 THE
HOUR OF MERCY It is
Jesus' desire that the moment of
His Death on the Cross (3:00 p.m).) be venerated every day; the hour
which He said was the hour of grace for the whole world --- mercy
triumphed over justice (1572). At this hour, He wants us to meditate
upon His sorrowful Passion because it reveals most distinctly the love
God has for His people. At this time Jesus wants us to worship and
glorify the Mercy of God, and, by the merits of His passion, to implore
the necessary graces for ourselves and the whole world, especially for
sinners. Try
your best. Jesus instructed Sister
Faustina, to make the Stations of the Cross in this hour, provided that
your duties permit it; and if you are not able to make the Stations of
the Cross, then at least step into the chapel for a moment and adore,
in the Blessed Sacrament, My heart, which is full of mercy, and should
you be unable to step into the chapel, immerse yourself in prayer there
where you happen to be, if only for a very brief instant (1572). This
is the hour, as Jesus promised, in
which you can obtain everything for yourself and for others for the
asking (1572). I will refuse nothing to the soul that makes a request
of Me in virtue of My Passion (1320). The
Hour of Mercy is associated
explicitely with three o'clock in the afternoon. Our prayers at this
time should be directed to Jesus, and our petitions should appeal to
the merits of His sorrowful Passion. Prayers
at the Hour of Mercy O
Blood and Water, which gushed forth
from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of Mercy for us, I trust in Thee
(187). Thou
Thyself, Jesus, surely out of love
for us, underwent such a
terrible Passion. Thy Father's justice would have been propitiated with
a single sigh from Thee, and all Thy self-abasement is solely the work
of Thy mercy and Thy inconceivable love. . . . At the moment of
Thy death on the Cross, Thou didst bestow upon us eternal life;
allowing Thy most holy side to be opened, Thou didst open an
inexhaustible spring of mercy for us, giving us Thy dearest possession,
the Blood and Water from Thy Heart. Such is the omnipotence of Thy
mercy. From it all grace flows to us (1747). O
Jesus, eternal Truth, our Life, I call
upon Thee and beg Thy mercy
for poor sinners. O sweetest Heart of my Lord, full of pity and
unfathomable mercy, I plead with Thee for poor sinners. O Most Sacred
Heart, Fount of Mercy from which gush forth rays of inconceivable
graces upon the entire human race, I beg of Thee light for poor
sinners. O Jesus, be mindful of Thine Own bitter Passion and do not
permit the loss of souls redeemed at so dear a price of Thy most
precious Blood. O
Jesus, stretched out upon the Cross, I
implore Thee, give me the grace of doing faithfully the most holy will
of Thy Father, in all things, always and everywhere. And when this will
of God will seem to me very harsh and difficult to fulfill, it is then
I beg Thee, Jesus, may power and strength flow upon me from Thy Wounds,
and may my lips keep repeating, "Thy will be done, O Lord."
0 Savior of the world, Lover of man's salvation, Who in such terrible
torment and pain, forgot Thyself to think only of the salvation of
souls, O most compassionate Jesus, grant me the grace to forget myself
that I may live totally for souls, helping Thee in the work of
salvation, according to the most holy will of Thy Father (1265). Thou
didst expire, Jesus, but the source
of life gushed forth for
souls, and the ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world. O Fount of
Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty
Thyself out upon us (1319). Souls
who spread the honor of My mercy I
shield through their entire life as a tender mother her infant, and at
the hour of death I will not be a Judge for them, but the Merciful
Savior (1075). By these words, Jesus is encouraging us to spread the
worship of Divine Mercy; He has promised maternal care to those who do
so by shielding them throughout their entire life and at the hour of
death. He made a singular promise to priests saying, Hardened
sinners will repent on hearing their words, when they will speak about
My unfathomable mercy, about the compassion I have for them in My
Heart. To priests who will proclaim and extol My mercy, I will give
wondrous power, and I will annoint their words and touch the hearts of
those'to whom they will speak (1521). The
foundation for the worship and
apostolate of Divine Mercy is the testimony of one's own life according
to the spirit of this devotion; namely, the spirit of childlike
confidence in the goodness and omnipotence of God, accompanied by an
active love of one's neighbor. |
