Prayer to Jesus Suffering

Prayer to Jesus Suffering

(Our Lord said to St. Mechtilde: "Behold, I make over to thee all the bitterness of My Passion, that thou mayest offer it to Me again as though it were thine own possession. And whoever shall do this, shall receive double at my hand, and whenever he renews this offering he shall surely receive the double; and this is that hundredfold which a man receives in this life, and in the world to come, life everlasting.") 

O most gracious Jesus, Redeemer and Saviour of the whole human race, I recall to Thy mind with gratitude and love all the sorrow and anxiety which Thou, my Creator and my God, didst feel in Thine agony, when Thou didst pray yet longer, and didst bedew the earth with the sweat of Blood, wrung from Thee by Thine exceeding anguish, desire and love, beseeching Thee by all and each of those most sacred drops, all which I here offer Thee with devout affection, that Thou wouldst wash away all the stains of my sins. I recall to Thy mind Thy being unjustly bound with heavy chains, Thy innumerable stripes and blows, and all the contumely and the blasphemy wherewith Thou wast assailed, when all proclaimed Thee a deceiver of the people; when Thou wast falsely accused before Pilate, ignominiously mocked by Herod, and set aside for an impious robber; and when all the whole multitude clamorously demanded that Thou shouldst be crucified. All this Thou didst endure with such love and such patience that although Thou couldst by one look have appalled Thine adversaries, and with one word convicted the false witnesses against Thee, yet Thou didst submit to be led like a sheep to the slaughter, and stand before Thy judge with Thy head bowed in humility, Thine eyes fixed on the ground, not once opening Thy mouth to speak one word of complaint at the lying accusations brought against Thee. Wherefore I give Thee thanks on behalf of all mankind, and offer Thee all the outrages and insults heaped on Thee, in satisfaction for all the insults I have offered Thee by my sins. I give Thee thanks also and I recall to Thy mind Thy most cruel and excessive scourging, wherewith Thy whole body was so gashed and torn, that from the sole of Thy foot to the top of Thy head there was no soundness in Thee. I set forth now before Thee, likewise, that intolerable anguish Thou didst feel when the crown of thorns was so harshly forced upon Thy kingly head, when the sharp thorns pierced Thy head and Thy brow, and were thrust into Thy brain, and Thy most gentle loving face, into which the Angels desire to look, was covered with slow trickling drops of Thy roseate Blood. O most pitiful Jesus, I now recall to Thy mind, the unutterable anguish which thrilled through Thy whole Body, when Thou wast fastened to the Cross with iron nails, when Thou wast lifted up on high on Thy cross, and blasphemed by the Jews, mocked in Thy thirst with vinegar and gall, and hung up between two robbers, as the refuse and off-scouring of all creatures. Lastly, O most gracious Jesus, I recall to Thy mind with gratitude and compassion all and each of the sorrows Thou didst feel throughout Thy whole most sacred Body and especially in Thy sweetest Heart, by reason of Thy foreknowledge that Thy most bitter, most shameful, most guiltless Passion would be of no avail to so many; and when Thy deified Heart itself broke with excessive love and grief, and Thy most holy soul quitted Thy blessed Body with an inconceivable pang! For all these, Thy sorrows, I give Thee infinite thanks; and through Thy sweetest Heart, in the power of the Holy Spirit, in behalf of, and with the love of all creatures, I offer Thee all Thy grief, and pain, and torment of Body and soul, throughout all the time of Thy Passion, for all the sins I have committed, for all the good I have left undone or done negligently, and to turn away all the punishment I have so justly deserved. Do Thou now vouchsafe to ratify and accept this my oblation and to absolve me from all my sins. Amen. 

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the adorable wounded Face of Jesus, through the intercession of Little Theresa, to obtain my request.

Image Credit Waiting for the Word