What prayers to say?

Here is a booklet written by Father Mateo about "The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, a Hymn to the Blessed Trinity". It is easy to read and an absolute must if you really want to understand the importance of It. A basic not to be missed!

It is also extremely important to Enthrone your home to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

One of the best ways to start your Holy Hour is to read in your missal the Mass to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, uniting yourself in spirit to all the priests who are offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass at this exact time, all around the world; followed by the Litanies of the Sacred Heart and an Act of Consecration (here) You may then add any prayers you wish (Stations of the Cross, sorrowful mysteries, canon of the Mass, etc...) We have a good selection of prayers lower down, as well as the original Holy Hour booklet written by Fr. Mateo, two different Holy Hours taken from a conference Father Mateo gave in San Francisco, and the 21 Holy Hours book ready for you to download.

Here is a booklet with all the basic information about the Holy Hour as well as the Canon of the Mass, the proper of the Mass of the Sacred Heart, the Litanies of the Sacred Heart, an Act of Consecration and a Holy Hour by Father Mateo. You could print a few copies and ask your parish priest permission to put a few copies out and become an apostle of the Sacred Heart!

Another option is to get a booklet with set prayers, like the "Holy Hour of Reparation", Father Mateo's "Holy Hours" devotion book (and sometimes found on amazon), "The Prisoner of Love" by Father Lasance or others.

Regardless of which prayers you choose to say during your Holy Hour, do not forget to finish with an Our Father, a Hail Mary and a Glory be for the Pope's intentions. The Holy Father needs all of these and you may also gain the indulgence (partial or plenary) attached to this devotion.

Here is a list of places which have some booklets, as well as other books about the devotion to the Sacred Heart (click on the + sign):

- Here you can download the proper of the Mass of the Sacred Heart, the Canon, the Litanies and an Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus to start your Holy Hour.

- Click on the required icon to download the original Holy Hour booklet written by Fr. Mateo for the English speaking world. As we have reproduced the whole booklet, you might want to select just the Holy Hour when you print it out.


- Click on the required icon to download the two Holy Hours by Father Mateo


- Click on the required icon to download the 21 Holy Hours by Father Mateo.
Those Holy Hours were found on another website (exdeo.com) and we believe have been in the public domain for quite sometime. As Father Mateo would have wanted as many people as possible to have access to them, here you have them for your spiritual profit.

- As it might be difficult and unpractical for some to download all 21 Holy Hours at once, we have copied them one by one from the file above so you could choose just the one you need to download.
- Click on the required icon to download all the prayers in one document.


- Or go down the page to the prayer you wish to download and click on the icon next to it. For shorter prayers, we have grouped a few of them together.


Prayers

Here are some prayers you may wish to include.
Everytime we find another suitable prayer, we will add it to this list.


Click on the required icon to download all the prayers in one document

Top

Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, I consecrate myself to Your Most Sacred Heart. Take possession of my whole being; transform me into Yourself. Make my hands Your hands, my feet Your feet, my heart Your heart. Let me see with Your eyes, listen with Your ears, speak with Your lips, love with Your heart, understand with Your mind, serve with Your will, and be dedicated with my whole being. Make me Your other self. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, send me Your Holy Spirit to teach me to love You and to live through You, with You, in You and for You.

Come, Holy Spirit, make my body Your temple. Come, and abide with me forever. Give me the deepest love for the Sacred Heart of Jesus in order to serve Him with my whole heart, soul, mind and strength. Take possession of all my faculties of body and soul. Regulate all my passions: feelings and emotions. Take possession of my intellect, understanding and will; my memory and imagination. O Holy Spirit of Love, give me an abundance of Your efficacious graces. Give me the fullness of all the virtues; enrich my faith, strengthen my hope, increase my trust, and inflame my love. Give me the fullness of Your sevenfold gifts, fruits and beatitudes. Most Holy Trinity, make my soul Your sanctuary.

Top

Act of Reparation 1

On the feast of the Sacred Heart, the Litany given below is publicly recited, after which this Act of Reparation follows.

Dearest Jesus, thou pourest forth thy love upon mankind, and they repay thee all ungratefully with neglect, indifference, contempt. Behold us kneeling humbly before thy altar (or: in thy presence), striving to repair, by a special act of homage, this heartless ingratitude of men, and the insults that are everywhere being inflicted on thy all-loving Heart.

We do not forget that we ourselves have had our part in this unworthy treatment of thee; and the remembrance fills us with deepest grief. First, then, we entreat thee to have mercy on us. We are ready to atone, by this voluntary act of expiation, for the crimes we ourselves have committed, and also for the sins of those who, striving far from the way of salvation, either refuse, in the obstinacy of their unbelief, to follow thee, their shepherd and guide, or trample upon their baptismal vows and have shaken off the sweet yoke of thy law.

We are anxious to atone for all these deplorable crimes, but more especially to make reparation for those following immodesty and shameful excesses in life and dress; the many snares laid to corrupt innocent souls; that disregard of holydays; the vile blasphemies hurled against thee and thy saints; the reproach cast on thy Vicar and on the whole priestly order; the neglect of the very Sacrament of thy divine love, and its profanation by horrifying sacrilege; and lastly the public sins of the nations in rebellion against the just rights and the teaching authority of the Church founded by thee.

Would that we could wash away these outrages with our own blood! As it is, in order to atone for the violations of the honour due to God, we offer thee the selfsame satisfaction which of old thou didst offer to thy Father upon the cross, and which thou failest not to renew daily upon the altars of thy Church. To this we add the expiatory merits of thy Virgin Mother, of all the saints, and of the pious faithful on earth. With all our hearts we promise, first, to atone, so far as in us lies, with the assistance of thy grace, for our past sins and those of others, and for our coldness towards thy great love, by steadfast faith, spotless purity of life, and perfect fulfilment of the law of the Gospel, especially the law of charity. We also pledge ourselves to prevent, so far as we are able, such injuries from being done to thee, and to bring as many as we can to follow thee.

Accept, we pray thee, most gracious Jesus, at the plea of our Lady of Reparation, this free-will offering of atonement, and be pleased to keep us, by the great gift of final perseverance, dutiful and loyal in thy service to the death. So may we all come al last to that fatherland where thou livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen

Top

Act of Reparation 2

O sweet Jesus, Whose overflowing charity for me is requited by so much forgetfulness, negligence and contempt, behold us prostrate before Your altar (in Your presence) eager to repair by a special act of homage the cruel indifference and injuries, to which Your loving Heart is everywhere subject.

Mindful alas! that we ourselves have had a share in such great indignities, which we now deplore from the depths of our hearts, we humbly ask Your pardon and declare our readiness to atone by voluntary expiation not only for our own personal offences, but also for the sins of those, who, straying for from the path of salvation, refuse in their obstinate infidelity to follow You, their Shepherd and Leader, or, renouncing the vows of their baptism, have cast off the sweet yoke of Your Law.

We are now resolved to expiate each and every deplorable outrage committed against You; we are determined to make amends for the manifold offences against Christian modesty in unbecoming dress and behaviour, for all the foul seductions laid to ensnare the feet of the innocent, for the frequent violations of Sundays and holidays, and the shocking blasphemies uttered against You and Your Saints.

We wish also to make amends for the insults to which Your Vicar on earth and Your priest are subjected, for the profanation, by conscious neglect or terrible acts of sacrilege, of the very Sacrament of Your Divine Love; and lastly for the public crimes of nations who resist the rights and teaching authority of the Church which You have founded.

Would, O divine Jesus, we were able to wash away such abominations with our blood. We now offer, in reparation for these violations of Your divine honour, the satisfaction You once made to Your eternal Father on the cross and which You continue to renews daily on our altars; we offer it in union with the acts of atonement of Your Virgin Mother and all the Saints and of the pious faithful on earth; and we sincerely promise to make recompense, as far as we can with the help of Your grace, for all neglect of Your great love and for the sins we and others have committed in the past.

Henceforth we will live a life of unwavering faith, of purity of conduct, of perfect observance of the precepts of the gospel and especially that of charity. We promise to the best of our power to prevent other from offending You and to bring as many as possible to follow You.

O loving Jesus, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, our model in reparation, deign to receive the voluntary offering we make of this act of expiation; and by the crowing gift of perseverance keep us faithful unto death in our duty and the allegiance we owe to You, so that we may one day come to that happy home, where You with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, God, world without end. Amen.

Top

Act of Reparation 3

Sacred Heart of Jesus, animated with a desire to repair the outrages unceasingly offered to Thee, we prostrate before Thy throne of mercy, and in the name of all mankind, pledge our love and fidelity to Thee!
The more Thy mysteries are blasphemed, the more firmly we shall believe them, O Sacred Heart of Jesus!
The more impiety endeavours to extinguish our hopes of immortality, the more we shall trust in Thy Heart, sole hope of mankind!
The more hearts resist Thy Divine attractions, the more we shall love Thee, O infinitely amiable heart of Jesus!
The more unbelief attacks Thy Divinity, the more humbly and profoundly we shall adore It, O Divine Heart of Jesus!
The more Thy holy laws are transgressed and ignored, the more we shall delight to observe them, O most holy Heart of Jesus!
The more Thy Sacraments are despised and abandoned, the more frequently we shall receive them with love and reverence, O most liberal Heart of Jesus!
The more the imitation of Thy virtues is neglected and forgotten, the more we shall endeavour to practice them, O Heart, model of every virtue!
The more the devil labours to destroy souls, the more we shall be inflamed with desire to save them, O Heart of Jesus, zealous Lover of souls!
The more sin and impurity destroy the image of God in man, the more we shall try by purity of life to be a living temple of the Holy Spirit, O Heart of Jesus
The more Thy Holy Church is despised, the more we shall endeavour to be her faithful children, O Sweet Heart of Jesus!
The more Thy Vicar on earth is persecuted, the more we will honour him as the infallible head of Thy Holy Church, show our fidelity and pray for him, O kingly Heart of Jesus!
O Sacred Heart, through Thy powerful grace, may we become Thy apostles in the midst of a corrupted world, and be Thy crown in the kingdom of heaven. Amen.

Top

Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

O Jesus, divine Saviour, deign to cast a look of mercy upon Your children, who assemble in the same spirit of faith, reparation, and love, and come to deplore their own infidelities, and those of all poor sinners, their brethren.

May we touch Your divine Heart by the unanimous and solemn promises we are about to make and obtain mercy for ourselves, for the world, and for all who are so unhappy as not to love You. We all promise that for the future:

For the forgetfulness and ingratitude of men, we will console you O Lord
For the way You are deserted in Your holy tabernacle, we will...
For the crimes of sinners, we will...
For the hatred of the impious, ...
For the blasphemies uttered against You, ...
For the sacrileges that profane Your Sacrament of Love, ...
For the outrages against Your divinity, ....
For the injuries of which You are the adorable Victim, ...
For the coldness of the greater part of your children, ...
For the contempt of your loving invitation, ...
For the infidelity of those who called themselves Your friends, ...
For the abuse of Your grace, ...
For our own unfaithfulness, ...
For the incomprehensible hardness of our hearts, ...
For our long delay in loving You, ...
For our tepidity in Your holy service, ...
For Your bitter sadness at the loss of souls, ...
For Your long waiting at the door of our hearts, ...
For the heartless scorn that grieves You, ...
For Your loving sighs, ...
For Your loving tears, ...
For Your loving imprisonment, ...
For Your loving death, ...

Let us pray
O Jesus! divine Saviour, from whose Heart comes forth this bitter complaint, "I looked for one that would comfort me, and I found none," graciously accept the feeble consolation we offer You, and aid us so powerfully by your grace, that we may, for the time to come, shun more and more all that can displease You, and prove ourselves in everything, and everywhere, and forever Your most faithful and devoted servants. We ask it through Your Sacred Heart, O Lord, who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit one God, world without end. Amen.

Top

Another Prayer

Compassionate Jesus, I remember your gentle invitation to "Come...and be refreshed." I bring you now all my worries, fears, needs and doubts, and those of my world. I entrust to you my loved ones, both living and deceased. Enfold us all in your love, now and evermore. Amen.

Top

Aspirations of Cardinal Bona

I entreat thee, dearest Saviour, come and reign over my heart. Far from me for ever be all other loves but thine, my supreme God.
Burn me with the fire of thy beauty, O sovereign of my heart; to thee I sacrifice all, even my inmost being.
Jesus, lord of my heart, mighty and strong, all hail! O Saviour, reign absolutely over this heart of mine. Oh! How happy I am to think that thy reign can have no end.
Thousands of hearts have loved thee tenderly, thousands of heart will cherish thee in time to come. Would that they were all united with mine to love and cherish thee as thou deservest.
Would that I could make thee sought for and loved by all the sons of Adam, Lord who art all lovable!
Triumph, my love, my beginning, and my all! I want thee only, desire thee alone!
My joy, my great joy is that thou art God, a God that is good, perfect, immeasurable, infinite, just, wise, powerful. I love thee for thy own sake, and I rejoice in thy favours for the sole reason that they are thine!
I throw myself into thy arms, Jesus, with all the fervour of my soul. I sing for joy that all the angels and saints adore and praise thee.
Oh! That I could love thee in proportion as thou art lovable! But since this is impossible for any creature, let me at least love thee as much as I can and ought.
Fill my soul with thy love, my God, so that I may die in its embrace, wholly devoured and burnt up in its flame.
How much I repent having loved anything else but thee! Oh! Would that I might have my life over again, and drown it in thy love!
Sweet life of my soul, let my heart faint away in thee! What else can I desire in heaven, what else can I desire in heaven, what else can I seek on earth, but thou?
I have asked of thee one favour alone, and it is all that I shall seek, Lord, at thy hand: to dwell in thy house all the days of thy life.
May my last breath be a sigh of love. May I die of thy love, my God. May my life, if it did not begin with love, at least end in it; and let my last act be an act of love.

Top

Traditional Prayer of Reparation from the Irish

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on me.
O God, forgive me for all the sins of my life;
The sins of my youth and the sins of my age,
The sins of my body and the sins of my soul,
The sins I have confessed and the sins I have forgotten,
The sins against others in thought, word, and deed.
My sins of omission.
0, my God, I am sorry for all my sins, because you are so good;
And I will not sin again with the help of God.
God be merciful to me, a sinner.
Divine Heart of Jesus, convert sinners, save the dying,
Deliver the holy souls in purgatory.
O God, forgive me for all the sins of my life;
The sins of my youth and the sins of my age,
The sins of my body and the sins of my soul,
The sins I have confessed and the sins I have forgotten,
The sins against others in thought, word, and deed,
My sins of omission.
0, my God, I am sorry for all my sins, because you are so good;
And I will not sin again with the help of God.
God be merciful to me, a sinner.
Divine Heart of Jesus, convert sinners, save the dying,
Deliver the holy souls in purgatory.

Top

Litany of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

V/ Lord, have mercy.
R/ Lord, have mercy.

V/ Christ, have mercy.
R/ Christ, have mercy.

V/ Lord, have mercy.
R/ Lord, have mercy.

V/ Jesus, hear us.
R/ Jesus, graciously hear us.

God, the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God, the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us.

Heart of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father, have mercy on us
Heart of Jesus, formed by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mother, have mercy on us
Heart of Jesus, substantially united to the Word of God, have ...
Heart of Jesus, of Infinite Majesty,...
Heart of Jesus, Sacred Temple of God,...
Heart of Jesus, Tabernacle of the Most High,...
Heart of Jesus, House of God and Gate of Heaven,...
Heart of Jesus, burning furnace of charity,...
Heart of Jesus, abode of justice and love,...
Heart of Jesus, full of goodness and love,...
Heart of Jesus, abyss of all virtues,...
Heart of Jesus, most worthy of all praise,...
Heart of Jesus, king and centre of all hearts,...
Heart of Jesus, in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,...
Heart of Jesus, in whom the Father was well pleased,...
Heart of Jesus, of whose fullness we have all received,...
Heart of Jesus, desire of the everlasting hills,...
Heart of Jesus, patient and most merciful,...
Heart of Jesus, enriching all who invoke you,...
Heart of Jesus, fountain of life and holiness,...
Heart of Jesus, propitiation for our sins,...
Heart of Jesus, loaded down with opprobrium,...
Heart of Jesus, bruised for our offences,...
Heart of Jesus, obedient to death,...
Heart of Jesus, pierced with a lance,...
Heart of Jesus, source of all consolation,...
Heart of Jesus, our life and resurrection,...
Heart of Jesus, our peace and reconciliation,...
Heart of Jesus, victim for our sins,...
Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who trust in you,...
Heart of Jesus, hope of those who die in you,...
Heart of Jesus, delight of all the Saints,...

Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world.
R/ spare us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world,
R/ graciously hear us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world,
R/ have mercy on us.

Jesus, meek and humble of heart.
R/ Make our hearts like to yours.

Let us pray.
Almighty and eternal God, look upon the Heart of your most beloved Son and upon the praises and satisfaction which he offers you in the name of sinners; and to those who implore your mercy, in your great goodness, grant forgiveness in the name of the same Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you forever and ever. Amen

Top

Memorare to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Remember, O most kind Jesus, that none who have had recourse to Your Sacred Heart, implored its assistance, or called for mercy, have ever been abandoned. Filled, and animated by this same confidence, O divine Heart, Ruler of all hearts, I fly to You, and oppressed beneath the weight of my sins, I prostrate myself before You. Despise not Your unworthy child, but grant me, I pray, an entrance into Your Sacred Heart. Sustain me in all my combats and be with me now, and at all times, but especially in the hour of my death. O gracious Jesus! O amiable Jesus! O loving Jesus!

[Reparation for the neglect of the majority of Catholics who have left our Lord alone and abandoned on the altar, never visited, is a key feature of the Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The following prayers are a number of very beautiful Acts of Reparation to the Sacred Heart, not generally known, which can form a part of one's daily prayer life, particularly when before the Blessed Sacrament.]

Top

Traditional Prayer of Reparation

Most loving Jesus, when I consider your tender heart and see it full of mercy and tenderness toward sinners, my own heart is filled with joy and confidence that I shall be so kindly welcomed by You. Unfortunately, how many times have I sinned! But now, with Peter and with Magdalene, I weep for my sins and detest them because they offend You, infinite Goodness. Mercifully grant me pardon for them all; and let me die rather than offend You again; at least let me live only to love You in return. Amen.

Top

Traditional Prayer of Reparation 2

My loving Jesus, out of the grateful love I bear you, and to make reparation for my unfaithfulness to grace, I give You my heart, and I consecrate myself wholly to You; and with Your help I purpose to sin no more. Amen.

Top

Contemporary Prayer of Reparation

Lord Jesus, who loves us so much: we have not loved You as we easily might have, nor served You enough in our neighbour as we could have. We are truly sorry for this unfaithful love and promise to do better in the future. Because You accept everything that we do in God's grace, when done in a spirit of love and obedience, as reparation, we now offer You and Your Heart our every thought, word, deed, and suffering in union with Your own sufferings. Join our Reparation to that which You ceaselessly offer to the Father in the Mass and in the silence of the tabernacle. Help us to suffer lovingly and to aid those who suffer. Make Your redemptive love fruitful in the hearts of all those who will die today, so that all of us may love You for ever in heaven. Amen.

Top

Daily Prayer to the Sacred Heart

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, mercifully accept the prayer which I now make to You for help in the moment of my death, when at its approach all my senses shall fail me.

When, therefore, O kind and merciful Jesus, my weary and downcast eyes can no longer look up to You, be mindful of the loving gaze which I now turn to You, and have mercy on me, a sinner.

When my parched lips can no longer kiss your most sacred wounds, remember that hour those kisses which I now imprint on You, and have mercy on me, a sinner.

When my cold hands can no longer embrace Your cross, forget not the affection with which I embrace it now, and have mercy upon me, a sinner. When my swollen and lifeless tongue can no longer speak, remember that I called upon You now, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, to you I commend my soul.

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, filled with infinite love, broken by my ingratitude and pierced by my many sins and yet loving you still, accept this act of consecration that I make to You of all that I am and all that I have. Take every faculty of my soul and body, draw me day by day near and nearer to Your Sacred Heart, and there, as I can bear the lesson, teach me Your blessed way.

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, Incarnate Son of God, who for our salvation did vouchsafe to be born in a stable, to pass Your life in poverty, trials, and misery, and to die amid the sufferings of the cross, I entreat You, in the hour of my death to say to Your divine Father, "Father forgive Him"; Say to my soul, "This day you to shall be with me in Paradise." My God, my God forsake me not in that hour. "I thirst"-truly, my God, my soul thirsts after You, who are the fountain of living waters. My life passes like a shadow; yet a little while and all will be consummated.

Wherefore, my adorable Saviour from this moment, and for all eternity, "into your hands I commend my spirit." Lord Jesus, receive my soul.

O Queen of the Holy Rosary and most kind and loving Mother of Perpetual Help, in memory of your Seven Sorrows, intercede for us with your divine Son and beg Him, in honour of His precious blood and sacred passion and death upon the cross, to forgive our sins and grant us the grace of a holy and happy death. Amen. (Say one Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be.)

Top

Prayer for the Forgiveness of Daily Neglects

Eternal Father, I offer the Sacred Heart of Jesus with all its love, all its sufferings of and all its merits.

First - To expiate all the sins I have committed this day and during all my life. (Glory Be)
Second - To purify the good I have done badly this day and during all my life. (Glory Be.)
Third - To supply for the good I ought to have done and I have neglected this day and during all my life. (Glory Be.)

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, I Place My Trust in Thee
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place my trust in Thee,
whatever may befall me, Lord, though dark the hour may be;
In all my woes, in all my joys, though nought but grief I see,
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place my trust in Thee.
When those I loved have passed away, and I am sore distressed,
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, I fly to Thee for rest.
In all my trials, great or small, my confidence shall be
Unshaken as I cry, dear Lord, I place my trust in Thee.
This is my one sweet prayer, dear Lord, my faith, my trust, my love,
But most of all in that last hour, when death points up above,
O sweet Saviour, may Thy face smile on my soul all free.
Oh may I cry with rapturous love, I've placed my trust in Thee.)

Top

Offerings

O Sacred Heart of my Saviour, I offer you this action (or suffering) for all the intentions for which You offer Yourself at this moment upon the altar to God Your Father.

O Jesus, who immolates Yourself at this moment upon the altar for the salvation of the whole world, I unite myself to You and (this sacrifice, this sorrow, this cross) to Your holy sacrifice, so that it may glorify Your Father, and be availing for the salvation of the world.

Let us go and die with Him. Let us lay down at least that portion of our life which He demands of us: some selfish interest, some frivolous pleasure, some perverse inclination, and let us unite this slight sacrifice to the loving immolation of our Jesus mystically dying upon the Eucharistic altar at the very moment we are making our sacrifice, and helping us to make it lovingly.

O Jesus, immolating Yourself at this moment upon the altar, make us love you more and more. O Jesus, who immolates Yourself at this moment for the salvation of the whole world, inflame the whole world with the fire of Your love.

Top

Prayer to the Sacred Heart for Priests

Remember, 0 most loving Heart of Jesus, that they for whom I pray are those for whom You prayed so earnestly the night before Your death. These are they to whom You look to continue with You in Your sorrows when others forsake You, who share Your griefs and have inherited your persecutions, according to Your word: That the servant is not greater than his Lord.

Remember, O Heart of Jesus, that they are the objects of the world's hatred and Satan's deadliest snares. Keep them then, 0 Jesus, in the safe citadel of Your Sacred Heart and there let them be sanctified in truth. May they be one with you and one among themselves, and grant that multitudes may be brought through their word to believe in You and love You.

Top

Prayer to the Eternal Father

O eternal Father, through the divine Heart of Jesus, I adore You for all those adore you not; I love You for all those who do not love you. I go in spirit through the whole world to seek for souls redeemed by the blood of Jesus. I embrace them in order to present them to You in His Sacred Heart, and in union with your merciful Heart, I ask for their conversion. (Bl. Marie de l'Incarnation)
Jesus is the only true friend of our hearts. (St. Margaret Mary)

Top

Prayer before an Image or Picture of the Sacred Heart

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, pour out Your benedictions upon the Holy Church, upon its priests, and upon all its children. Sustain the just, convert the sinners, assist the dying, deliver the souls in purgatory, and extend over all hearts the sweet empire of Your love. Amen.

Top

Prayer To Obtain a Conversion or Any Spiritual Favour

Lord, all hearts are in Your hands; You can bend as You will the most stubborn, and soften the most obdurate. Do that honour this day to the precious blood, the merits, the sacred wounds, the holy name, and loving Heart of Your beloved Son, of granting a conversion of N.N. (or of bestowing such a grace, etc..).

Top

Short Litany of Aspirations

May I prove to You my love, O heart of Jesus, by a spirit of self-sacrifice for your interests.
May I cheerfully make every sacrifice You demand of me, O heart of my Jesus.
May the sacrifices You ask of me glorify You, O heart of my Jesus.
May each sacrifice made for Your love draw me nearer to You, O heart of my Jesus.
By increasing in the spirit of self-sacrifice, may I become more like You, O heart...
May the sacrifices I make be agreeable to You, ...
May each sacrifice win one soul to You,...
May each sacrifice prevent one mortal sin,...
May each sacrifice earn a special grace for some soul,...
May each sacrifice merit a holy death for some soul,...
May each sacrifice relieve a soul in purgatory,...
May each sacrifice ascend as a prayer to You,...
May each sacrifice be as a hymn of praise to You,...
May Your Holy Spirit instruct me more and more in the spirit of self-sacrifice,...
May the spirit of self-sacrifice increase in our family,...
May the same spirit be propagated throughout the whole Church,...
And may it hasten the Church's triumph....

O Lamb of God, sacrificed for us, give us a spirit of self-sacrifice.
O Lamb of God, daily immolating Yourself upon the altar for us, give us grace to immolate our wills for Your sake.
O Lamb of God, dying for us, give us grace to die to all that wounds your Sacred Heart.

Prayer
O Lord Jesus Christ, whose whole life was one continual sacrifice for the glory of Your Father and the salvation of our souls, grant us the grace to find our joy in making sacrifices for You and for the interests of Your Sacred Heart. Amen.

(St. Bonaventure has said, "There is no devotion without sacrifice." Making little sacrifices, when offered for an intention as above, proves your love for Him is real, not just words.)

Top

Jesus, Help Me!

In every need let me come to You with humble trust, saying:
Jesus, help me!
In all my doubts, perplexities, and temptations:
Jesus, help me!
In hours of loneliness, weariness and trials:
Jesus, help me!
In the failure of my plans and hopes, in disappointments, troubles and sorrows:
Jesus, help me!
When others fail me, and Your Grace alone can assist me;
Jesus, help me!
When I throw myself on Your tender Love as Saviour:
Jesus, help me!
When my heart is cast down by failure, at seeing no good come from my efforts:
Jesus, help me!
When I feel impatient, and my cross irritates me:
Jesus, help me!
When I am ill, and my head and hands cannot work and I am lonely:
Jesus, help me!
Always, always, in spite of weakness, falls and short- comings of every kind:
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, help me and never forsake me!

Top

Catena Legionis (Magnificat)

Antiphon. Who is she that cometh forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the Sun, terrible as an army set in battle array?
My soul doth magnify the Lord.
And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
Because He hath regarded the humility of His handmaid: for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
For He that is mighty hath done great things to me, and holy is His name. And His mercy is from generation unto generations to them that fear Him.
He hath showed might in His arm: He hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.
He hath put down the mighty from their seat: and hath exalted the humble.
He hath filled the hungry with good things: and the rich He hath sent empty away.
He hath received Israel His servant: being mindful of His mercy.
As He spoke to our fathers: to Abraham and to his seed forever.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Antiphon. Who is she that cometh forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in battle array?

V. O Mary conceived without sin.
R. Pray for us who have recourse to Thee.

Let us pray
O Lord Jesus Christ our Mediator with the Father, Who hast been pleased to appoint the Most Blessed Virgin, Thy Mother, to be our Mother also, and our Mediatrix with Thee, mercifully grant that whosoever comes to Thee seeking Thy favours may rejoice to receive all of them through her. Amen.

Top

Prayer

I fly to Thee Sacred Heart of my Saviour, for Thou art for my refuge, my only hope. Thou art the remedy for all my miseries, my consolation in all my wretchedness, the reparation for all my infidelities, the supplement for all my deficiencies, the expiation for all my sins, and the hope and end of all my prayers.

Thou art the only one Who is never weary of me and Who can bear with my faults, because Thou lovest me with an infinite love. Therefore, O my God, have mercy on me according to Thy great mercy, and do with me, and for me, and in me, whatever Thou wilt, for I give myself entirely to Thee, divine Heart, with full confidence that Thou will never reject me. Amen.

Top

Prayer for Health

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, I come to ask of your infinite mercy the gift of health and strength that I may serve you more faithfully and love you more sincerely than in the past. I wish to be well and strong if this be your good pleasure and for your greater glory. Filled with high resolves and determined to perform my tasks most perfectly for love of you, I wish to be enabled to go back to my duties. Amen.

Top

Prayer for Someone Special

May the grace of the Sacred Heart be with you, The peace of the Sacred Heart encompass You; The Merits of the Sacred Heart plead for you; The love of the Sacred Heart inflame you; The sorrows of the Sacred Heart console you; The zeal of the Sacred Heart animate you; The virtues of the Sacred Heart shine forth in your word and work; And may the joys of the beatific vision be your eternal reward. Amen.

Top

Prayer for Perseverance

Eternal Father, Who through Thy beloved Son dost teach us ever to pray, "Thy kingdom come," grant us, O Lord, through His most Sacred Heart, the grace of final perseverance in Thy love, that having with entire devotion promoted the glory of that Sacred Heart on earth, we may share the more intimate favours of its love for all eternity. Amen.

Top

Lord

Help me to remember that nothing is impossible to prayer. Because when I pray, I bring You close and when You are close, I am not alone or afraid. I call on You, and the world eases around me. There is comfort for my hurt...and peace from my worries. As one door closes, I see another open wide before me. So, let my whispered voice start each day with the promise of prayer, certain that with Your name on my lips...and Your love in my heart...all things are ever possible. Amen.

Top

Golden Arrow

May the most holy, most sacred, most adorable, most mysterious and unutterable Name of God be always praised, blessed, loved, adored and glorified in heaven, on earth and under the earth, by all the creatures of God, and by the Sacred Heart of our Lord Jesus Christ in the most Holy Sacrament of the altar.

(The Golden Arrow prayer was revealed by Our Lord to a Carmelite Nun of Tours in 1843 as a reparation for blasphemy. "This Golden Arrow will wound My Heart delightfully," He said, "and heal the wounds inflicted by blasphemy." Imprimatur: T. J. Toolen, Archbishop of Mobile-Birmingham.)

(www.prayerbook.com/Devotions/Sacred Heart/)

Top

Plea to Jesus

Jesus of the Eucharist! Come to us and be our Ruler. All that we have and are is Thine to command, for all that we have is Thine. If our hearts are poor, enrich them with Thy Grace. If they have been wretched and stained, accept them purged and cleansed through the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Suffering heart of Jesus! To Thee we confide all the trials of our souls.
Sweet heartT of Jesus! To Thy care we confide our weaknesses and ask Thee to accept our sincere repentance.
Compassionate heart of Jesus! We confide our souls to Thee, tormented by our suffering conscience.
Gentle heart of Jesus! We confide to Thee the peace and salvation of our families.
Eucharistic heart of Jesus! The world, worried unto death, finds a refuge in Thy Heart, where the lance once opened for us the source of Life.
Come, O Jesus! Be our Brother in the pure joy of Christian love!
Come, O Jesus! Be our Friend in the depths of this world's sorrows. Amen.

Top

Daily Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

O Queen of Heaven, My most loving Mother, I (name) though full of weakness and quite unworthy, yet encouraged by the gracious invitation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, desire to consecrate myself entirely to Him. Conscious of my own unworthiness and inconstancy, I desire to offer everything through your maternal hands, and with childlike trust in your loving care, I look to you to assist me in the fulfilment of my resolutions.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, King of love and goodness, full of recognition for Your Favours, freely and with all my so do I accept this pact between You and me. I shall care for Your interests, and you will care for mine. I wish everything of mine to be Yours and place everything in Your hands: my soul, my eternal salvation, my freedom, my interior progress, my wants, my body, my life and my health. I place in Your hands the small number of good works I am able to perform or which others will offer for me during my life or after my death, if I can be of service to you.

I also place in your hands my family, my possessions, my work, that you may be King of everything that is mine and may dispose of them according to your pleasure. I for my part will do my best in all these affairs, but I shall rest contented with whatever your loving Heart decided in my behalf, difficult though it may be.

In return, I ask that that the time still left to me not be wasted. I desire to do something important and useful that You may reign in the world: By my prayer and aspirations, by my daily tasks, by the suffering which I accept here and now, by my little acts of self-denial. I desire that every moment of my life be spent in promoting and establishing your divine Kingdom. May Your seal be on everything I do until the end of my allotted time, and then may my last breath be spent in words of love of Your most Sacred Heart.

Top

Consecration of the Human Race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Most sweet Jesus, Redeemer of the human race, look down upon us humbly prostrate before Your altar (or in Your presence). We are Yours, and Yours we wish to be; but, to be more surely united with You, behold each one of us freely consecrates himself today to Your Most Sacred Heart.

Many indeed have never known You; many too, despising Your precepts, have rejected You. Have mercy on them all, most merciful Jesus, and draw them to Your Sacred Heart.

Be King, O Lord, not only of the faithful who have never forsaken You, but also of the prodigal children who have abandoned You; grant that they may quickly return to their Father's house lest they die of wretchedness and hunger.

Grant, O Lord, to Your Church assurance of freedom and immunity from harm; give peace and order to all nations, and make the earth resound from pole to pole with one cry: Praise to the Divine Heart that wrought our salvation; to It be glory and honour forever. Amen.

Top

Prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

O most holy heart of Jesus, fountain of every blessing, I adore you, I love you, and with lively sorrow for my sins I offer you this poor heart of mine. Make me humble, patient, pure and wholly obedient to your will. Grant, Good Jesus, that I may live in you and for you. Protect me in the midst of danger. Comfort me in my afflictions. Give me health of body, assistance in my temporal needs, your blessing on all that I do, and the grace of a holy death. Amen.

(www.catholic.org)

Top

Prayer to the Sacred Heart by Saint Francis De Sales

May Thy Heart dwell always in our hearts!
May Thy Blood ever flow in the veins of our souls!
O sun of our hearts, Thou givest life to all things by the rays of Thy goodness!
I will not go until Thy Heart has strengthened me, O Lord Jesus!
May the Heart of Jesus be the King of my heart!
Blessed be God. Amen.

(www.sacredheart.com/SacredHeartPrayers.htm)

Top

Sacred Heart A Salutation Prayer by Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque

Hail, Heart of Jesus, save me!
Hail, Heart of my Creator, perfect me!
Hail, Heart of my Saviour, deliver me!
Hail, Heart of my Judge, grant me pardon!
Hail, Heart of my Father, govern me!
Hail, Heart of my Spouse, grant me love!
Hail, Heart of my Master, teach me!
Hail, Heart of my King, be my crown!
Hail, Heart of my Benefactor, enrich me!
Hail, Heart of my Shepherd, guard me!
Hail, Heart of my Friend, comfort me!
Hail, Heart of my Brother, stay with me!
Hail, Heart of the Child Jesus, draw me to Thyself!
Hail, Heart of Jesus dying on the Cross, redeem me!
Hail, Heart of Jesus in all Thy states, give Thyself to me!
Hail, Heart of incomparable goodness, have mercy on me!
Hail, Heart of splendour, shine within me!
Hail, most loving Heart, inflame me!
Hail, most merciful Heart, work within me!
Hail, most humble Heart, dwell within me!
Hail, most patient Heart, support me!
Hail, most faithful Heart, be my reward!
Hail, most admirable and most worthy Heart, bless me!

(www.sacredheart.com/SacredHeartPrayers.htm)

Top

Sacred Heart of Jesus an offering prayer -

O Divine Heart of Jesus, grant, I beseech Thee, eternal rest to the souls in purgatory, final grace to all who are to die today, true repentance to sinners, the light of faith to pagans, Thy blessing to me and to all who are mine.

To Thee, O most loving Heart of Jesus, do I therefore commend all these souls, and for them I offer all Thy merits, together with the merits of the most Blessed Mother and of all the saints and angels, and also together with all the Sacrifices of the Mass, the Holy Communions, the prayers and good works that are made today throughout the entire Christian world.

Top

Sacred Heart Act of Consecration Prayer by Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque

I, ( your name. . .), give myself and consecrate to the Sacred Heart of our Lord Jesus Christ my person and my life, my actions, pains, and sufferings, so that I may be unwilling to make use of any part of my being save to honour, love, and glorify the Sacred Heart.

his is my unchanging purpose, namely, to be all His, and to do all things for the love of Him, at the same time renouncing with all my heart whatever is displeasing to Him.

therefore take Thee, O Sacred Heart, to be the only object of my love, the guardian of my life, my assurance of salvation, the remedy of my weakness and inconstancy, the atonement for all the faults of my life and my sure refuge at the hour of death.

Be then, O Heart of goodness, my justification before God Thy Father, and turn away from me the strokes of His righteous anger. O Heart of love, I put all my confidence in Thee, for I fear everything from my own wickedness and frailty; but I hope for all things from Thy goodness and bounty.

Do Thou consume in me all that can displease Thee or resist Thy holy will. Let Thy pure love imprint Thee so deeply upon my heart that I shall nevermore be able to forget Thee or to be separated from Thee. May I obtain from all Thy loving kindness the grace of having my name written in Thee, for in Thee I desire to place all my happiness and all my glory, living and dying in true bondage to Thee.

Top

Sacred Heart of Jesus Consecration of Priests Prayer -

Lord Jesus, our most loving Redeemer and a priest forever, look down with mercy upon us Thy supplicants, whom Thou has deigned to call Thy friends and to make partakers of Thy priesthood. We are Thine, and Thine we wish to be forever. Therefore to Thy Most Sacred Heart, which Thou hast shown to toiling humanity as its only refuge and salvation, we dedicate and surrender ourselves today. Thou who hast promised to priests who are devoted to Thy Sacred Heart copious fruits in their divine ministry, make us, we beseech Thee, fit labourers in Thy vineyard, truly meek and humble, filled with a spirit of devotion and patience, so aflame with love of Thee that we may not cease to enkindle and keep burning this same fire of love in the hearts of the faithful.

Renew our hearts, therefore, in the fire of Thy Heart, so that henceforth we may strive for nothing other than to advance Thy glory and to win to Thee the souls whom Thou hast redeemed by Thy Precious Blood. O Good Shepherd, have mercy most of all upon Thy priests, our brothers, if such there be, who, walking in the vanity of their own mind, have saddened Thee and Thy Beloved Spouse, the Church, by their lamentable defection. Grant us grace to lead them back to Thine embrace, or at least to expiate their sins, to repair the damage they have done, and, by the consolation of our love, to lessen the sorrow with which they have afflicted Thee.

And lastly let each of us pray to Thee in these words of Augustine: O sweet Jesus, live Thou in me, and let the living coal of thy love glow within my spirit and blaze up into a perfect fire; let it burn forever upon the altar of my heart; let it give warmth to my inmost parts; let it flame up in the secret places of my soul. In the day of my consummation let me be found consumed by Thee, who, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, livest and reignest God, world without end. Amen.

Top

Two meditations on the Blessed Sacrament

First meditation: On the words “My flesh is real food, my blood is real drink” (by Johann Tauler).

The Lord has said: My flesh is real food, my blood is real drink. He who eats my flesh lives continually in me, and I in him” (Jn 6.56,58,57). Notice here the profound, abysmal humility of our Saviour. He is silent on what is most important and only speaks of what is least. The most important fact is His adorable divinity and holy soul are just as present as His flesh and blood. His unutterable transcendent love shows itself in a marvellous way. It did not suffice for Him to be our brother, to have taken upon himself our nature in all its weakness; for if He became man, it was in order that man might become more like to God; but that was not enough for Him, He wished to become our food. That is why St. Augustine has said: “No people is so great as the Christian people; none has its God as near as ours is to us.” We eat our God. What an admirable and unutterable love is needed to invent this wonder! A love that passes all understanding, a love that should wound the hearts of all men, so far above all things is the love of Jesus for us. No material thing is so close to man, so intimate as the food and drink he takes in his mouth; and it is precisely for that, in order to unite Himself to us in the nearest and most intimate way, that He found this wonderful means of doing so.

But while material food is transformed into out flesh, he who eats worthily of this adorable food is changed into it. That is why our Lord said to St Augustine: “It is not I who am changed into thee, but thou who art changed into me.” Saint Bernard says the same thing: “When we eat God, it is we who are eaten by him. He eats us.”

Second meditation: The Eucharist as a mystery of faith (by Jean Olier).

It is incredible how many marvels are included in this solemn mystery. It is permanently a mystery of faith, the most hidden of all. Who would have thought that the Son of God is contained in it, that majesty which the whole world will one day be dazzled? Who could have thought that all the angels adore Him under these appearances as they do in heaven? Who would have thought that the Son of the Eternal Fathers abides there with the Spirit of His divine mysteries, in order to communicate it to men and bring its grace into all hearts?

Who would have believed the this Bread is the food of all the saints in heaven, that it is the bread of angels, of which they can never have enough? O miracle of God’s power! Miracle of His magnificence! How satisfying it is to perceive these wonders! When one knows what great effects are produced by what is apparently so mean, forthwith, my God, we praise thee, we glorify thee, we acknowledge thee to be their only author. Continue, Lord, to do thy marvellous work by hidden means redound so much to thy glory.

Top

Aspirations of St Francis of Assisi

O admirable greatness, O amazing kindness, O sublime humility! The Lord of the universe, God and Son of God, so far abases himself that for our salvation he lies under a morsel of bread! Brethren, seeing this humility on the part of God, let your hearts be opened: bow down before Him, so that he may lift you up! Keep nothing of your own for yourselves, if you would receive in his entirety Him who offers you all of Himself.

Top

Prayer of St Bernard

How good and sweet it is, Jesus, to dwell in thy Heart! All my thoughts and affections will I sink in the Heart of Jesus my Lord. I have found the Heart of my king, my brother, my friend, the Heart of my beloved Jesus. And now that I have found thy Heart, which is also mine, dear Jesus, I will pray to thee. Grant that my prayer may reach thee, may find entrance to thy Heart. Draw me, all of me, to thyself. O Jesus, who art infinitely above all beauty and every charm, wash me cleaner yet from my defilement; wipe out even the smallest trace of sin. If thou, who art all pure, wilt purify me, I shall be able to make my way into thy Heart and dwell there all my life long. There I will learn to know thy will, and find grace to fulfil it.

Top

Meditation according to Columba Marmion

When we consider the love of Our Divine Saviour, we shall discover that in this virtue also he is our most perfect example. With his eternal divine love as well as his human love he has loved his Father to the uttermost. This love he proved to us when, after the Last Supper, he went to the Garden of Gethsemane, to commence his voluntary passion, testifying that he did this in order that the world might know that he loved the Father (John 14.31)

The same love burned in the Heart of Jesus for mankind. Let us remember how he pitied the multitude that had followed him for three days and threatened to succumb through sheer exhaustion. Let us also remember how he mourned over the city of Jerusalem and over the hardness of heart of the Jews. Here too the human love of his heart was the expression of his eternal, divine love. His entire life was one of great act of love. To unable us to understand this, he ended by the supreme act of love of the Friend giving his life for his friends. To this love of the Heart of Jesus we can but respond with our imperfect love. Thus the divine Heart of Our Saviour is our teacher: it teaches us to penetrate even more into the mysteries of the redemption through which it proved its love. And if, in this manner, a glimmer of that love is reflected in our own hearts, we shall be strengthened by the grace which Christ’s love earned for us, in order that we might be enabled to show our love even more by deeds. We shall learn to retain our love unspoiled in the midst of temptation; by doing penance and by mortifying ourselves we shall wish to resemble Christ even more; the sorrows of the suffering Heart of the Saviour will become ours, and the joys of that Heart we shall learn to savour according to our measure. In this manner, the Heart of Jesus becomes our sweetness, our strength, a school in which we study the mystery of God’s everlasting love.

Top

Greeting to the Sacred Heart of Jesus by Saint Mechtild of Hackeborn

This prayer, like the one by Saint Gertrude, is a splendid expression of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus as practiced by devout Christians and mystics in the thirteenth century. It is remarkable not only for its impassioned feeling, but above all for its profound contemplation of Christ’s human and divine love.

Hail, sweetest Heart of Jesus, most tuneful instrument of the Holy Trinity. Hail, Heart of Jesus, flowing with honey, living stream of all goodness and grace. Hail, loving Heart of Jesus, most noble treasury of the riches of God. I bless and salute a thousand times the divine Goodness in thee. Thou art the Fountain and Source whence all good and all mercy stream forth. O noble and precious Heart of Jesus Christ, I salute and adore thee, through the mutual love of the worshipful Trinity, in the abundance of all graces, where with thou dost evermore inundate all holy and devout souls, bedewing them so often and inebriating them with the torrent of thy divine pleasures.

O Heart of Jesus, Heart most sweet; Heart of Jesus, Heart most precious; Heart of Jesus, Heart most worthy of love; O Heart flowing with sweetness, abounding with pity, overflowing with charity; in thy most hidden recesses I bury all the burden of my iniquity and neglect. To thee I offer all my labours and my toils, to thee I dedicate all my anguish and misery, to thee I commend my life, and the end of my life. O Heart, sweet smelling spikenard, frankincense most fragrant, most worthy sacrifice; offer thyself upon the golden altar of propitiation for mankind, to compensate for all the days of my life wherein I have brought no fruit to God.

I bless thee, most kingly Heart of Jesus, in that love wherewith the Holy Ghost formed thee out of the chaste blood of Mary the Virgin. I glorify thee, sweetest Heart of Jesus, in that love wherewith the Holy Trinity adorned thee with all heavenly gifts. I magnify thee, gentlest Heart of Jesus, in that love wherewith thou didst glow for all the human race. I adore thee, most kind Heart of Jesus, in that love whereby thou wast broken upon the cross. I extol thee, Heart of Jesus, most true and faithful, in that love wherewith thou didst will to be pierced with the lance and to shed blood and water.

Therefore, O Trinity glorious beyond words, I praise thee, I glorify and bless thee, through that surpassingly blessed Heart, that thou hast willed and desired to bestow on it such manifold gifts and such abundance of grace. With all possible love and reverence I offer to thy divine majesty that heart, so ravishing in sweetness, and so supremely and alone worthy, in that fullness of divine beauty and that perfection of manifold bliss with which thou hast filled it for ever. And I beseech thee for his sake to pardon whatever I have done amiss, and to make good whatever I have failed to do. Amen

Top

Prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus by Saint Gertrude the Great

Come, glorious Jesus, I entreat thee by the love which brought thee from heaven to earth, God made man, to see and save that which was lost; by that same love, beloved, enter into me now, and give me entrance to thyself. Hide me within the rock-fortress of thy fatherly protection; shelter me, dearest and most beloved, in the cavern of thy loving heart, from all that is not thyself. Let my lot be among the people of Israel, my heritage with thee among the children of Jerusalem. Amen.

Top

Prayer of Louis de Blois

Welcome me, sweet Jesus, I beseech thee; press me in the delightful embrace of thy love, and in its warmth let my numbed spirit be thawed to new life. Open, Lord, open at my knock, and admit my orphan soul into the soft recesses of thy divine Heart. Though I am the vilest and most unworthy of sinners, deign, Lord, to open for me the secret chambers of thy love, the inmost shrine of thy Heart. For my soul yearns to be united with thee in active love. But never should I have felt this desire of loving thee, hadst thou not grafted it in my heart; help me then to fulfil the longing thou hast planted there.

O bright midsummer noon, my God, I thirst for thee, sigh for thee, faint with love of thee. Join me closer to thyself, O blazing sun, that the soil of my heart, warmed by thy rays, may bring forth blossoms of holy charity. Kindle in me the lamp of thy love; pour thy sweet peace into my breast, and shape me wholly to the pattern of thy grace, so that I may grow pleasing in thy eyes.

My Jesus, clothe me with the bright purple of thy precious Blood, crown me with the garland of thy worshipful death, welcome me into the bridal chamber of thy burning love. Abolish all in me that is not to thy liking. Refashion my evil, soiled, and empty heart in the likeness of thy own. Give me a pure mind and simple affection. Embrace me in the arms of thy charity, press me to thy divine breast, let my soul be melted by the force of thy burning love and sink into the abyss of heavenly delights. Thy sweetness, Lord, Thy goodness, thy beauty and loveliness, are strong attractions, but I cannot rise to thee unless thou condescendest to me. Stoop then, fount of pity, to my low and wretched level, and enable me to love thee with my whole heart, with my whole soul, and with all my strength. Ocean of sweetness, flood me with the tide of thy loving-kindness. Open the cataracts of that great abyss, and let the waves of thy mercy flow over me. Drown me in the deluge of thy living love; sink me in the deep waters of thy blessed charity. Break down the hateful barrier of my lukewarmness and wrongdoing, and enable me to follow thee, Lord, with ardour unquenched. Let the stormwind of love hurl me to thee, breathless, lifeless, all unconscious of self. Kiss me with the kiss of thy forgiveness; and with its seal upon me let me never henceforth love any but thee, for thou art my whole treasure, my whole heritage, everything for which my soul can hope.

Top

Sorrowful mysteries

Introductory prayer
I unite with all the saints in Heaven, with all the just on earth and with all the faithful here present. I unite with Thee, O my Jesus, in order to praise worthily Thy Holy Mother and to praise Thee in her and through her. I renounce all the distractions I may have during this Rosary which I wish to pray with modesty, attention and devotion, just as if it were to be the last of my life.
We offer Thee, O Most Holy Trinity, this Creed in honor of all the mysteries of our Faith; this Our Father and these three Hail Mary's in honor of the unity of Thy Essence and the Trinity of Thy Persons. We ask of Thee a lively Faith, a firm Hope, and an ardent Charity. Amen. (Saint Louis Marie de Montfort)

First Sorrowful Mystery: The Agony in the Garden

We offer Thee, O Lord Jesus, this first sorrowful mystery in honor of Thy Agony in the Garden of Olives, and we ask of Thee, through this Mystery and through the intercession of Thy holy Mother, contrition for our sins. Amen.

Second Sorrowful Mystery: The Scourging at the Pillar

We offer Thee, O Lord Jesus, this second sorrowful mystery in honor of Thy cruel Scourging, and we ask of Thee, through this Mystery and through the intercession of Thy holy Mother, the grace of mortifying our senses. Amen.

Third Sorrowful Mystery: The Crowning with Thorns

We offer Thee, O Lord Jesus, this third sorrowful mystery in honor of Thy being crowned with thorns, and we ask of Thee, through this Mystery and through the intercession of Thy holy Mother, contempt of the world. Amen.

Fourth Sorrowful Mystery: The Carrying of the cross

We offer Thee, O Lord Jesus, this fourth sorrowful mystery in honor of Thy carrying of the Cross, and we ask of Thee, through this Mystery and through the intercession of Thy holy Mother, patience in bearing our crosses. Amen.

Fifth Sorrowful Mystery: The Crucifixion

We offer Thee, O Lord Jesus, this fifth sorrowful mystery in honor of Thy Crucifixion and ignominious Death on Calvary; and we ask of Thee, through this Mystery and through the intercession of Thy holy Mother, the conversion of sinners, the perseverance of the just, and the relief of the souls in Purgatory. Amen.

Top

Other Prayers

Heart of Jesus, all-holy! Fountain of all blessings, I adore thee, I love thee, and with a lively sorrow for my sins, I offer thee this poor heart of mine. Make me humble, patient, pure, and wholly obedient to thy will. Good Jesus, grant that I may live in thee and for thee. Protect me in the midst of danger; Comfort me in my afflictions; give me health of body, assistance in my temporal needs, thy blessing on all that I do, and the grace of a holy death.

Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make our hearts like thy own.

Grant, we entreat thee, almighty God, that we who glory in the sacred Heart of thy beloved Son and call to mind the chief benefits of his love towards us, may also find joy alike in their operation and in their effect.

Heart of Jesus, burning with love for us, inflame our hearts with love of thee.

I greet thee, sacred Heart of Jesus, living and life-giving fountain of eternal life, infinite treasure of Godhead, glowing furnace of divine love. Thou art my resting-place, my sure refuge. Dearest Saviour, kindle in my heart that burning love with which thy own is aflame. Pour into my heart the manifold graces of which thy Heart is the source. Let thy will be mine, and let mine be for ever obedient to thine; for I desire that in future thy holy will may be the rule of all my desires and all my doings. Amen.

Top

Prayer of St Margaret Mary

O Loving Heart of our Lord Jesus Christ! O Heart that woundest hearts harder than stone, warmest souls colder than ice, and oftenest spirits more impenetrable than the diamond! Wound my heart, then, dearest Saviour, with the thought of thy sacred wounds; intoxicate my soul with thy Blood, so that wherever I turn I may see only my crucified Lord, and that all that I look upon may appear dyed in thy Blood. Good Jesus, give my heart no rest until is has found thee, who art its centre, its love, and all its happiness.

Dearest Jesus, by the wound in thy Heart, pardon me the sins I have committed through ill-will or bad intentions. Place my wicked heart in thine, which is wholly divine, so that being evermore under thy holy protection and guidance, I may persevere in doing good and avoiding evil to my latest breath.