Offering of the Bitterness of Our Lord’s Passion

Offering of the Bitterness of Our Lord’s Passion

I offer to You, O Lord, all the bitterness of Your Passion, in reparation for the offenses committed against You.

“I make over to you all the bitterness of My Passion, that you may offer it to Me again, as though it were your own possession. And whoever shall do this shall receive double at My hand, and whenever he renews this offering he shall assuredly receive the double; and this is that hundredfold which a man receives in this life, and in the world to come, life everlasting.” - Our Lord to Saint Mechtilde

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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.

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A Morning Offering Based on Three Revelations of Our Lord

A Morning Offering Based on Three Revelations of Our Lord

DEAR LORD, I adore Thy Sacred Heart, which I desire to enter with acts of love, praise, adoration, and thanksgiving. I offer Thee my own heart as I sigh to Thee from its very depths, asking that Thou will worketh through me in all that I do this day; thus may I draw Thee closer to me than Thou wert before. I offer Thee all the crosses and sufferings of the world, in union with Thy life on earth, in expiation for sins. Please join my every action and heartbeat to the pulsations of Thy Heart. I unite all my works of this day to those labors Thou didst perform while Thou were on earth, bathing them in Thy Precious Blood, and I offer them to the Heavenly Father so that many souls may be saved. Amen.

This prayer is based on the following revelations:

"When you awake, enter at once into My Heart, and when you are in it, offer My Father all your actions united to the pulsations of My Heart . . . If [a person is] engaged in work of no value in itself, if she bathes it in My Blood or unites it to the work I Myself did during My mortal life, it will greatly profit souls . . . more, perhaps, than if she had preached to the whole world. You will be able to save many souls that way."

--Our Lord to Sr. Josefa Menendez (1890-1923)

"When you awake in the morning, let your first act be to salute My Heart, and to offer Me your own . . . Whoever shall breathe a sigh toward Me from the bottom of his heart when he awakes in the morning and shall ask Me to work all his works in him throughout the day, will draw Me to him . . . For never does a man breathe a sigh of longing aspiration toward Me without drawing Me nearer to him than I was before."

--Our Lord to St. Mechtilde (1241-1298)

"It is not merely by praying that souls are saved, but through the actions of even the most ordinary lives lived for God . . . Offer Me everything united to My life on earth. 

. . . Offer Me all the crosses of the world. There are so many, and few think of offering them to Me in expiation for sins . . ."

--Our Lord to Gabrielle Bossis (1874-1950)

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The Five Joys of the Blessed Virgin

The Five Joys of the Blessed Virgin

On one occasion, while St. Mechtilde was reflecting in sadness that she had never been duly devout to the Blessed Virgin, and was beseeching our Lord to teach her how to supply her defect, it seemed to her that our Lord bade her apply her lips to the wound in His side, saying: Draw hence that which thou dost wish to offer to My Mother. And she felt the five following salutations, which she had never heard or conceived before, trickle down upon her lips as so many drops of water.

I salute thee, O Virgin most resplendent in glory, in that sweetest stream which flowed forth upon thee from the Heart of the most Holy Trinity, by reason of thy most blessed predestination from eternity.

I salute thee, O Virgin most radiant in holiness, in that sweetest stream which went forth upon thee from the Heart of the most Holy Trinity, by reason of thy most blessed conversation and life.

I salute thee, O Virgin, most noble, in that sweetest stream which shed itself forth upon thee from the Heart of the most Holy Trinity, through the teaching and preaching of thy Son.

I salute thee, O Virgin most full of love, in that sweetest stream which gushed forth upon thee from the Heart of the most Holy Trinity, through the bitter Passion and Death of thy Son.

I salute thee, O Virgin most worshipful, in that sweetest stream which burst forth upon thee from the Heart of the most Holy Trinity, and filled thee with all the glory, all the dazzling magnificence, and the ecstatic joy in which thou dost now exult, as beseemeth thee, the elect above and over all creatures before the world was formed. Amen. 

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Saint Mechtilde Prayer

Saint Mechtilde Prayer

One day when Saint Mechtilde was reproaching herself for not having loved the Blessed Virgin Mary enough, Jesus appeared to her and said:  "For this fault, and in order to make reparation for it, first praise and honor My Mother for the faithfulness with which all her actions….

Prayer

Heavenly Mother I praise and honor you firstly for that faithfulness with which, in all your actions and throughout your life, you submitted your will to Jesus. 

Secondly I praise and honor you for that readiness with which you attended to all the physical needs of Jesus thy Son and for that compassion in your heart for all he had to endure in His body!

Thirdly I exalt you for your devotion to Jesus in heaven, by means of which you draw sinners to him, convert them to Him, and free from the sufferings and flames of Purgatory a multitude of souls, for whom your intercession and your powerful intervention more quickly open the realms where they will glorify Jesus for all eternity.

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Three Ave Maria's for a Good Death

Three Ave Maria's for a Good Death

St. Mechtilde, having on one occasion asked the Blessed Virgin to assist her in the hour of her death, received this answer: You may feel assured of my presence and aid if you daily address to me this three-fold salutation. 

HAIL, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, as God the Father in the grandeur of His omnipotence hath exalted thee and given thee power above all creatures, be with me, I beseech thee, in the hour of my death, and drive far from me all the snares and craft of my enemies. Amen.

HAIL, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, as God the Son in the excellence of His unsearchable wisdom hath embued thee with so great a knowledge, and filled thee with so great a light that thou knowest the most Holy Trinity more truly and intimately than all Saints, do thou so enlighten my soul in the hour of my death with the knowledge of the faith, that no error or ignorance may lead it astray. Amen.

HAIL, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, as the Holy Spirit hath poured into thee the sweetness of His love with such abundance, that thou art after God the sweetest and most benign of beings, do thou pour into my soul at the hour of my death the sweetness of Divine love, that its every bitterness may be rendered sweet to me. Amen.

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Golden Ave Maria

Golden Ave Maria

While St. Mechtilde was ardently desiring to greet the Blessed Virgin with the most sublime salutation possible, she saw in vision our Lady, bearing on her heart the angelical salutation written in letters of gold, and saying to her: No salutation can surpass this, nor can any be so sweet in my ears as that with which God the everlasting Father greeted me, in the following manner:

HAIL, Mary, in union with that reverence wherewith God the Father greeted thee with Ave, and by His omnipotence delivered thee from every woe and sin. Hail, Mary, in union with that love wherewith the Son of God enlightened thee with His wisdom, and made thee a softly-shining star, lighting up Heaven and earth. Hail, Mary, in union with that sweet unction of the Holy Ghost, wherewith He so pervaded thee and made thee so full of grace, that everyone who through thee seeketh grace doth find it.  Call to mind now that unspeakable operation wherewith the whole most Blessed Trinity wrought in thee, when human flesh taken from thy substance was so united to the Divine Nature that God was made man and man became God, and thy whole soul was suffused with a sweetness and a gladness which the heart of man cannot conceive. And therefore every creature with rapturous admiration doth acknowledge and confess that thou art blessed and incomparably exalted above all creatures in Heaven or on earth, and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb, even Jesus, who quickens, sanctifies, and blesses all things forever. Amen.

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Aspiration to Jesus

Aspiration to Jesus

Jesus said to St. Mechtilde: Whoever shall breathe a sigh towards Me from the bottom of his heart when he awakes in the morning, and shall ask Me to work all his works in him throughout the day, he will draw Me to him; so that his soul shall have life from Me even as his body has life from his soul, and he shall do all things through Me and by Me. For never does a man breathe a sigh of longing aspiration towards Me without drawing Me nearer to him than I was before. 

O MOST loving Jesus, I breathe towards Thee this sigh, drawn from the depth of my heart, beseeching Thee with all my might that Thou wouldst deign Thyself to work in me all my works, whether of body or of soul, to cleanse them all in thy sweetest Heart, and to offer them, in union with Thine Own most perfect works, to God the Father as an eternal thanksgiving. Amen.

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Morning Offering

Morning Offering

Our Divine Lord said to St. Mechtilde: When you awake in the morning, let your first act be to salute My Heart, and to offer Me your own.

I ADORE, praise, and salute Thee, O most sweet Heart of Jesus Christ, fresh and gladdening as the breath of spring, from which, as from a fountain of graces, sweeter than the honeycomb, floweth ever more all good and all delight. I thank Thee with all the powers of my heart for having preserved me throughout this night, and for having rendered to God the Father praises and thanksgivings in my behalf. And now, O my sweet Love, I offer Thee my wretched and worthless heart as a morning sacrifice; I place it in Thy most tender Heart, and entrust it to Thy keeping; beseeching Thee that Thou wouldst deign to pour into it Thy Divine inspirations, and to enkindle it with Thy holy love. Amen.

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A Very Useful Manner of Hiding Oneself in the Five Sacred Wounds

A Very Useful Manner of Hiding Oneself in the Five Sacred Wounds

This was taught to St. Mechtilde by Christ Himself as she went to kiss the Cross one Good Friday. (Book 1, ch. 23 and 29). 

I THANK Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, for the painful Wound of Thy left foot, from which flowed the Precious Blood that washes away our sins. In it I sink and hide all the sins I have ever committed. Amen.

I thank Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, for the painful Wound of Thy right foot, from which the fountain of peace flowed to us. In its depths I sink and bury all my desires, that they may be purified and remain unspotted by any earthly stain. Amen.

I thank Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, for the painful Wound of Thy left hand, from which the well of grace flowed to us. In it I enclose all my spiritual and bodily ills, that in union with Thy sufferings they may become sweet to me, and by patience become a fragrant odor before God. Amen.

I thank Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, for the painful Wound of Thy right hand, from which the medicine of the soul was poured forth. In it I hide all my negligence’s and omissions which I have committed in my virtuous exercises, that they may be atoned for by Thy zealous works. Amen.

I thank Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, for the healing Wound of Thy sweetest Heart, from which living Water and Blood and the riches of all good flowed to us. I place myself in this Wound, and there unite all my imperfect love to Thy Divine love, that thus it may be perfected. Amen.

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