Jesus, my sweet good! My heart is failing. I look and see that You are still enduring agony. The blood runs down from Your body in such quantities that the ground is covered with blood. Oh my love! My heart breaks when I see you so weak and exhausted. Your adorable face and Your Creator's hands leaning on the ground are wet with blood. It seems to me that You want to send back streams of blood for the streams of offenses that people send to You, so that these offenses may be immersed in Your blood and You may grant forgiveness to every child of man. Arise, my Jesus, it is too much that You suffer, it is enough for Your love. But while it seems that my Jesus is dying in his blood, love gives him new life. I see him move. Now he rises, covered in dust and blood. He tries to walk, laboriously he drags himself away.

My sweet life! Allow me to support You with my arms. Do You want to go back to Your beloved disciples? How great is Your pain when You find them asleep again! You speak with a trembling and weak voice: "My children, do not sleep! My hour has come. Do you not see the state I am in? O stand by Me and do not forsake Me in the hours of extreme distress."

Jesus, You have become so unrecognizable that Your disciples would not have recognized You without the grace and gentleness of Your voice. After telling them to watch and pray, You return to the garden, but with a new wound in Your heart. I see therein the perishing of those souls who, despite Your favors, gifts and graces, forget Your love and Your gifts in the night of trial, fall into spiritual sleep and thus lose the spirit of vigilance and perseverance in prayer.

My Jesus! Once one has seen You and tasted the sweets of special graces, great fortitude is needed to resist when one sees oneself deprived of Your gifts. Therefore, I pray for those souls whose negligence, indifference and insults to Your Heart are the most bitter, that You may surround them with Your grace and stop them in their tracks if they take even the slightest step that might displease You, so that they may not lose the spirit of persevering prayer.

My Jesus! Returning to the garden, You lift up Your face, wet with blood, to heaven and say for the third time: “Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me!”

Then, my sweet Good, I hear You call out: "Dear Apostles, do not leave Me alone in this terrible suffering. Form a crown around Me and comfort Me with your love and company!"

My Jesus! Who could resist You in this extreme need! What heart could be so callous that it would not break when it sees You, soaked in suffering and bathed in blood? Who would not shed bitter tears at Your painful lamentations, seeking succor and strength! But take comfort, my Jesus! I can already see the angel sent by the Father, who will give You support and strength so that You, freed from this state of mortal fear, can hand Yourself over to the Jews. But while You are speaking with the angel, I will walk through heaven and earth. Allow me to take the blood that You shed on the Mount of Olives, so that I may give it to all men as a pledge of their salvation and bring You their affections, their steps and all their works in return.

Heavenly Mother Mary! Jesus desires consolation. The best consolation we can give Him is to bring souls to Him. Mary Magdalene, accompany us. You holy angels, come and see how things are with Jesus. He wants consolation from everyone; so great is His dejection that He rejects no one.

My Jesus! As You taste of the unspeakably bitter cup that the Father has prepared for You, I perceive how You break out more and more in sighs and lamentations and say with an almost stifled voice: "You souls, you souls, O come and raise Me up, take your place in My humanity. My desire is for you, My vision is for you. Do not be deaf to My voice, do not frustrate My ardent desires, My blood, My love, My sufferings. Come, souls, come!"

Most sorrowful Jesus! Every sigh and every desire is a wound to my heart that finds no peace. So make Your blood my own, Your will, Your ardent zeal of soul, Your love. As I wander through heaven and earth, I will seek out all souls, offer them Your blood as a pledge of their salvation and bring them to You to soften the excess of Your love and sweeten the bitterness of Your fear of death. While I do this, accompany me with Your gaze.

My Mother, I come to You, for Jesus desires souls for His consolation. Give me Your motherly hand. Together we travel the whole world in search of souls and seal in Jesus' Blood the inclinations, the desires, the thoughts, the works, all the impulses and movements of men. We put the flames of His heart into their souls so that they surrender to Him. Thus sealed in His blood and transformed by His flames, we want to lead souls to Jesus in order to alleviate the suffering of His bitter fear of death.

My Guardian Angel, go ahead and prepare the souls who are to receive this Blood, so that not a drop may remain without abundant effect.

My mother, quickly! Let us go, for I can already see the gaze of Jesus following us, I can hear his repeated sighs, which should spur us on to hasten our work.

As we take our first steps, Mother, we come to the doors of houses where the sick lie. How many sore limbs! And how many sick people who curse under the intensity of their pain and want to take their own lives! Others are abandoned by everyone and have no one to offer them even a word of comfort or the help they need. That is why they utter curses and despair.

O Mother, I hear in my spirit the sighs of Jesus, who sees His labor of love, to make souls suffer only to make them like Himself, turned into insults. Oh, let us give them His blood, that it may be for their salvation and, with His light, make the sick realize the value of suffering and the likeness to Christ which they thereby attain. And you, my Mother, draw near to them. As a loving mother, touch their painful wounds with Your hands of blessing. Soothe their pain, take them in Your arms and pour out streams of grace from Your heart over their suffering. Keep company with the forsaken, comfort the afflicted who lack the necessary remedies, awaken generous souls who bring help to those who suffer under the weight of great agony, so that, strengthened anew, they may endure with great patience what Jesus inflicts on them.

Let us go on and enter the chambers of the dying. Mother, what a dreadful spectacle! How many souls are about to plunge into hell! How many, after a life of sin, want to give the last pain to that divine Heart which has been pierced so often and crown their last breath with an act of despair! How many evil spirits surround the deathbed and endeavor to instill terror and horror before the righteous judge, thus making the final rush to lead them to hell. They want to spew their hellish flames and envelop the dying in them, leaving no room for hope.

Still others, still shackled to the goods of earth, cannot find it in themselves to take the last step from time into eternity. O Mother, they are in extreme distress, in great need of help. Do you not see how they tremble, how they wriggle in the agony of their death throes and plead for help and mercy? The earth has already vanished from their sight, but you, holy Mother, lay your motherly hands on their icy cold foreheads and receive their last breath. If we give the blood of Jesus to every dying person, we will put the evil spirits to flight and enable those who are struggling with death to receive the last sacraments and thus die a good and holy death. Let us comfort them with Jesus' fears of death, His tears and His wounds. Let us break the ties that still bind them so that all may hear the word of forgiveness. Let us instill confidence in them so that they throw themselves into the arms of Jesus. When Your Jesus judges them, He will find them reddened with His blood, embrace them in His arms and grant forgiveness to all.

Let us go on, Mother! Your gaze looks lovingly at the earth and is moved to compassion in the face of so many poor people who are in need of this blood. My Mother, I feel prompted by the vision of Jesus to hurry because He thirsts for souls. I hear His sighs in the depths of my heart that want to tell me: “My daughter, help Me, give Me souls!”

But behold, Mother, how the earth is full of souls who are about to fall into sin. Jesus bursts into tears as He sees His blood being desecrated anew. Only a miracle could prevent these people from falling. So we give them the blood of Jesus so that they may find in Him the strength and grace to no longer fall back into sin.

One more step, Mother! Behold souls who have already fallen into sin and are looking around for a hand to lift them up. Jesus loves these souls. But He looks at them with a shudder because He sees them defiled, and His fear of death increases. Let us also bless them with the blood of Jesus, so that we can offer them the hand that will lift them up.

You see, Mother, how much these souls need the blood of Jesus, souls that are dead to eternal life. O how lamentable is their condition! Heaven looks down on them with tears of pain, the earth looks at them with horror. Mother, Jesus' blood contains the life of grace; let us give it to them. By touching Him, they rise again, even more beautiful than they were before, and win a smile from heaven and earth.

Let us go on, mother! Behold, here are souls who bear the mark of the rejected; souls who sin and flee Jesus, insulting Him and doubting His forgiveness. These are the new Judases who are scattered throughout the earth and pierce the heart that suffers such bitter pain. Let us also offer them the blood of Jesus, that it may erase the mark of rejection and imprint on them the mark of salvation, instilling such trust in their hearts and such love after their guilt that they will rush to the feet of Jesus and clasp them, never to let them go.

See here also souls rushing madly towards their doom. There is no one to stop them in their tracks. Let us pour out Jesus' blood at their feet, so that by touching Him and His light, at the pleading of His voice, they may still draw back and set out on the path of salvation.

Let us go further, mother! Here You see good, innocent souls in whom Jesus is well pleased and in whom He finds His rest in the world of creation. But evil-doers ensnare them with all kinds of cunning and give them much trouble. They want to rob them of their innocence in order to turn Jesus' pleasure and rest into bitter sorrow. It is as if they had no other goal than to constantly inflict pain on the divine heart. Let us seal and surround their innocence with the blood of Jesus. Let it be the protective barrier through which no guilt can penetrate. May this Blood put to flight all those who want to defile these souls and keep them pure and unharmed, so that Jesus may find His resting place in them, be pleased with them and, out of love for them, be moved to compassion for so many other poor human children. My Mother, let us immerse these souls in the blood of Jesus and unite them again and again to the holy will of God. Let us place them in His arms and bind them to His Heart with the chains of His Love to sweeten the bitterness of His mortal anguish. Do you hear, Mother, how this blood still cries out for other souls? Let us hasten to the realms of heretics and unbelievers. What pain does not Jesus feel here! He, who wants the life of all, finds not a single act of love in return, is not even known by His own creatures. Let them understand, Mother, that they have a soul. Open to them the kingdom of heaven. Let us give them the blood of the Lamb of God, that it may dispel the darkness of ignorance and heresy. Yes, let us immerse them all in the blood of Jesus and lead them back to Him as orphans and exiled children who will now find their Father. In this way, Jesus will be strengthened in His bitter agony. Jesus, it seems, is not yet satisfied with this. He is still longing for other souls. Jesus sees the dying in the kingdom of heretics and unbelievers in danger of being snatched from his arms to fall into hell. These souls are already passing away, their fall into the abyss is near. No one is there to save them. Time is short, the last moment is pressing, they will surely perish.

No, Mother, Jesus' blood shall not have been shed in vain. Therefore we hasten to them at once, pour this blood on their heads, that it may serve them as baptism and infuse faith, hope and love. Be close to them, Mother, suffice all that they lack, yes, let them see You. The beauty of Jesus shines on Your face. Your behavior is similar to His. When they see You, they will surely recognize Jesus. Let them rest in Your motherly heart. Pour into them the life of Jesus that You possess. Tell them that You, as their mother, want them to be happy in heaven. As they breathe out their souls, take them into Your arms and then let them pass into Jesus'. If Jesus does not want to accept them according to the laws of His justice, remind Him of the love with which He entrusted them to You under the cross. Claim Your rights as a mother and He will not be able to resist Your loving pleas. If He satisfies your heart, He will also fulfill His own ardent desires.

So now, Mother, let us take Jesus' Blood and give it to all: to the afflicted, that they may be strengthened; to the poor, that they may humbly bear the sufferings of their poverty; to the tempted, that they may gain the victory; to the unbelievers, that the virtue of faith may triumph in them; to the blasphemers, that they may turn their curses into words of blessing; to the priests, that they may realize their high task and be worthy servants of Jesus. Moisten their lips with His blood so that they never speak words that do not glorify God. Touch their feet so that love may inspire them and they may seek out souls to lead them to Jesus. Let us also kingdom this blood to the rulers of the nations, that they may be united among themselves and show compassion and kindness to their subjects.

Now we enter the place of purification. The poor souls lament and demand this blood for their liberation. Do you not hear, Mother, their sighs and the outpouring of their love? Do you not see how they suffer because they are constantly attracted to the highest good? You also see how Jesus himself wants to purify them as soon as possible in order to have them with Himself. He attracts them with His love and they reciprocate by constantly increasing their love for Him. They are in His presence but cannot yet bear the purity of the divine gaze. So they are forced to retreat and immerse themselves in the flames once again.

Mother, let us descend into this deep dungeon and let Jesus' blood flow down on the poor souls. Let us bring them light, quench their longing for love, extinguish the fire in which they burn and cleanse them of their stains. Then, freed from their torment, they will fly into the arms of their highest good. Let this blood be given especially to those souls who are most abandoned, so that they may find in it that intercession which men deny them. May this blood be salvation for all poor souls. May all find refreshment and deliverance by virtue of this Blood. Show Yourself as Queen in this place of misery and lamentation. Reach out your motherly hands to all. Withdraw one by one from these avenging flames and make all take their flight to heaven.

Mother, give me this blood too. You know how much I need it. With Your motherly hands sprinkle my whole being with the Blood of the Son of God, cleanse me from my stains, heal the wounds of my soul and enrich my poverty. Make Jesus' blood circulate in my veins and give me back His divine life. Descend into my heart, transform it into the heart of Your Son. Give it such beauty that Jesus may find all His desires satisfied in me. Finally, Mother, let us enter the heavenly regions and offer this Blood to all the saints, to all the angels, that they may draw greater glory from it, break out in thanksgiving and pray for us, that we too may reach them by virtue of the Redeemer's Blood.

Once we have brought this blood to all the inhabitants of heaven, earth and fire, we carry it back to Jesus. You angels and saints, come with us! Oh, Jesus sighs for souls, wants them all to enter into His humanity to give them the saving fruits of His blood. Let us all gather around Him. He will be resurrected and find Himself compensated for the bitter agony He endured.

Now, holy Mother, let us call together all the elements and the mindless creatures to keep Jesus company so that all may give Him glory.

Light of the sun, come to illuminate the darkness of this night and thereby make it more friendly for Jesus! You stars with your shimmering rays, descend from heaven and give comfort to your Creator! You oceans come to refresh Jesus! He is our Creator, our life, our everything. Come to give Him refreshment, to pay homage to Him as our highest Lord. But alas, Jesus does not seek the light, the stars, the flowers, the birds, the elements, He seeks souls!

My sweet good! Now they are all here: close to You is Your dear Mother; rest in Her arms. But She too finds comfort in it when She presses You to Her heart, for She too has suffered Your painful fear of death. Here too is Mary Magdalene, here is Martha, here are the God-loving souls of all centuries. O accept them all, Jesus, give them all a word of forgiveness and love, yes, strengthen them in love so that no soul may escape You. However, it seems to me as if You wanted to say: "Child, how many souls escape from Me by force and plunge into eternal ruin. How could My pain be calmed if I love one single soul as much as all of them together?"

Savior in agony! It seems as if your life is dying out. I can already hear Your troubled breaths, Your beautiful eyes are darkening as if death were approaching, all Your limbs are limp and it seems to me that You are no longer breathing. Oh, my heart wants to leap out of my chest. I touch You and find You icy cold, hardly giving any sign of life. My sorrowful mother, you angels of heaven, come and weep for Jesus. But don't expect me to go on living without him. No, I can't. I cry out, “Jesus, Jesus, my life, don't die!” And already I hear the noise of your enemies coming to seize you. Who will defend you in the state you are in? But suddenly you come to life like one who rises from death, look at me and say: "My soul, is it you? Have you witnessed My sufferings and the fears of death that I have endured? Know now that in the hours of bitterest fear of death in the Garden of Olives I closed every life of men in Me, endured all their sufferings and even their death. But I have given life to everyone. Through My agony I took theirs upon Myself. The bitterness of My death will turn into a source of sweetness and life for them. How dear the souls are to Me! Would that they would at least repay Me! You have seen, My daughter, that while I was almost dying, I began to breathe again. That was the death of the people whose fear I felt in Me."

My Jesus! Since You also wanted to seal my life and my death in You, I ask You through this bitter fear of death that You would also stand by me at the moment of my death. I gave You my heart as a resting place, my arms as a support, I placed my whole being at Your disposal. Oh, how gladly I would surrender myself to the hands of Your enemies so that I could die in Your place. Come, life of my heart, at that decisive moment, to give me back what I have given You: Your company to delight me, Your heart as my deathbed, Your arms to support me, Your labored breath to ease mine in dying, so that I breathe only in You. Your breath, like cleansing air, will free me from every stain and enable me to enter eternal bliss.

Still more, my Jesus! Then give my soul Your most holy humanity, so that when You look at me, You will see Your image in me. Now You will find nothing in me that needs to be corrected. You will bathe me in Your blood, clothe me with the white garment of Your Most Holy Will and adorn me with Your Love. If You finally give my soul the last kiss, then You will let me take flight to heaven. But what I desire for myself, do also for all those who are in their death throes. Allow them all to embrace You with love and also give their souls the kiss of union with You. Save them without exception and do not allow a single soul to perish.

My afflicted good! I offer You this hour in memory of Your Passion and Death, to disarm the just wrath of God because of the many sins; for the triumph of the Church, for the conversion of all sinners, for the peace of the nations, especially of our fatherland, for our sanctification and as an expiatory sacrifice for the suffering souls in Purgatory.

I can already see Your enemies approaching. You want to leave me to go and meet them. Jesus, allow me to offer You all the tenderness of Your Mother in satisfaction for that treacherous kiss which Judas will press on Your holy lips. Let me wipe Your face, covered with blood, as it is desecrated with cheek strokes and stained with saliva. I hold on to you tightly. I will not let you go, I will follow you. But bless me and stand by me. Amen.

Reflections and Practices

by St. Fr. Annibale Di Francia

In this third hour of Gethsemane, Jesus asked for help from Heaven; and His pains were so many that He also asked for the comfort of His disciples. And we—do we always ask for help from Heaven in any painful circumstance? And if we turn also to creatures, do we do this with order, and with

those who can comfort us in a saintly way? Are we at least resigned, if we do not receive those comforts that we were hoping for, using the indifference of creatures to abandon ourselves more in the arms of Jesus? Jesus was comforted by an Angel. And we—can we say that we are the angel of Jesus by remaining around Him to comfort Him and share in His bitterness? However, in order to be as a true angel for Jesus, it is necessary to take sufferings as sent by Him, and therefore as Divine Sufferings. Only then can we dare to console a God so embittered. Otherwise, if we take pains in a human way, we cannot use them to comfort this Man-God, and therefore we cannot be His angels.

In the pains that Jesus sends to us, it seems that He sends us the chalice in which we must place the fruit of those pains. And these pains, suffered with love and resignation, will turn into a most sweet nectar for Jesus. In every pain we will say, “Jesus is calling us around Him to be His angel. He wants our comforts, and so He makes us share in His pains.”

My Love, Jesus, in my pains I look for Your Heart to rest, and in Your pains I intend to give You shelter with my pains, so that we may exchange them, and I may be Your consoling angel.

Prayer of Thanksgiving after each Holy Hour on the Mount of Olives

Sacrifice and Thanksgiving

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