thoughts and delicate shades of this special type of Holy Hour we would like to remind them:
1. That the first effective elements of Christian education are the mother's faith and prayer.
2. That the first blessing of this Holy Hour will be an increase of grace for the mother herself. The blessings
she begs for her child must infallibly redound to her.
3. That from the very dawn of life, the docile, pliable and pure soul of the child must be penetrated with love
for Jesus and His Sacred Heart. In effect, the great principle of Catholic pedagogy
652 HOLY HOUR
is that education does not consist in a purely theoretical and speculative knowledge of doctrine and law, but
above all in the love of the divine Master and adorable Lawgiver, in a word, in charity.
4. To make this love profound and practical it must above all else be Eucharistic. Then only will it be
generous, zealous and apostolic. It is a mark of great wisdom in Christian pedagogy to have forged a strong,
divine link between the soul of the child and the very person of Jesus, dwelling in the Sacred Host.
5. As a logical consequence of this love for Jesus, there must be kindled in the soul of the child at the earliest
possible moment the flame of zeal that will impel him to work for the glory of the Heart of Jesus and to win
souls for Him. As the child grows up, he will carry on this apos-tolate by his Masses and Communions, his
prayers and sacrifices. These are the "Golden Pennies" he will earn for Jesus. This supernatural missionary
activity will complete, purify and solidify the religious education of the child and most effectively assure his
perseverance.
Purity, hatred for sin, filial devotion to Mary, piety, fervent love for the Eucharist daily Mass and
Communion, zeal, prayers and sacrifices for the reign of the Sacred Heart; these are the ideals
we are trying to instill in the hearts of the Tarci-sians, youthful apostles of the Heart of Jesus.*
Mary Beside the Manger
She sings and she weeps . . . She is the Woman blessed among women, but she is also by far the most
sorrowful of mothers . . . In the distance she visions the outlines of Calvary.
* Tarcisians of the Sacred Heart are boys and girls from kindergarten up, who endeavor to bring the Sacred
Heart into their own homes and the homes of others through their great love for the Sacred Heart. The means
they use are "Golden Pennies" (prayers, sacrifices and Eucharistic devotions). This crusade was started by
Father Mateo to help spread the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart in the home.
The name "Tarcisian" comes from St. Tarcisius, the boy-martyr, who was killed in the early centuries of the
Church, while carrying the Blessed Sacrament to Christians condemned to death by the pagans. St. Tarcisius
is a model and patron for all boys and girls who love the Blessed Sacrament and who, like him, try to bring
Jesus to souls.
A Tarcisian Club may be started in your own home. Once your children become Tarcisians, you will be
amazed at the transformation the Sacred Heart will effect in their souls. Send for explanatory leaflet and copy
of the Tarcisian newspaper, THE KING'S REIGN. Write to: Tarcisian Club, 4930 S. Dakota Ave. N.E.,
Washington 17, D. C.
654 HOLY HOUR
The motaer oeside the cradle also sings and weeps . . . She prays for her child . . , How uncertain the future!
First Ejaculatory Prayers of the Little Benjamin of Jesus' Heart*
THE CHILD'S GUARDIAN ANGEL. Christian mother, and therefore blessed, kneel lovingly before the
Lord Jesus. Adore Him with me in this living tabernacle, in this ciborium of purity, the soul of your child.
Let us adore Him together, since we both share the guardianship and responsibility of the treasure of this
home. Pray, Christian mother, pray with boundless faith, and may your supplications, even more than your
teachings, awaken in your child the gift of prayer. Pray with love, for prayer must be the flame that mounts
from the heart. Pray with the confidence that gladdens the Heart of Jesus, to draw down, both upon the child
that is yours and mine, and upon the entire family, those torrents of grace that He bestows upon families of
His love.
Yes, pray, Christian mother! I shall take your prayer and present it to my God and your God, to my King and
your King, Jesus, in the chalice
* Benjamin was the youngest and the best loved of the sons of Jacob.
of the heart of Mary, the divine Mother! Pray, O pray! I accompany you with the guardian angels of Nazareth
and of your family. I pray, I adore, I love with you, spreading my wings over child and mother. Let us pray
for our common treasure.
THE MOTHER'S ACT OF FAITH. "Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to Thy
Will! May Your Kingdom come in this home and in this family as in Heaven. You have honored me, Jesus,
with the glory of motherhood . . . I thank You! But I return that glory by consecratng this child to You. May
it be Yours, all Yours, only Yours, because I believe in Your divine Kingship, in Your sovereign and
absolute rights. I believe, Jesus, in Your Wisdom, the only wisdom that directs the world of our souls and the
world that revolves around us. I believe in Your Providence, full of delicate tenderness, and I believe in Your
almighty Power.
You have created for yourself alone, O Jesus, this child and its unworthy mother. Ah, yes, adorable Lord and
Master, we will be Yours for time and eternity. But troubled at the sight of my responsibility, of my duties
and my weakness, I turn to You, God of charity, and with all the strength of my heart, I cry out: Save us, both
656 HOLY HOUR
mother and child, because I believe in Your love, Jesus, yes, I believe in Your Sacred Heart!
I believe . . . I believe in Your Heart, O Jesus Son of Mary, and because I believe in Your special love for
children and in Your great divine pity for mothers, I willingly surrender my rights and titles and on both
knees, I beseech You to keep my child for Yourself alone . . . be ever His King of Love! But since, according
to Your designs, he needs must have a mother, entrust him Yourself, O Jesus, to her whose sweet and
unspeakable tenderness You know so well by experience, that near You and with You, the Queen of love
may be the real mother of the child, who smilingly sleeps, good Jesus, in Your arms, breathing the life and
warmth of Your adorable Heart. In the name of my child and of my family: I believe, I believe in Your
love . . . I adore, I adore Your Heart, O Jesus!
Here say a short, fervent prayer, to ratify these expressions of faith, but always in the name of the child and
your family. "Increase my faith, increase my love!"
MARY SPEAKS TO THE MOTHER. Come to me, beloved daughter and already sorrowful mother, come to
her whom you rightly call the
Queen of love and your Mother. Let me pour my soul into yours, and in a sweet heart-to-heart talk, allow me
to relate to you a few intimate pages of the divine story of Bethlehem.
This part of that wonderful story is made up of smiles and tears, the smiles of Jesus and the tears of His
Mother. O how radiant was that Christmas night! The angels sang, but the song that pulsed its rhythm with
the throbbings of my heart was still more powerful, far sweeter and more profound. Yes, my daughter, my
heart sang, praising the wonders and the mercies of the Lord, now become my Child. My joy was then
unparalleled and it will never be surpassed by creatures either on earth or in Heaven.
However, you are a mother and you can comprehend something of these secrets of your heavenly Mother.
You can imagine what a paradise of glory and happiness the poor crib of Bethlehem was to me. You can
easily guess what an ecstasy of jubilation enraptured me, and what celestial concerts of gratitude filled my
soul.
Ah! but that Child Whom I adored that night, was also your Liberator. All in Him, everything about Him,
revealed a dreadful Calvary to come.
Why was His body marvelously formed by the Holy Spirit? It took a miracle to give the Word
658 HOLY HOUR
capacity for suffering! That little body was miraculously created only to be cruelly put to death after the
measure of His suffering had been filled up.
His divine eyes, I well knew, would be fountains of tears . . .
Each tear revealed to me an incurable wound of love . . .
His lips were made for no other purpose than to drink the chalice of death . . .
For His Heart, that Heart which throbbed so close to mine, was already bearing the deep wound that grew
ever wider as Jesus drew near to Calvary.
And what shall I say to you, beloved daughter, about the hidden passion of that divine little King? As He
drew His blood and life from my virginal breast, I discovered in each kiss of His lips the bitterness of a
Gethsemani which He carried within Himself. Son and Mother, we were both inseparable in the joys of
Christmas as in the sorrows of the Passion, a secret Passion to be sure, but nevertheless already very real in
His Heart. I gave myself up to the Father, to His sovereign will, and I gave up my Jesus, tearing Him away
from my own Heart, for your salvation and His glory.
6S9 A MOTHER'S HOLY HOUR
And now, my daughter, answer me: this story, this mysterious blending of joy and anguish, is it not
somewhat akin to your own, hidden in your heart?
O, you rejoiced at being a mother, and rightly so, for it is a divine privilege. You still have joy . . . but . . .
What will this loveable slumbering child become in time?
What will he be in God's eternity?
Do not reply immediately, dear daughter; reflect seriously on your answer. But before giving it to me, who
with the exception of Jesus, loves you more than anyone else, and loves your child as the blossom of my
love, listen to these words of your gentle Queen: This child will be, most probably, what you want him to be!
This statement disturbs you somewhat. But your anxiety is for the eternal welfare of both mother and child.
Keep this lesson hidden in your heart, meditate on it before the Lord. This true Christian concern will bear
fruits of happiness and peace.
Christian mother, you have a sublime mission to perform — a supernatural, a divine mission. Your child
comes from God and for a little while he is confided to your care; he is loaned to you
660 HOLY HOUR
to brighten your home with the sunshine that comes from above. But a day will come when you must return
him, beautiful in the sight of God and fully formed, to the Lord Who awaits the child from the hands of its
mother.
Some day this child may love God very much . . . perhaps he may even become a saint.
But this child may become likewise a crown of thorns for his God and his mother.
Look at it; it is a bud made to blossom, provided you water it with grace and virtue.
He has a soul, yes, but a soul that must be nurtured and developed, if it is not to be lost. Alas, there are so
many souls being lost!
It is my Jesus that I love in your child, beloved mother, and it is your soul together with your child's soul that
I claim for Jesus, for I am Mother and Queen to you both.
I see you deep in thought and indeed you have reason. Very often I too have wept beside the cradle of the
divine Child . . . softly, very softly, so as not to awaken the King wrapped in His swaddling clothes . . . Ah,
but I well knew that though His eyes were closed in sleep, His Heart was weeping with mine.
Tell me now, beloved daughter, all your worries; confide in me the troubles that fill your heart.

Tell me the reason for those clouds that overshadow your soul. Even more than your answer, which I already
know, it is your confidence, your child-like trust that I seek. Speak, my daughter.
THE MOTHER SPEAKS TO MARY. Virgin most loving, Queen most compassionate, Mother most tender,
I love you! And I know, O yes, I know that you love me. Virgin Mother, Queen of love, my soul weeps
anguish beside this little bark in which so peacefully sleeps my little child, our child, Mother-Mary. Today
his little bark is made fast to the shore, sheltered from the tempests. But what about tomorrow? O you know
the thought that distresses me, Blessed Mother, Star of this turbulent sea that lies in wait for my little one
with its hurricanes and its perilous reefs. I give him to you, Mother, I confide him to you, beloved Queen . . .
save, O save my child on the stormy ocean of life!
Thank Jesus for me, Blessed Virgin, for having deigned to make me comprehend my responsibilities, and for
having given me the courage to consider and weigh them in the light of His grace. Bless the Heart of Jesus,
Heavenly Mother, for the anguish, the hidden sorrows, the cruel fears that have contributed, as did your own,
to the salvation of my child. Yes, I thank God for hav-
662 HOLY HOUR
ing made me taste the bitterness through which, I am sure, my child and my home will be spared an even
greater bitterness, that of sin, with its deadly and horrible consequences in time and eternity!
That is why, O Mary, Model of mothers, far from giving way to complaints and useless lamentations, under
the weight of a thousand inevitable anxieties, I accept my mission, such as the Heart of Jesus seems to trace it
for me. He is the adorable Master. In our home He is the King of Love. I beg you then, Mother most tender,
to tell Him I have full and entire confidence in His infinite love.
I accept the glory and the cross of being a mother, as your self, O peerless Mother, accept it on Christmas
night.
Before my eyes filled with tears there appears still another vision that likewise disturbs me . . . Will this little
one some day forget his God?
Will this child of my tears forget his mother and her teachings?
Mother, O Mother, what anguish for my heart to think of the grave danger that will inevitably threaten the
soul of my child in the future. What anguish to think of the gaping abyss that is there, ready to engulf its
victim!
But I know well his happiness as a Catholic, his fidelity to his conscience are problems that you alone, Jesus
and Mary, can solve-That he may be happy, take my child O Mary, give him to the Heart of Jesus, keep him
in the heavenly wound of His side. Watch over us, Mother, that he may remain there with me, in life and in
death, on earth and forever in Heaven.
Prayer of the Two Mothers
MARY: Heart of my Infant Jesus, through me, your loving and beloved Mother, bless this child.
THE MOTHER: Heart of Jesus, remember your first tears, dried by Mary. Look upon mine and bless my
child!
MARY: Heart of Jesus, if You still love me with the same love; if I have any power over Your Kingly Heart,
single out this child as your faithful friend of tomorrow. Through his mother and Yours, may he remain
entirely Yours forever!
THE MOTHER: Yes, Jesus, I love him only for you. I do not want him to be other than what You wish him
to be: rich or poor, great or unknown. But I do want him to be your soldier, entirely yours along with his
mother and that is sufficient for me.
664 HOLY HOUR
MARY: In the name of this mother who is my beloved daughter, I consecrate this child to You and place it in
Your loving Heart. And if, as Queen, I can command, O then I command that he remain there to await his
eternal happiness. Smile on this mother, Jesus, smile on this child, Your own Mother asks this of You . . .
THE MOTHEP SPEAKS IN THE NAME OF THE CHILD: Sacred Heart of Jesus, I love Thee! (5 times
while kissing an image of the Sacred Heart).
Sacred Heart of Jesus, Thy Kingdom come! (5 times).
I love Thee Jesus, because Thou art Jesus! (5 times).
Hail Mary (once)
Pious mother, have no doubt that the divine little King, from the glorious throne of the arms of Mary
Immaculate, blesses both the child and its mother. It is there that He receives the incense of these first
prayers, offered to the Heart of Jesus by the lips of the mother.
II
The Flight Into Egypt
Mary's Emotion . . . The Perilous Journey...
The Land of Exile
The first perils to endanger the child . . , He must live and struggle in a land of exile . . . False idols surround
him on all sides , . . His defects, Ms first faults.
The Child's First Confession
THE GUARDIAN ANGEL SPEAKS: With deep emotion, O Christian mother, I have been witnessing those
divine scenes which long ago I contemplated in Bethlehem. I have been listening to those conversations
between Heaven and you, creature of earth, dialogues that fill the angelic spirits with amazement. And these
marvellous scenes and loving dialogues are renewed and enacted before our very eyes. •
Look upon this child in the light of a strong living faith. Some day he will be privileged to sing with me the
eternal praises of the Lord. But do you know the price to be paid for this privilege? Yet have no fear . . . I
shall be silent and allow my heavenly Queen to relate to you, exiled in this vale of tears, the story of her own
666 HOLY HOUR
exile and that difficult journey across the desert which saved from death the Infant God, our King. Bowing
low, I shall listen to this story of the anguish of Love's Queen, and at the same time, I shall silently adore in
the most pure chalice of your child's heart, the same Infant Jesus Whom I so often adored in the arms of His
Immaculate Mother.
But that you may be less unworthy of receiving the lessons of Mary, kneel down once more, Christian
Mother, and pray to obtain the grace of understanding clearly your mission in behalf of this child. Pray for
the supernatural light that dispels all illusions, and that will show you not only the dangers that await your
child here below but also the help that comes from above.
You see, all Heaven is interested in your child. He is here on earth as a traveler passing through; his is a
temporary exile. We are waiting for you and your child on the threshold of eternity which is drawing ever
closer for you both. Pray then, with heavenly fervor, and I will endorse your prayers.
THE MOTHER'S ACT OF CONFIDENCE. Heart of Jesus, the closer I come to You, the more clearly do I
perceive, by the light of the divine flames issuing from Your Heart, the frightening
abyss that would engulf the soul of my child. But also, the nearer You come to this poor mother and her
child, the more I feel myself calm and peaceful, for then I see another abyss whose supernatural beauty
appeases the torments of my maternal heart. That abyss is the Wound made by love in Your transpierced side
. . . it is Your Heart ever open, especially to mothers and their innocent children.
Because of my weakness and ignorance, O Jesus, I have reason to fear many things, but because of Your
goodness and bounty, I can hope for all things from Your-merciful love, which has always been my help.
Have You not given further proof of this, O King of Glory, by granting me the grace to understand that
motherhood is a vocation and a divine mission, and that my child and I are but two drops in the eternal ocean
of Your love?
Therefore, since I believe in Your love with a blind but strong faith, I cast myself with my child into Your
arms, into the furnace of Your Heart. Guard us both, dear Jesus, in spite of the temptations and enticements
of this frivolous and deceitful world.
Adorable Master, You have confided to me the salvation of an immortal soul. Who am I to
668 HOLY HOUR
direct him in the path of holiness? I could even die tomorrow, leaving my child in the keeping of infinite
mercy. But I shall not fear, I shall not be troubled, no matter what mysterious path you have traced for me.
My child will never be a real orphan, because You are a kind and tender Father, and Mary is there to cradle
his rest and watch over his soul. I believe, O Jesus, I believe in Your love, and that is why I repose with
unfaltering trust and with peaceful abandonment within Your adorable Heart. You watch over the lilies and
the sparrows. But this little one, Lord, for whom You have shed Your Blood, is worth more than all the lilies
of the field, more than all the birds of the air. Keep him entirely for Yourself. Keep him also for me . . . keep
us both for Your Heaven above, for Your glory here below.
"Heart of Jesus, I place my trust in Thee." A short fervent prayer in the name of the child and your family, to
ratify these expressions of confidence. "Lord, I believe, help Thou my unbelief!" "Lord, that I may see!"
"Increase my faith, increase my love!"
MARY SPEAKS TO THE MOTHER. The
Angel told you, well-beloved daughter, how the heavenly hosts marvelled when they beheld the
intimate scenes and heard the dialogues that took place in Bethlehem and Nazareth, between the eternal One
and His poor creatures. He also admires the childlike confidence with which you speak to the King and
Queen of Paradise, thus reviving for him the scenes of long ago.
But the angelic spirits cannot penetrate the Heart of Jesus and my maternal heart! They cannot understand
our joy, our deep emotion, the jubilation of our Hearts in contact with yours. Beloved daughter, in spite of the
chasm that separates us, we are both creatures, you and I, sisters with the same nature, and like you, I too was
filled with anxiety, anguish and sorrow.
That is why, as creature and mother, I can comprehend your worries and fears better than the angels, and I
also know that you understand me better than they.
While you were speaking to my Jesus of the unavoidable dangers that your child must face in the future, in
my mind I was journeying again to Egypt over the sands of the desert. O the sudden and precipitous flight,
the difficult and dangerous journey, the trying sojourn in an unfriendly land!
Beloved daughter, that exile was not to end! Jesus, our King, is still banished everywhere. In
670 HOLY HOUR
so many Catholic families He is an unwanted stranger. In his lonely Tabernacle He is unrecognized, forsaken
by that vast multitude which lavishes all its affection on its worldly idols.
And in that world, in this modern Egypt, your child will have to live!
Catholic mother, defend him in his earliest years against the influence of those idols that surround him on all
sides. I suffer with you at the thought that a flower that today is so beautiful and delicate, tomorrow must
thrust its roots into the burning sands or the marshes of a paganized world. But, have courage dear daughter,
fill the soul of your child with divine fortitude. From the very dawn of his life, mold him into a staunch
Catholic. Prepare also your own soul to meet together with your son, the first assaults that he shall have to
face, for mother and son must fight together for the cause of Jesus the King. His first Kingdom is the heart
and soul of your child, which, as you will soon discover, are being fought for by Satan. This child's peaceful
sleep, so much like the smile of an angel, cannot last forever. You will soon feel the shock of the first sudden
awakening of his nature. You will see his defects and unpleasant traits of character and what is worse, you
will be the sad witness of his first
falls, the first bitter fruits of original sin in that virginal soul.
O, then is the time to bring him back to Jesus, to the miraculous pool of His Heart . . . Prepare him for the
saving bath of his first confession . . . Plunge him into the Blood of the Lamb. At the earliest possible
moment, unite the soul of your child to the soul of Jesus. You will ward off many dangers by this marvelous
friendship of our two children, the One grasping the hand of the other. Is not this the way we would like to
see them walking together towards our heavenly home?
Take courage, my daughter, never grieve to excess. You need to confide in me . . . speak to me, am I not the
Mother of your child and the much-loved Queen of the child's mother?
THE MOTHER SPEAKS. Mary, it is true, we are both mothers. But I am not a queen as you are.
Nevertheless, handmaid and daughter of such a Queen as I am, I find in you, O Mary, enlightenment and
comfort that the angels can never give. O be ever my gentle Queen, and grant that I, miserable though I be,
may remain forever your privileged slave.
Yes, gently you have torn away for me the veil of the future. With delicacy and tact you have
672 HOLY HOUR
helped me foresee what my motherly heart had already instinctively, though reluctantly, guessed: the first
struggles, even the first falls of my child.
O peerless Mother, who had to flee, pressing the Child Jesus to your breast to defend Him from the dangers
of death, you already know the feelings of my soul, aware of its incapacity to defend the soul and divine life
of my child. This is a cause of great anguish for me.
Defend him then yourself, all-powerful Queen, remembering your flight into Egypt. What can I do without
you and without Jesus, O Mary, when the Egypt of our pagan society, a still more dangerous land with its
living idols, will tempt and entice to sin my beloved little child who is likewise yours? Defend your property
as you defended Jesus . . . Defend in him Jesus Himself! Have pity on him, have pity on his distressed
mother, O Mother divine! Cover him entirely with the mantle of your protection, for, whichever way he turns
his childish eyes, his innocent heart already finds a deadly poison prepared. Unconsciously he breathes in
everywhere that fire which melts the snow of virginal souls. Take pity on him!
Mother of purity, speak to Him Who is Purity itself. May He take for himself alone, the soul of
the Benjamin of His Heart — even if He must uproot him by 'death! O yes, I accept my sacrifice if at that
price I can bring joy to Jesus by the perfect beauty of his innocence, and perfect happiness to my child.
Beloved Queen, I know of other flames that will protect our souls against the deadly fires of this sinful world.
O Mary, cast us both into the burning furnace of Jesus' Heart. You are the gate of Heaven, you are the
dispenser of the treasures of the King of Love. Then, never allow this mother and child to leave that
sanctuary of peace and love and of eternal life.
The Mother of Jesns and the Mother of the Child
MARY: Heart of my Infant Jesus, remember the emotion of my heart when I learned of the danger of death
that hovered over Your poor cradle. Remember, my sweet little King, with what overwhelming fatigue we
crossed the desert to escape the peril. Remember the time of our painful exile in a strange land. In return for
all those trials of Your loving and beloved Mother, enfold in Your own arms this child that I love and which I
consecrate to Your love. Save him! 22
674 HOLY HOUR
THE MOTHER: Remember Jesus, Your heavenly rest in Mary's arms, while her maternal heart grieved in
secret. By that grief, to repay her solicitude and tenderness, save my child likewise entrusted to the arms of
Mary.
MARY: If I still have power over Your Kingly Heart, do not permit worldly idols to deceive this innocent
heart, keep it that it may be entirely Yours and only Yours.
THE MOTHER: So be it forever, Jesus! Yes, may he be all Yours. I love him only for You. The very thought
that some day he co'uld cease to love You makes me suffer. Through Mary, ward off that evil, the only real
evil here below.
MARY: I take the child as I took You, Child Jesus, when danger threatened. Yes, I take him with his mother,
and in Your company, O King of Love, together we shall cross the desert into Egypt. And with You, after
their exile, they will leave for the Promised Land. Jesus, it is Your own Mother who, on bended knees,
requests this favor.
THE MOTHER IN THE CHILD'S NAME: Sacred Heart of Jesus, I love Thee! (5 times, while kissing an
image of the Sacred Heart)
Sacred Heart of Jesus, I believe in Thy love for me! (5 times)
I love Thee, Jesus, because Thou art Jesus! (5 times)
Here say the Memorare: Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who
fled to thy protection, implored thy help, and sought thy intercession, was left unaided. Inspired with this
confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother. To thee I come; before thee I stand, sinful and
sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions but in thy mercy hear and answer me.
Amen.
Remain in peace, Christian mother, for your prayer has moved the Heart of Jesus. You need not fear too
much this world and its temptations, if after your child's first confession you continue to develop in his soul
hatred for sin and love for Jesus.
676 HOLY HOUR
III
The Child Jesus Lost in Jerusalem
The anguish of the first unexpected separation . . . The earnest search . . . Mary's distress.
The critical hour draws near for the child . . . unavoidable separations . . .
The First Communion and the Eucharistic Life of the Little Tarcisius
THE CHILD'S GUARDIAN ANGEL. You would have reason to weep, afflicted mother, at the sight of the
difficult critical stage drawing near for your child, were you alone and forsaken. But fortunately for you, the
Queen of Love has just reminded you that you will meet the crisis with the help of Jesus and Mary. So dry
your tears and with courageous heart begin your work of prayer and action.
Never forget that the struggles of your child, his first spiritual battles will be waged in his still feeble heart.
That is why the future must find the Eucharistic King of Love deeply enthroned therein. Devoted mother, do
you wish to forestall many dangers? Nourish your child's heart with the Sacred Host. Do you want him to
become a valiant and resolute Tarcisian in
spite of his tender years? Do you want to see him become an athlete of Christ, while remaining ever child-
like and pure? Lead him to the Fountain, that he may drink deeply from the Chalice of Jesus' Heart. In order
for him to remain not only faithful but strong and zealous in the spiritual battle he will be called upon to
wage, his heart must be molded in the crucible of the Tabernacle. Hunger for the Eucharist must consume
him.
You, his mother, wise with the wisdom of Christianity, are the only one who can intensify that hunger for the
Eucharist in the soul of your child, and thereby save his soul. Encourage him to receive Holy Communion as
often as possible, even daily, in an unselfish spirit not only for himself, but also for his parents and for those
who seldom or never go to Mass and Communion. In this way he will become a true apostle of the Eucharist,
a genuine missionary, saving souls for Jesus.
Mother, if you have well understood the importance of this evangelical doctrine, both for yourself and your
child, your tears shall soon be turned into joy. O, join with me in pleading for the grace that the child Heaven
has entrusted to us may become a true Tarcisius of Jesus in the 23
678 HOLY HOUR
Host . . . the fervent friend and faithful apostle of the Heart of Jesus in the Eucharist. Make this the first
object of your prayers and all the rest "will be added unto you."
THE MOTHER'S ACT OF LOVE. O divine King, deeply moved in spirit, I kiss your childish footprints in
the city of Jerusalem, when for three days You were separated from Jesus and Mary. Likewise I kiss the
footprints of the Immaculate Queen, hurrying with sorrowing heart in search of her lost Child.
Yet I feel that I do not have to speak, my Jesus; in my eyes, veiled with tears, You see what my mother's
heart is trying to say to You about my cares and concern for my child and family. But since it is Your wish
that I speak, I will do so, but only to say a word about my love for You, the only thing that always has the
power to touch Your Heart.
Yes, I love You Jesus, in my own name, because you are Jesus! Freely You have lavished Your graces upon
me — how I long in return to love You without reserve! But realizing my own spiritual poverty, it is my
intention and my desire that this child who already belongs to You, and likewise my family, be a living
expression of my grateful love.
I love You Jesus, in the name of my child, because You are Jesus! From now on may he understand this too,
and repeat it often, especially by his frequent Communions and generous sacrifices. Grant that the heart of
the mother and the heart of the child, fused into one single heart for Your glory, may love You and be united
to You by love, as You and Mary were inseparably united here below.
I love You Jesus, because You are Jesus, with a love stronger than death, imploring Your adorable Heart for
the grace of never being separated from You, and for the gift of perseverance for my child and for all those
You have confided to me.
Jesus of Nazareth and Bethany, God of Love, so little understood, so little loved, even by those who call
themselves Your friends, come, take up Your abode with us in this land of exile, where-we await our
Heavenly home. Dwell with us under the same roof, sharing our life, our joys and our sorrows as Your
Mother shared them and as we would like to share in Yours. Be our King through love, be our friend by the
intimacy of our hearts. Continue to love us O Jesus, despite our miseries — or rather because of them — and
grant that all the members of our family may
680 HOLY HOUR
repay Your love by giving You their hearts without reserve, in exchange for Yours.
A few moments of silence to ratify this act of love pronounced, in the name of the child and the entire family.
MARY SPEAKS TO THE MOTHER. How
well I understand the anxieties of your motherly heart! Some day this beloved child of yours, now so pure, so
innocent and affectionate, might wander away from his mother and might even forget you. But what is this
loss compared to the loss of Jesus, banished from his soul, expelled from his heart? Some day Jesus might
again be crucified by the infidelity of this child whom, together with Jesus, we have watched over as the
apple of our eye.
This child might lose his bodily health . . .
In time, fellow creatures might cause him great suffering . . .
He may be cruelly tried by great misfortune . . .
But if he never experiences the only real evil, the loss of Christ and His love, all other sufferings will be more
than bearable and, in fact, a source of grace and merit.
Peace, as you well know, my daughter, is not the twin sister of fortune, nor of good health . . . Peace is the
gift of the Heart of Jesus.
Your child will possess this peace and be happy even in the midst of misfortunes and trials, if like a good
Tarcisius, he courageously guards Jesus in the Host, pressing Him against his heart and defending Him from
His enemies.
And Jesus will watch over His Tarcisius, your child.
How sorrowful and painful were those three days during which we tramped the streets of Jerusalem,
searching for Jesus the treasure of our home! From this experience I can understand somewhat the horrible
desolation and the gnawing despair of the damned in Hell, deprived of Jesus forever.
How right you are, beloved daughter, to be gravely concerned on this account, for it is the thing in the
education of your child that is serious and important.
What does it matter if he lose all earthly possessions provided he keeps his only true Benefactor?
Therefore watch over your child with the utmost care. Already his awakening reason is being attacked by the
enemy of souls, and his will, now beginning to assert itself, would, if not guided properly, lead him astray.
Watch over his heart
682 HOLY HOUR
and the perfect purity of his senses. Courageously keep from him all that might natter his passions, so that he
may always remain an angel in innocence and purity.
Tactfully but firmly, lead him to the Tabernacle. He needs the Eucharistic Jesus, living in him by frequently
and daily Communion. Never forget, dear daughter, Heaven for you and your child has its starting point at
the altar!
Teach him to be zealous for all that concerns the interests of the Heart of Jesus. Make of him a true Tarcisian,
a real apostle, bringing Jesus in the ciborium of his heart to the many unfortunate souls who neither know nor
love Him.
From his earliest years, encourage him to spread love for the Sacred Heart of Jesus everywhere. From your
own happy experience you know well the divine King never forgets what we do for Him. He will protect His
youthful missionary and will guard him both for Himself and his mother.
Eucharist, Eucharist! If you are anxious about your child, mother, listen to me: the child who through
frequent Communion finds his God, Jesus, in the temple, will in his turn be guarded by Jesus both here below
and for all eternity!

THE MOTHER SPEAKS TO MARY. Mother most admirable, tell Jesus never to leave the soul of my child.
Most merciful Queen, ask Him to dwell forever in the humble ciborium of my child's heart. By the sorrow
you underwent for three days when you lost Jesus, beg Him not to inflict that sorrow on you again through
the loss of Jesus by my child. By far I would prefer to water his tomb with my tears than to see profaned the
dwelling place of Jesus, the chalice of his heart.
Extend your maternal mantle over my child and yours, O Virgin Mary, and guard both his heart and mine,
which poor as it is, cost the shedding of the Blood of your divine Son.
Watch over his little heart, whose secret beatings often escape me. Queen of Heaven, control and bless them.
Awaken in the depths of that budding soul a thirst for the Eucharist that will grow in intensity as time goes
on.
And if, O most tender of mothers, you should perceive some small failing unknown to me; if you should
detect some dangerous tendencies that escape my watchful care, a threatening temptation or some danger for
his soul, O then, Blessed Virgin, shield in your arms your Jesus, slumbering within the poor cradle of my
child's heart.
684 HOLY HOUR
Shelter Jesus, by saving the faith, love and innocence of my child and yours.
When I stand on the threshold of eternity, I shall await from your hands the soul of my child!
MARY: I embrace You, divine Child, with the same tenderness with which I embraced You on that happy
day when I found You again in the Temple, pressing You, my Treasure, to my heart, and I beseech You to
have pity on me in the person of this mother. If my tears moved You then, O Jesus, by those same tears, for
the sake of us three, keep in Your adorable Heart the soul of this child, your youthful apostle.
THE MOTHER: I do not ask You, Lord Jesus, to relinquish Your rights over my child, O no! For the sake of
the Blood You shed for him, for the sake of Mary's tears and mine, forever keep and guard Your own
possession, the treasure of Your Heart, the child You loaned to me to add to Your glory.
MARY: For the glory of Your Father Who deprived me of Your company for three days in Jerusalem, and
Who asked You to go joyfully to Your death; in the interests of Your Reign, I
implore You to spare me the pain of seeing wither and fade this tender flower which has been watered by
Your Blood. To preserve and save it, give it to me forever.
THE MOTHER: Together with the child, kind Jesus, give me to the Virgin Mary . . . do not separate what
You have joined together. Queen of Love keep all those the King has entrusted to you, let them be all yours,
all Jesus', in life and in death, in time and for eternity.
MARY: Listen to my last prayer, divine King. When I found You in the Temple You made up for everything
by returning with me to Nazareth and being subject to me. Once again, I ask You to do the same, for I have
built here a new Nazareth for You. In this home, behold the home of Your Mother! Reign here as King and
command. If You would give Your Mother pleasure, remain in this home as its Friend. And since this family
has lovingly offered shelter to its King and its Queen, I claim for them the redemption of the solemn pledges
made by Your divine Heart to families that enthrone You as King, and consecrate themselves to my
Immaculate Heart. Be their consolation during life and their safe refuge at the hour of death!
686 HOLY HOUR
THE MOTHER IN THE NAME OF THE CHILD: Sacred Heart of Jesus, I love Thee! (5 times, kissing an
image of the Sacred Heart)
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Thy Kingdom come! (5 times)
I love Thee, Jesus, because Thou art Jesus! (5 times)
Hail Holy Queen
Hail Holy Queen, our life, our sweetness and our hope, to thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To
thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate,
thine eyes of mercy towards us, and after this our exile, show unto us the fruit of thy womb, Jesus, O
clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary!
Final Prayer
Lord Jesus, I thank You for having been able to watch one hour with You in Gethsemani, and I would be
only too happy to remain in spirit close to Your Tabernacle. But in leaving You, I carry away with me the
peace that comes from having consoled You, and the satisfaction of having given You, beloved Master, the
reparation, faith and love You so earnestly begged of Your confidant, St. Margaret Mary.
Lord Jesus, so good and gentle, listen to my last prayer:
Agonizing Heart of Jesus, triumph . . . Be the perseverance in faith and innocence of the children who receive
You in Holy Communion, be their Friend!
Agonizing Heart of Jesus, triumph . . . and be the consolation of the heads of Christian homes, be their Life!
Agonizing Heart of Jesus, triumph . . . and be the love of all working men who suffer, be their King!
Agonizing Heart of Jesus, triumph . . . and be the consolation of the afflicted, of souls steeped in desolation,
be their Brother!
Agonizing Heart of Jesus, triumph . . . and be the strength of tempted souls, of those who are weak, be their
Victory!
Agonizing Heart of Jesus, triumph . . . be the
fervor and constancy of the tepid, be their Love!

Agonizing Heart of Jesus, triumph . . . and be
the center of the life of the Church militant, be
its triumphant Standard!
Agonizing Heart of Jesus, triumph . . . and be the ardent and conquering zeal of all apostles, be their Master!
688 HOLY HOUR
Agonizing Heart of Jesus, triumph . . . in the Eucharist be the holiness of souls, be their Heaven here below,
be their All!
When the angels of the sanctuary will praise Thee in the Sacred Host, and my child and I will be in our last
agony, their praises will be ours: remember these poor servants of Thy divine Heart!
When the intimate friends of Thy Sacred Heart will console Thee, their hearts inflamed with love, and my
child and I will be in our last agony, their compassion and their tears will be ours: remember these prodigals,
vanquished by Thy divine Heart!
When Thy priests, religious and apostles will proclaim Thee as King, preach Thy love, and enthrone Thee in
homes, and when my child and I will be in our last agony, their zeal, their fervor will be ours: remember
these apostles of Thy divine Heart.
When Thy Church will pray and offer sacrifice at the altar, and my child and I will be in our last agony, her
prayers and her sacrifices will be ours: remember these faithful friends of Thy divine Heart!
When Thy intimate friends, by their love and reparation during the Holy Hour, will make Thee
forget the cowardice and infidelity of so many who betray Thee, and my child and I are in our last agony,
their consolations will be ours: remember Thy Bethany and the faithful family of Thy divine Heart!
When Thy Mother will adore Thee in the Eucharist, to repair the innumerable crimes here below, and my
child and I will be in our last agony, her adorations will be ours: remember these children of Thy divine
Heart!
May Thy Kingdom come! Amen!
A Pater and an Ave for the universal triumph of the Sacred Heart, especially through daily Mass and
Communion, the Holy Hour and the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart in families.
A Pater and an Ave for the personal intentions of all members of the family.
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Thy Kingdom come! (5 times)

St. Joseph, pray for us.
St. Margaret Mary, pray for us.
690 HOLY HOUR
ENTHRONEMENT OF THE SACRED HEART IN THE HOME
What is the Enthronement?
It is a crusade to establish the Sockl Reign of the Sacred Heart in society through the family, the social cell. It
is based on Our Lord's statement to St. Margaret Mary: "I will reign through My Heart!"
It is an organized campaign to restore Christ to the family, and the family to Christ. It is the answer to the
question: "What can we do to save the family?"
How Does the Enthronement Restore Christ to the Family?
The Enthronement begins with a beautiful and impressive ceremony. In the home itself, in the presence of the
priest, or the head of the family, the family publicly and solemnly acknowledges that Christ is the King and
Loving Master of its home. This is done by having the head of the family install a picture or statue of the
Sacred Heart in the place of honor, in the principal room of the home as on a throne. (Hence the word
"Enthronement.") After this
691 ENTHRONEMENT
solemn acknowledgment of the sovereign rights of Christ the King over the family, the members consecrate
themselves to the Sacred Heart. Thereby they pledge themselves to live as though the Sacred Heart were
actually dwelling in their midst as He did at Nazareth, treating Him as an intimate member of the family, as a
Friend and Brother.
Is this All there is to the Enthronement?
No, the ceremony is only the beginning of a new life, a life of love: of loving obedience to all the
commandments of Christ and His Church; a life of prayer: especially of family prayers before the image of
the Enthroned King, evening prayers and rosary in common;* a Eucharistic life: of frequent and even daily
Mass and Communion, thereby linking up the sanctuary of the Church and the sanctuary of the home; finally
a life of Christian penance, especially by refusing to give in to pagan customs and ideas which are slowly
destroying the Christian home; and by making reparation for the terrible crimes of divorce, birth control, and
sensuality through night adoration in the home itself.
* No obligation to do any of these practices.
692 HOLY HOUR
Why Will the Enthronement Restore the Family to Christ?

Because in the Enthronement the family is putting Our Lord and His interests first. In return the Sacred Heart
takes over the interests of the family Our Lord Himself has promised that He will bless and sanctify those
families who Enthrone Him as King. He asked St. Margaret Mary, to whom He revealed His Sacred Heart,
that He be allowed to reign over the homes of the rich and the poor; that he be solemnly received as King and
Friend, and that His Sacred Heart be honored and loved. "I will bless every place where an image of My
Sacred Heart shall be set up and honored." "I will establish peace in their homes; I will give them all the
graces necessary for their state of life; I will comfort them in all their afflictions; I will bless all their
undertakings." Hence we may safely say that this is the means Our Lord Himself has selected to restore His
sovereign rights over the family, and through the family, over over society itself.
Has This Work Been Approved?
Yes, first by the Sacred Heart Himself, as evidenced by the countless conversions, both of
693 ENTHRONEMENT
individuals and families, where the Sacred Heart has been Enthroned; secondly by the last four Popes: Pius X
called it "A work of social salvation"; Benedict XV wrote to Father Mateo, its founder: "Nothing is more
opportune than your undertaking"; Pius XI blessed this work many times both publicity and privately, and
Pius XII recently wrote to Father Mateo praising him for his work and encouraging him to continue the work
of "the Enthronement, which is so well suited to foster the reign of love and mercy of the Sacred Heart in the
family." In the United States, the work of the Enthronement has been officially approved by a number of
Archbishops and Bishops.
What Must I Do to Enthrone the Sacred Heart in My Home?
Read carefully what follows.
694 HOLY HOUR
CEREMONIAL
For the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart in the Home
BEFORE THE CEREMONY
Prepare for the Enthronement:
1. Learn what it is and how important it is. Procure explanatory literature. Prepare well.
2. Set a date for the Enthronement in agreement with the Pastor or other priest.*
3. If possible have the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass offered that morning for the reign,of the Sacred Heart in
your home, and as an act of love and reparation to the Sacred Heart. The entire family should try to receive
Communion at this Mass, or at another Mass.
4. Obtain as beautiful a picture or statue of the Sacred Heart as possible. If you already have a picture, use
that one.
5. Below the place of honor reserved for the statue or picture, prepare a "throne" or "altar," that is to say, a
table (or perhaps the mantle-piece), covered with a white cloth, beautifully
* If no priest is available the head of the family presides.
695 ENTHRONEMENT
decorated with flowers and candles. The picture or statue should be placed on a small table near this "throne"
before the ceremony, and not on the throne itself. Put photographs of deceased and absent members of family
around the "throne". Have Holy Water on the small table.
6. Invite your relatives and friends to be present, thus you will already begin to be an "apostle of the Sacred
Heart." Have a family parrs- after the ceremony, with a special treat for the children, who of course, should
be present ar the ceremony, even the smallest.
7. -Make this day one of the outstanding events of the family life — one long to be reme~ rtrtc. The greater
the solemnity, the better.
NOTE: Even though your home has Deer, desecrated to the Sacred Heart, you may sci-1 'z±-*~ the
Enthronement, as the two are not me iarr;
THE CEREMONY *
1. All gather around the "throne" of the K^ir. father, mother, and children nearest to the prts.-— who stands
facing the picture of the iicrec Heart.
*If the family so desires, the blessing of the "r.:cr«r -:^ precede the ceremony.
696 HOLY HOUR
2. Priest, in surplice and white stole, blesses the picture.*
THE BLESSING OF THE PICTURE OR STATUE
T. Adjutorium nostrum in nomine Domini ^. Qui fecit coelum et terram. V. Dominus vobiscum I?. Et cum
spiritu tuo.
Oremus. Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, qui Sanctorum tuorum imagines pingi non repro-bas, ut quoties illas
oculis corporis intue-mur, toties eorum actus et sanctitatem ad imi-tandum memoriae oculis meditemur, hanc
quaesumus, imaginem in honorem et memori-am Sacratissimi Cordis Unigeniti Filii tui Domini Nostri Jesu
Christi adaptatam bene
Let us pray. Almighty and everlasting God, who dost approve the painting and sculpturing of the images of
Thy saints, so that as often as we gaze upon them we are reminded to imitate their deeds and sanctity;
vouchsafe, we implore Thee, to bless and sanctify this picture made in honor and in memory of the Most
Sacred Heart of Thy only begotten Son,
* If the priest is not present have the picture blessed in advance.

697 ENTHRONEMENT
t dicere et sancti t fica-re digneris; et praesta ut quicumque coram ilia, Cor Sacratissimum Unigeniti Filii tui
sup-pliciter colere et hono-rare studuerit, illius meritis et obtentu a te gratiam in praesenti, et aternam gloriam
obti-neat in futurum. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.
our Lord Jesus Christ; and grant, that whosoever, in its presence, will suppliantly worship and honor the
Most Sacred Heart of Thy only begotten Son, may obtain through His merits and intercession grace in this
life and everlasting glory in the world to come. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
(The priest here sprinkles the picture with holy water.)
3. Then the father (or in his absence the mother) solemnly installs this picture or statue in the place of honor
prepared for it. This is the symbolic act of Enthronement.
4. All stand while the APOSTLES' CREED is recited as an act of faith on the part of the family.
5. Everyone is seated while the priest* addresses a few words to those present, reminding the members of the
family of what the Sacred Heart expects from families which have acknowledged Him as King; recalling the
magnificent promises
698 HOLY HOUR
of the Sacred Heart; urging the family to live its Enthronement, and frequently to renew the act of
consecration which it is about to make.
6. All kneel, while the priest* recites the official ACT OF CONSECRATION of the family to the Sacred
Heart. NOTE: This is the official text composed- by Fr. Ladislas, SS.CC,, and approved by Pius X, at the
request of the Procurator General of the Congregation of the Sacred Heart, by Rescript of May 19, 1908. It
was made obligatory to gain the indulgences of the Enthronement by a decision of the Sacred Penitentiary on
March 1, 1918. (A.A.S. April 1, 1918, p. 154)
Act of Consecration of the Family to the Sacred Heart
(Recited by the priest or Father)
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, Who didst make known to St. Margaret Mary Thine ardent desire to reign over
Christian families, behold us assembled here today to proclaim Thine absolute dominion over our Home.
Henceforth we purpose to lead a life like unto Thine so that amongst us may flourish the virtues for which
Thou didst promise peace on earth,
*or Father.
699 ENTHRONEMENT
and for this end we will banish from our midst the spirit of the world which Thou dost abhor so much.
Thou wilt reign over our understanding by the simplicity of our faith. Thou wilt reign over our hearts by an
ardent love for Thee; and may the flame of this love be ever kept burning in our hearts by the frequent
reception of the Holy Eucharist.
Deign, O Divine Heart, to preside over our meetings, to bless our undertakings both spiritual and temporal, to
banish all worry and care, to sanctify our joys and soothe our sorrows. If any of us should ever have the
misfortune to grieve Thy Sacred Heart, remind him of Thy goodness and mercy towards the repentant sinner.
Lastly when the hour of separation will sound and death will plunge our home into mourning, then shall we
all and every one of us be resigned to Thy eternal decrees, and seek consolation in the thought that we shall
all one day be reunited in heaven, where we shall sing the praises and blessings of Thy Sacred Heart for all
eternity.
May the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the glorious Patriarch St. Joseph offer Thee this our Consecration
and remind us of the same all the days of our life.
700 HOLY HOUR
Glory to the Divine Heart of Jesus, our king and our Father!
7. The priest here asks those present to say with him ONE OUR FATHER AND HAIL MARY for all the
absent members, both living and dead.
8. All recite with the priest the following:
PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
Glory be to Thee, * O Sacred Heart of Jesus,
* for the infinite mercy * Thou hast bestowed * upon the privileged members * of this family.
* Thou hast chosen it * from thousands of others,
* as a recipient of Thy love * and a sanctuary of reparation * wherein Thy most loving Heart * shall find
consolation * for the ingratitude of men. * How great, O Lord Jesus, * is the confusion * of this portion of
Thy faithful flock * as we accept the unmerited honor * of seeing Thee preside over our family! * Silently we
adore Thee, * overjoyed to see Thee sharing * under the same roof * the toils, cares and joys * of Thy
innocent children! * It is true * we are not worthy * that Thou shouldst enter our humble abode, * but Thou
hast already reassured us, * when Thou didst reveal Thy Sacred Heart to us,
* teaching us to find in the wound of Thy Sacred Side * the source of grace and life everlasting. *
701 ENTHRONEMENT
In this loving and trusting spirit * we give ourselves to Thee, * Thou Who art unchanging Life. * Remain
with us, Most Sacred Heart, * for we feel an irresistible desire * to love Thee and make Thee loved.
May our home be for Thee * a heaven as sweet as that of Bethany, * where Thou canst find rest
* in the midst of loving friends, * who like Mary

* have chosen the better part * in the loving intimacy of Thy Heart! * May this home be for Thee, * O
beloved Saviour, * a humble but hospitable refuge * during the exile * imposed on Thee by Thine enemies.*
Come, then Lord Jesus, come, * for here as at Nazareth, * we have a tender love * for the Virgin Mary * Thy
sweet Mother * Whom Thou hast given us to be our Mother. * Come, * to fill with Thy sweet presence * the
vacancies * which misfortune and death * have wrought in our midst. *
O most faithful Friend, * hadst Thou been here * in the midst or sorrow, * our tears would have been less
bitter; * the comforting balm of peace * would then have soothed these hidden wounds, * which are known
to Thee alone. * Come, for even now perhaps, * there is drawing near for us * the twilight of tribulation, *
and
702 HOLY HOUR
the decline of the passing days * of our youth and our illusions. * Stay with us, * for already it is late, * and a
perverted world * seeks to envelop us * in the darkness of its denials * while we wish to adhere to Thee *
Who alone art the Way * the Truth * and the Life. * Repeat for us those words * Thou didst utter of old *
"This day I must abide in this home."
Yes, dear Lord, * take up Thy abode with us, * so that we may live in Thy love * and in Thy presence, * we
who proclaim Thee as our King * and wish no other! * May Thy triumphant Heart, O Jesus, * be forever
loved, * blessed, * and glorified * in this home! * Thy Kingdom Come! Amen!
9. As an act of homage to the Immaculate .Heart of Mary all stand and recite the HAIL HOLY QUEEN.
10. EJACULATIONS:
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Have mercy on us! (3 times)
Immaculate Heart of Mary, Pray for us.
St. Joseph, Pray for us.
St. Margaret Mary, Pray for us.
{ALL) Glory to the most Sacred Heart of Jesus forever and ever! Amen.
703 ENTHRONEMENT
11. The priest gives his blessing: Benedictio Dei omnipotent, Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti,. descendat
super vos et maneat semper. Amen. — May the blessing of Almighty God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost,
descend upon you and remain forever. Amen. (Said by father, if priest is absent. )
12. Then the members of the family and the priest sing the Certificate of the Enthronement, which should be
framed and hung near the picture of the Sacred Heart or kept in the family archives. At this point a hymn to
the Sacred Heart may be sung.
13. The priest or Father announces the following indulgences to be gained by the members of the family
(Raccolta 1943, page 536):
1. A plenary indulgence under the usual conditions, on the day of the Enthronement.
2. An indulgence of 7 years for all the members of the family who, at least contrite of heart assist at the
ceremony of the Enthronement in their home.
3. An indulgence of 3 years — once a year, on the day they renew the official act of consecration before the
likeness of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
4. A plenary indulgence on the same day under the usual conditions.
704 HOLY HOUR
NOTE: The CEREMONY of the Enthronement is only the beginning: the following practices of devotion
will help you LIVE the Enthronement. This is the TRUE reign of the Sacred Heart in your family.
SUGGESTED PRACTICES OF DEVOTION
1. Frequent and even daily attendance at Mass by at least one member of family, and Communion of
Reparation. Recite the "Mass of St. John"* during the day.
2. Observance of the First Friday of each month. (Holy Mass, Communion of Reparation; renewal of act of
consecration before enthroned image.)
3. Daily Family Rosary before the enthroned image of the Sacred Heart, with renewal of the act of
consecration. (Short form. See page 000.) After each decade say the prayers taught to the children at Fatima
by the Immaculate Heart of Mary: O Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fire of Hell and lead all souls
to Heaven, especially those who have most need of Your mercy! At the end of the Rosary say three Hail
Marys for the Holy Father.
* Leaflet sent on request.
705 ENTHRONEMENT
4. Celebration of the Feast of the Sacred Heart by the entire family; attendance at Mass, Communion for the
extension of the Reign of the Sacred Heart through the Enthronement; family gathering and celebration at
home, with renewal of Enthronement; special party for the children.
5. Observe the month of June, the month of the Sacred Heart; keep flowers before "throne." Mass and
Communion as often as possible.
6. Assist at Holy Hour in Church.
7. Night Adoration in the home. Any hour between 9 and 6, by any one or all the members of the family at
least once a month.
8. Celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary on the 22nd of August. Mass, Communion;
Consecration of family to Immaculate Heart. (Sent on request.)
9. Make the five First Saturdays in reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and for the conversion of
Russia: Holy Mass and Communion of reparation; five decades of the Rosary plus a fifteen minute
meditation on one of the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary. The Rosary and meditation may be carried out at
any hour on the First Saturday; a sermon in church will satisfy the obligation of the meditation. (Send for
pamphlet on Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima.)
706 HOLY HOUR
10. Practice devotion to the Holy Ghost. Recite "Rosary of the Holy Ghost." (Leaflet sent on request.)
Special Occasions On Which the Family
Should Renew the Act of Consecration
(LONG FORM)
1. Feast of Sacred Heart; Christ the King.
2. Anniversary of the Enthronement.
3. Anniversary of parents and children.
4. At births; after Baptism in the Church consecrate the children to the Sacred Heart before the "throne" in
the home.
5. At First Communion: prepare the children before the image of the Sacred Heart in the home. When they
return from Church, let the children renew the act of consecration made for them by parents at birth.
6. Before a departure from home: to join army, convent, seminary; before marriage, etc.
7. On the return of an absent member of family.
8. On days of great family joys: in times of sorrow, sickness and death.
NOTE: There is no more appropriate way for a young couple to begin their married life, than to enthrone the
Sacred Heart in their new home.
ENTHRONEMENT
707 ENTHRONEMENT
Send in name and address of family after the ceremony to a Local Secretariate or to the National Center.
Give date of ceremony, name of officiating priest and parish. Copies of ceremonials, pictures, shrines,
Certificates of Enthronement and all necessary information may be obtained from these Centers,
RENEWAL OF THE CONSECRATION
OF THE FAMILY TO THE SACRED
HEART OF JESUS
(To be said at night in union with all families in u'hich the Sacred Heart has been enthroned.)
Most Sweet Jesus, * humbly kneeling at Thy feet, * we renew the consecration of our family to Thy Divine
Heart. * Be Thou our King forever. * In Thee we have full and entire confidence. * May Thy spirit penetrate
our thoughts, * our desires, * our words and our deeds. * Bless our undertakings, * share our joys,* in our
trials * and in our labors. * Grant us to know Thee better, * to love Thee more, * to serve Thee without
faltering.
By the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Queen of Peace, * set up Thy Kingdom in our country. * Enter closely
into the midst of our families * and
708 HOLY HOUR
make them Thine own * through the solemn Enthronement of Thy Sacred Heart, * so that soon one cry may
resound from home to home:* May the triumphant Heart of Jesus be everywhere loved, * blessed and
glorified forever! * To the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary * be honor and glory forever and ever! Amen.
"Sacred Heart of Jesus, protect our families." (300 days indulgence. Raccolta, p. 143)
portal
Međugorje
portal
statue
statue 2
Tihaljina
rai2 2001
1k encount
Fr Smiljan
messages
help
Naju
portal
the Pope
Julia Kim
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
portal
the Poem
portal
the Pope
portal
Holy Hour
Fr. Mateo
hhALL
Father!
portal
Danylak
portal
site 2004
portal

HH All EN

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

You might also like

HH All EN

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

HH All EN

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

^ Sanctuary Revealed Prayers Models Divers Contact ^

En Hr It

REV. MATEO CRAWLEY-BOEVEY, SS. CC.

National Center of the Enthronement Fathers of the Sacred Hearts

VINCENT DAVIS, SS.CC,

WILLIAM CONDON, SS.CC., Provincialis

JOHN TRACY ELLIS

I. To start the New Year in the Spirit of the Sacred Heart. 21

III. Holy Hour for the First Friday of February 79

V. Holy Hour for the First Friday of April 147

VI. Holy Hour for the First Friday of May 178

XI. Holy Hour for the First Friday of October 328

XIII. Holy Hour for the First Friday of November 412

XXI. Holy Hour for mothers 651

Conquer America, most Sacred Heart of Jesus!

Reign in America, Christ the King!

Fr. Mateo Crawley-Boevey, SS. CC.

How then are we to explain their success?

Bless and sanctify and save your dear Americans!

FATHER MATEO CRAWLEY-BOEVEY, SS.CC.

Feast of the Sacred Heart

June 12, 1953

Let us listen to His voice, which fills eternity with happiness! . . .

Fleeting is youth—-a flower that lives a day . . . and dies,

Fleeting are the fumes of senseless ambition which pass away,

Fleeting as the lightning is the passing joy which quickly vanishes,

Fleeting is the gilded and changeable fortune which escapes us,

Fleeting is the splendor of high station which disappears,

Fleeting is pleasure's intoxication which poisons as it goes,

Fleeting is all earthly harmony, all created beauty, which perishes,

Fleeting is human love, which alters, which forgets,

Fleeting is the wisdom of men which deludes and is extinguished—

Vanitas!... .all is but vanity, except your Jesus! . . .

All: Thee, O Jesus, the one Reality! . . .

All: Thee, O Jesus, the one Reality! . . .

All: Thee, O Jesus, the one Reality! . . .

All: Thee, O Jesus, the one Reality! . . .

All: Thee, O Jesus, the one Reality! . . .

All: Thee, O Jesus, the one Reality! . . .

All: Thee, O Jesus, the one Reality! . . .

All: Thou, O Jesus, the one Reality! . . .

All: We will desire only Thee, O Jesus! . . .

All: We will see only Thee, O Jesus! . . .

All: We will bless only Thee, O Jesus! . . .

All: We will seek only Thee, O Jesus! . . .

perous or burdened with crosses, we will adore only Thee, O Jesus! . . .

All: We will love only Thee, O Jesus! . . .

All: For us, Thy Heart! . . .

For Thee, Thy glory! . . ,

All: For us, Thy Heart! . . .

For Thee, Thy glory! . . .

All: For us, Thy Heart! . . . For Thee, Thy glory! . . .

All: For us, Thy Heart! . . . For Thee, Thy glory! . . .

All: For us, Thy Heart! . . .

For Thee, Thy glory! . . .

All: For us, Thy Heart! . . . For Thee, Thy glory! . . .

glory do you request for the hour of eternal

All: For us, Thy Heart! . . . For Thee, Thy glory! . . .