Prayer In Commemoration Of The Seven Words Spoken By Jesus On The Cross
O GOD, COME unto my assistance. R. O Lord, make haste to help me. V. Glory be, etc. R. As it was, etc.
The First Word
Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.
Dear Jesu, who for love of me dost suffer upon the Cross in order to pay with Thy sufferings the debt of my sins and dost open Thy divine lips to obtain for me their remission from the eternal justice of God, have pity on all the faithful who are in their last agony and upon me; and when I shall come to that final hour, by the merits of Thy Most Precious Blood which was shed for our salvation, give me such a lively sorrow for my sins as shall cause my soul to expire in the bosom of Thine infinite mercy.
Glory be to the Father, etc. (three times).
Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us.
My God, I believe in Thee, I hope in Thee, I love Thee and I repent of having offended Thee by my sins.
The Second Word
This day shalt thou be with Me in paradise.
Dear Jesu, who for love of me dost hang in agony upon the Cross, and with such readiness and bounty dost respond to the faith of the good thief who in the midst of Thy humiliation acknowledges Thee to be the Son of God, and dost assure him of paradise, have pity on all the faithful who are in their agony and upon me; and when I shall come to my latter end, by the merits of Thy Most Precious Blood, inspire in my soul a faith so firm and constant that it shall not waver at any suggestions of the evil spirit; so may I obtain the reward of Thy holy paradise.
Glory be to the Father, etc. (three times)
Have mercy, etc. (as above)
My God, etc. (as above)
The Third Word
Behold thy mother; behold thy son.
Dear Jesu, who for love of me dost hang in agony upon the Cross, and who, forgetting Thine own sufferings, dost bequeath to me Thy most holy Mother as a pledge of Thy love, in order that, through her, I may be enabled to have recourse to Thee with all confidence in my greatest necessities, have pity on all the faithful who are in their agony and upon me; and when I shall come to my latter end, by the interior martyrdom of Thy dear Mother, inspire in my heart a firm trust in the infinite merits of Thy Most Precious Blood, whereby I may be able to escape the eternal damnation which I have merited by my sins.
Glory be to the Father, etc. (three times)
Have mercy, etc.
My God, etc. (as above).
The Fourth Word
My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?
Dear Jesu, who for love of me dost hang in agony upon the Cross, and who, adding suffering to suffering, besides Thy bodily pains, dost endure with infinite patience the most painful affliction of spirit at being abandoned by Thine eternal Father, have pity on all the faithful who are in their agony and upon me; and when I shall come to the hour of death, by the merits of Thy Most Precious Blood, give me the grace of suffering with true patience all the pains and agony of my death-struggle, so that by uniting my sufferings to Thine, I may be able at the last to share Thy glory in paradise.
Glory be to the Father, etc. (three times)
Have mercy, etc.
My God, etc.
The Fifth Word
I thirst.
Dear Jesu, who for love of me dost hang in agony upon the Cross, and who, not yet satisfied with so many reproaches and sufferings, wouldst suffer even more, if thereby all men might be saved, showing thus that the whole torrent of Thy Passion is not enough to slake the thirst of Thy loving Heart, have pity on all the faithful who are in their agony and upon me; and when I shall come to my final hour, by the merits of Thy Most Precious Blood, enkindle so great a fire of love within my heart as shall cause it to die for very desire of being united to Thee through all eternity.
Glory be to the Father, etc. (three times)
Have mercy, etc.
My God, etc.
The Sixth Word
All is finished.
Dear Jesu, who for love of me dost hang in agony upon the Cross, and from that pulpit of truth dost proclaim that Thou hast finished the work of our redemption, whereby man, from being a child of wrath and perdition, has been made a son of God and an heir of heaven, have pity on all the faithful who are in their agony and upon me; and when I shall come to my last hour, by the merits of Thy Most Precious Blood, detach me wholly from the world and from myself, giving me the grace to offer Thee from my heart the sacrifice of my life in expiation of my sins.
Glory be to the Father, etc. (three times)
Have mercy, etc.
My God, etc.
The Seventh Word
Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit.
Dear Jesu, who for the love of me dost hang in agony upon the Cross, and who to complete this great sacrifice dost embrace the will of Thine eternal Father, resigning Thy spirit into His hands, and then dost bow Thy head and die, have pity on all the faithful who are in their agony and upon me; and when I shall come to my latter end, by the merits of Thy Most Precious Blood give me a perfect conformity to Thy divine will, so that I may be ready to live or die, as it shall please Thee; nor do I desire anything else except the perfect fulfilment in me of Thine adorable will.
Glory be to the Father, etc. (three times)
Have mercy, etc.
My God, etc.
V. From a sudden and unprovided death,
R. Deliver me, O Lord.
V. From the snares of the devil,
R. Deliver me, O Lord.
V. From everlasting death,
R. Deliver me, O Lord.
Let us pray.
O God, who for the salvation of mankind hast made for us in the most bitter death of Thy Son both an example and a refuge; grant, we beseech Thee, that we may be found worthy to obtain the fruit of His great love in our final peril at the hour of death, and to be made partakers of our Redeemer's glory. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
O Victim of Love
Tune:
http://www.contemplator.com/sea/sladies.html
O Victim of Love, sent here by the Father,
O Victim of Love, who chose to give all,
O Thou Saving Victim who purchased our freedom,
Who calls me to follow - may I answer your call.
O Jesus I watched in the Garden of Olives,
As you wrestled with grief so hard and so deep,
You cried out in anguish your yes to the Father,
You sweat tears of blood while your men were asleep.
Was any night darker than the night in the Garden
As you cried out and waited for what was to be?
And yet though you prayed in your grief and in anguish,
You stayed out of love and thus set us all free.
O Victim of Love, sent here by the Father,
O Victim of Love, who chose to give all,
O Thou Saving Victim who purchased our freedom,
Who calls me to follow - may I answer your call.
And when they came and took you on that last road,
And when they beat you and mocked you and lied,
Your love was a torch that shone out in the darkness
A beacon of hope as you suffered and died.
Beneath the cross where they thought they could kill you
You gave your best gift to the world full of sin,
The wellspring of heaven broke through in your last cry,
The waters of life through your death flooded in.
O Victim of Love, sent here by the Father,
O Victim of Love, who chose to give all,
O Thou Saving Victim who purchased our freedom,
Who calls me to follow - may I answer your call
Your yes has unlocked all the glories of Heaven,
Your yes has undone our first parent's no
In blood you have broken the shackles they wrought us
In death you have triumphed and defeated the foe.
O Victim of Love, sent here by the Father,
O Victim of Love, who chose to give all,
O Thou Saving Victim who purchased our freedom,
Who calls me to follow - may I answer your call.
KAC