Meditations and Prayers on the Seven Last Words of Jesus

Meditations and Prayers on the Seven Last Words of Jesus

V. O God, come to my assistance.
R. O Lord, make haste to help me.

V. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
R. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be. Amen.

First Word: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."
Dear Jesus, Who for my love, suffered upon the Cross in order to pay with Your sufferings the debt of my sins and opened Your Divine Lips to obtain for me their remission from the eternal justice of God, have pity on me and on all the faithful who are in their last agony. When I come to that last hour, by the merits of Your most Precious Blood, which was shed for my salvation, give me such a lively sorrow for my sins that my soul will then expire in the bosom of Your Divine Mercy. My God, I believe in You, I hope in You, and I love You. I repent of having offended You by my sins. Amen.

Second Word: "This day you shall be with Me in paradise."
Dear Jesus, Who for my love hung in agony upon the Cross, and with such readiness and bounty responds to the Good Thief when he acknowledges You to be the Son of God, and assures him of paradise, have pity on me and all the faithful who are in their last agony. When I shall come to the end of my life, by the merits of Your most Precious Blood, inspire in my soul a faith so firm and constant that it shall not waver at any suggestions of the evil one, so I may obtain the reward of holy paradise. My God, I believe in You, I hope in You, and I love You. I repent of having offended You by my sins. Amen. 

Third Word: "Behold your mother; behold your son."
Dear Jesus, Who for my love hung in agony upon the Cross and Who, forgetting Your own sufferings, gifted me with Your Holy Mother as a pledge of Your love through her, I pray that I will be enabled to call upon You with confidence in my greatest need. Have pity on me and all the faithful who are in their last agony. Through the interior martyrdom of Your dear Mother, inspire in my heart a firm trust in the infinite merits of Your most Precious Blood, so that I may be able to escape the eternal damnation, which I have merited by my sins. My God, I believe in You, I hope in You, and I love You. I repent of having offended You by my sins. Amen.

Fourth Word: "My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?"
Dear Jesus, Who for my love hung in agony upon the Cross and Who, adding suffering to suffering, in addition to Your bodily pains, endured with infinite patience the most painful affliction of spirit at being abandoned by Your Eternal Father, have pity on me and all the faithful who are in their last agony. When I come to the hour of my own death, by the merits of Your Precious Blood, grant me the grace of suffering with true patience all the pains and agony of my death struggle, so that by uniting my sufferings to Yours, I may be able at last to share Your glory in paradise. My God, I believe in You, I hope in You, and I love You. I repent of having offended You by my sins. Amen.

Fifth Word: "I thirst."
Dear Jesus, Who for my love hung in agony upon the Cross, and Who, not yet satisfied with so many reproaches and sufferings, suffered even more so that all people might be saved. The whole torrent of Your Passion is not enough to slake the thirst of Your Loving Heart. Have pity on me and all the faithful who are in their last agony, and upon me, so when I arrive at my final hour I will have lighted within me a fire of love so great that my heart will be filled with the desire of being united with You for all of eternity. My God, I believe in You, I hope in You, and I love You. I repent of having offended You by my sins. Amen.

Sixth Word: "It is finished."
Dear Jesus, Who for my love hung in agony upon the Cross, and from that pulpit of truth proclaimed that You had finished the work of our redemption, whereby humankind, from being children of wrath and perdition, have been made children of God and heirs of heaven, have pity on me and all the faithful who are in their last agony. When I arrive at my final hour, by the merits of Your most Precious Blood, detach me completely from the world and from myself, granting me the grace to offer You from my heart the sacrifice of my life in expiation of my sins. My God, I believe in You, I hope in You, and I love You. I repent of having offended You by my sins. Amen.

Seventh Word: "Father, into Your Hands I commend My Spirit."
Dear Jesus, Who for my love hung in agony upon the Cross, and in order to complete the great sacrifice embraced the Will of Your Eternal Father, resigning Your Spirit into His Hands and then bowing Your Head and dying. Have pity on all the faithful who are in their last agony and upon me. When I have come to my final moment, by the merits of Your Precious Blood, grant me a perfect conformity to Your Divine Will, so that I may be ready to live or die as it pleases You. I desire nothing else except the perfect fulfillment in me of Your Divine Will. Amen.

From the Raccolta
Image Credit Waiting for the Word