The Twenty-Four Hours of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ

The 24 Hours of the Bitter Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ by Luisa Piccarreta, the Little Daughter of the Divine Will

† Tenth Hour: From 2 to 3 AM †

Jesus Interrogated by Annas, Insulted and Struck in the Face

Preparation before Each Hour

Jesus, my divine guardian! Now I have given myself over to slumber for a while. But since You do not want to remain alone and without me, You have awakened me and let me be with You in the house of Annas.¹ He asks You about Your teaching and Your disciples. And You, O Jesus, open Your holy mouth and speak with a dignified and clear voice: "I have spoken publicly before the world, I have taught in the synagogue and in the temple, I have spoken nothing in secret. Ask those who have heard Me. They know what I have said."

The councillors are amazed at this dignified appearance. But the ruthlessness of a servant who wants to show himself pleasing to Anna is so great that he approaches You and strikes You such a blow in the face with an iron fist that You stagger and Your face swells.

Now I understand, my sweet life, why You woke me. You were right. Indeed, I would have held You when You were close to falling over. And your enemies burst out laughing and clapping their hands at this unjust action. But I support You and declare myself ready to bravely endure any suffering for You. I pity You for this abuse. In union with You, I want to make atonement for so many fearful souls who are so easily intimidated; for those who do not speak the truth out of fear of man; for those who fail to show proper respect for priests, and for so many mistakes committed through grumbling.

Now I see, my sorrowful Jesus, that Annas sends You to Caiaphas and Your enemies throw You down the stairs. And You, my love, atone through this fall for those who plunge into sinfulness in the night time, darkness being favorable to them. You call to the light of faith the false teachers and unbelievers. - I too will unite my works of atonement with Yours. Until You arrive at the house of Caiaphas, my sighs shall accompany You to defend You against Your enemies. If I fall asleep again in the meantime, you will stand guard over me. Wake me up when Your love prompts You to call me to You again.

Reflections and Practices

by St. Fr. Annibale Di Francia

Jesus, brought before Annas, is questioned by him about His Doctrine and about His disciples. He answers about His Doctrine in order to Glorify the Father, but He does not touch His disciples so as not to fail in Charity. And we—are we intrepid and courageous when it comes to glorifying the Lord, or do we let ourselves be won by human respect? We must always say the truth, even in front of distinguished people. In our speaking, do we always look for the Glory of God? In order to exalt the Glory of God, do we bear everything with patience like Jesus? Do we always avoid speaking ill of our neighbor, and do we excuse him if we hear that others run him down? Jesus watches over our heart, and do we watch over the Heart of Jesus so that He may not receive any offense that has not been repaired by us? Do we watch over ourselves in everything, so that each one of our thoughts, gazes, words, affections, heartbeats and desires may be as many sentries around Jesus, watching over His Heart, and repairing for all the offenses? And in order to do this, do we pray Jesus to watch over each one of our acts, and to help us to watch over our own hearts? Every act that we do in God is a Divine Life that we take within ourselves. And since we are very limited, while God is Immense, we cannot enclose a God in our simple act. Therefore, let us multiply them as much as we can in order to at least enlarge our capacity of understanding and of love. Are we ready to answer when our Jesus calls us? The call from God can make itself heard in many ways: with inspirations, with the reading of good books, by example. It can make itself heard tangibly with the attractions of grace, and even with the very intemperances of the air.

My Sweet Jesus, may Your Voice resound always in my heart; may everything that surrounds me, inside and out, be the continuous voice which calls me to love You always; and

may the harmony of Your Divine Voice prevent me from hearing any other distractive human voice.

¹ Note that the hermit soul (Luisa) experienced the contemplation of the various mysteries of the Savior at night, when short sleep alternated with the contemplation of the Passion. From this we can conclude how pleasing contemplation and prayer at night are to the Savior. While the noise of the world falls silent and its inhabitants sleep, the grace of the Lord communicates itself more abundantly to the souls awake with him. The holy writers are unanimous in their praise of nocturnal prayer. “At midnight I arose to praise You” (Ps 118:62). Jesus Himself spent whole nights in prayer, and various religious orders follow His example by singing the midnight masses. If this is not possible, let us make the good intention in the evening to praise and love the Most High with every breath, with every heartbeat during the night. Let us at least choose an hour of the night here and there for prayer and consider how many children of the world devote hours of the night to earthly concerns and how many nights sinners keep watch to carry out their iniquities. Should pious Christians not be able to devote an hour of the night here and there to communing with God, who will richly compensate them with spiritual goods for the sacrifice of resting at night?

Sacrifice and Thanksgiving