From 2 A.M. to 3 A.M.
Preparation Before Each Hour
O my Lord Jesus Christ, prostrate in your divine presence, I implore your most loving heart to allow me to enter into the sorrowful meditation of the twenty-four hours of your passion, in which, for love of us you wanted to suffer so much in your adorable body and in your most holy soul, even to death on the cross. O give me help, grace, love, profound compassion, and understanding of your sufferings as I now meditate this Hour.
For those hours which I cannot meditate, I offer you the will I have to meditate them; and I propose to meditate them with my intention during all the hours in which I must dedicate myself to my duties, or sleep.
Accept, O merciful Lord, my loving intention, and let it be beneficial for me and for all, as if I effectively and in a saintly way accomplished what I desire to do.
I give You thanks, O my Jesus. I thank You for calling me to union with You in prayer. To please You, I take your thoughts, your tongue, and your Heart. I want to pray with them. I want to fuse myself in your Will and in your Love. I extend my arms to embrace You, I rest my head on your Heart— and I begin….
Jesus, be always with me. Sweet Mama, let us follow Jesus together.
My Jesus, divine sentinel, you are in my heart watching over me. And not wanting to remain alone without me, you wake me and make me find myself together with you in Annas’ house.
You are now at that point in which Annas interrogates you concerning your doctrine and your disciples. To defend the glory of the Father, O Jesus, you open your most sacred mouth, and with a ringing and dignified voice, respond:
“I have spoken in public and everyone who is here has heard me.”
At your dignified words everyone trembles. But, oh, what wickedness! Wanting to honor Annas, a servant with an ironclad hand comes up to you and slaps you so hard that you stagger, and your most holy face turns livid.
Now, my gentle life, I understand why you woke me. You were right; who would sustain You at this moment, as You are about to fall? Your enemies burst into satanic laughter, whistling and clapping, applauding an act so unjust. And You, staggering, have no one to lean on. My Jesus, I embrace You. And forming a wall with my body to support You, I offer You my cheek—to come quickly and boldly to bear any pain for your Love. I suffer this outrage with You, and I make reparation with You for the cowardice of so many souls who easily become discouraged; for those who fail to speak the truth out of fear; for the lack of respect due to priests, and for all murmuring.
My suffering Jesus, I see that Annas is sending you to Caiphas. Your enemies shove you down the stairs. My love, in this painful fall you make reparation for those who fall into sin at nighttime, taking advantage of the darkness. And you call heretics and unbelievers to the light of the faith.
I want to follow you in these reparations as well, and I send you my sighs to defend you from your enemies, until you reach Caiaphas. Continue to watch over me while I am asleep, and wake me when you need me. Now, give me a kiss, and bless me; and I will kiss your heart and continue my sleep in it.
Reflections and Practices.
Jesus, brought before Annas, is questioned by him about His doctrine and about His disciples. To glorify the Father, he answered regarding his doctrine, but to avoid offending charity he did not touch on his disciples.
Now when I am asked to glorify the Lord, am I fearless and courageous, or am I subject to human respect? I must always speak the truth, even in the presence of those who are influential.
In my conversations, do I always seek the glory of God? Do I seek God’s glory by enduring everything patiently as Jesus did? Do I always avoid speaking badly of my neighbors, excusing their faults when I hear others speaking ill of them?
Jesus watches over our heart. But do I keep watch over Jesus’ Heart so that He receives no offense for which I am unwilling to make reparation? In everything I do, am I always alert so that my every thought, glance, word, affection, heartbeat, and desire stay like sentinels around Jesus, keeping watch over his Heart and offering reparation for all the offenses It receives? To make this reparation to his Heart, do I ask Jesus to keep watch over our every act and to help us keep watch over our hearts?
Every act that we perform in God is a Divine Life that we acquire within us. Since we are very limited and God is immense, we are incapable of enclosing God within our menial acts. It is necessary, then, that we multiply these acts as much as possible at least to increase our capacity to understand and love.
When my Jesus calls me, am I ready to respond? God\’s call can be heard in many ways: through inspiration, reading good books, and by good example. One may even feel it tangibly through the attraction of grace and even in intemperate changes of weather.
My sweet Jesus, may your voice always echo in my heart. May everything that surrounds me both internally and externally be a continuous voice that always calls me to love You. And may the harmony of your divine voice keep me from listening to any distracting human voice.
(Personal Offering and Thanksgiving)
Thanksgiving after each hour
My Beloved Jesus, You have called me to this Hour of your Passion to keep You company—and I have come. I seem to have heard you, anguished and sorrowful, praying, making reparation and suffering. With the most loving, eloquent voices you were pleading for the salvation of souls. I tried to follow You in everything. Now, I owe You my heartfelt “Thank You” and “I bless You.”
Yes, O Jesus, I repeat my “Thank You” thousands and thousands of times. I bless You for all that You have done and suffered for me and for everyone. I thank You and I bless You for every drop of Blood You shed. I thank You for every breath, for every heartbeat, and for every step. I thank You for every word, glance, affliction, and outrage that You had to endure. In everything, O my Jesus, I intend to give You my “Thank You” and “I bless You.” O my Jesus, let my soul send forth a continuous flow of thanksgiving and blessings to You—to draw down upon all of us the abundant flow of your blessings and graces. Please, O Jesus, press me to your Heart, and with your most holy hands seal every particle of my being with your “I bless you”, so that nothing other than a continuous hymn to You may come from me.
So I leave my being within Yours, to follow you in all you do; better still, you will be so alive in me that I will leave my thoughts in you to defend you from your enemies, my breaths as a faithful companion, my heartbeat to recall my “I love you,” and to give you the love that the others refuse to give you; I will give you the drops of my blood to atone and make up the honor and regard that your enemies deny you with their insults and offenses. I will leave my entire being as a guard.
My dear love, while I must go about my duties, I will remain in your heart. I am afraid to leave It. Is it not true that You will keep me here? Our heartbeats will continually touch so that You will give me life, love, and close and inseparable union with You.
Jesus, if You see that I am about to run from You at times, let your heartbeat hasten in mine. Let your hands press me closer to your Heart; let your eyes look at me and pierce me with rays of fire so that I may feel your presence and immediately return to union with You.
O my Jesus, be on guard so that I may not exhaust You. I beg You to watch over me. O give me a kiss, embrace me, and bless me! Give me your most holy hands so that I can do all that I must do united with You! My Jesus, give me the kiss of Divine Love, embrace me and bless me; I will kiss your intoxicating Heart, and take my rest in You.