dr Wojciech Kosek
in collaboration with Beata Krochmal, Danuta and Jerzy Hudecki
Please click here to download the same text in format: a/. Word, b/. PDF
Meditations led by eight people:
B, D, G, M – women; J, P, W, Z – men.
(Duration of the meditations with songs
and recitation of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy: about 92 min.)
This translation was published here on 19 Sep 2023.
To see the original Polish text ← click, please!
Full text of St. Faustina’s Diary at www.saint-faustina.org ← click, please!
Prayer before the Chaplet of Divine Mercy
(Duration of these meditations and song: about 25 min.)
Z Beloved Jesus! With gratitude in our hearts for the gift of our meeting today, we sit at Your feet to be with You, like Mary, the sister of Lazarus and Martha. You came to the home of the heart of each of us; You came as a friend, as a longed-for guest, an eagerly awaited guest. You came, and You are… You are in the reality of Your human body, and therefore, in a unique way… You are not in a distant place, You are not only heard through Your voice, You are not only in memory… No, no!… You are close, very close… so close that closer can no longer be … This is how You are present – bodily present, though invisibly, untouchably… (1:10)
Z Song: O Unspeakable Happiness Shone Forth – 1st stanza (0:55)
B Beloved Jesus! Together with the Blessed Virgin Mary and saints and angels, we wish to abide in prayer to apologize to You for frigidity toward You coming to us in Holy Communion and especially for too hastily ending the conscious being with You after the Holy Mass. We wish to do this on our behalf and those who suffer in Purgatory for this kind of frigidity of heart. Oh, let us be moved by the words with which You filled the heart of Blessed Candida, who in her “Eucharistic Conversations” [1] wrote thus: (1:01)
W “How many tears my heart has shed, what martyrdom it suffers seeing the lack of thanksgiving after receiving the Eucharist or receiving it as if out of habit, without proper preparation. Jesus, oh Jesus, may I be wrong, but love for You makes it possible to sense with what indifference You are received by many, what ingratitude we repay for Your great gift! Oh, what anguish! You know everything about my life, thanks to the Eucharist. You are heavenly; You are too good. That is why we relate to You so badly and respond to Your love with such indifference, O Jesus! What fruit can Holy Communion bear without proper thanksgiving? It is in its loving warmth that feelings and stirrings similar to Yours are born in the soul, Jesus. And it is then that unity is truly nourished and established.” (1:25)
W Song: Fall to Your Knees – 1st stanza (0:26)
M Beloved Savior, our Lover! You came in the Eucharistic Body to each of us. You came, and You are… You are physically, bodily, though invisibly, untouchably… It is for our sake, for our growth towards the fullness of loving You, that You hide from our senses this extraordinary fact, which is Your real presence according to human nature. You desire our effort of faith in opening our hearts to Your presence; You desire the faith and love of our hearts… Only he who truly loves You, who truly strives to love You fully – only he strives earnestly to know You, the ways of communicating with You… But the man who seeks only to satisfy himself will not find You… (1:19)
M Song: Jesus, Veiled in the Sacred Host – 1st stanza (0:41)
P Love – what is it? Is love a liking, an infatuation, a falling in love, a delight in the gift of the chosen person? Yes, the love certainly is it. Love is a wonderful spiritual-psychic-bodily state caused by the chosen person’s benevolent presence with and for me. The proper depth, however, is given to love not by the delights with which the loved person fills me but by how much I can give to her, how much I sacrifice for her by giving up my personal preferences, how much I humbly suffer when we can not find the means of understanding each other. Such – truly Divine – love is focused on giving gifts to a chosen person, on showing kindness to her in various ways – and in this giving, it is something most profound. True love seeks the good for the loved person more than for itself… True love knows how to look for ways to give… (1:30)
P Song: Your Heart, Jesus, is Burning with Love – 1st stanza (0:50)
G Love is the desire for a good for the loved person. Love is not only the desire to receive some good from her but also to give her a good that serves her true happiness… What good can I give to You, O Jesus? What does Your Heart desire from me? For what do Your loving eyes look longingly? How can I fulfill the desire to love You more thoroughly than I have done so far? You answer these questions through the words You entrusted in a revelation to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque: “I thirst with such a terrible thirst to be loved by men in the Blessed Sacrament that this thirst consumes Me. Yet I find no one trying to quench it according to My desire by some return of My love.” (1:19)
G Song: The Hidden Jesus – 1st stanza (0:53)
J You desire love, You desire fiery love, You desire my love… You desire my presence with You, a presence full of awe, a presence full of infatuation with You, a presence focused on You alone… You arrive to me under the species of the Most Holy Host with the desire to meet in love… You come in the reality of Your human body and desire my faith… You desire me to deeply believe that You are so inconceivably close to and for me in the Most Holy Sacrament… You come as a Bridegroom who earnestly seeks to awaken me to love… Do I know that my heart is asleep? Do I realize that I need an awakening to love…? Do I long for love?… Do I long for You, O Jesus-Bridegroom?… (1:20)
J Song: Your Heart, Jesus, is Burning with Love – 2nd stanza (0:50)
D Lord Jesus! We are slowly approaching the end of the tenth day of November – the month of special prayer for the dead. In light of the Church’s teaching, we know that prayers are needed for those still suffering in Purgatory. We pray for all of them because You have so ordered that their prayers cannot help them alone but only us. Moreover, You have given us the ability to assist them with our prayers. You once said to St. Sister Faustina (Faustina’s Diary, No. 1226): “Today bring to Me the souls that are languishing in the prison of Purgatory, and immerse them in the depths of My mercy; may the streams of My blood cool their burns. I love all those souls very much; they are paying their dues to My justice; and it is within your power to bring them relief. Take all the indulgences from My Church’s treasury [64] and offer them up for them… Oh, if you only knew how much they are suffering, you would be constantly offering up spiritual alms for them and paying back their debts to My justice.” (1:38)
D Song: The Hidden Jesus – 2nd stanza (0:53)
Z Sister Faustina recorded in another place in the Diary, “I saw my Guardian Angel, who told me to follow him. Suddenly I found myself in a dingy place, full of fire, with a huge number of suffering souls. These souls are praying very fervently, but to no avail for themselves, only we can help them. The flames tormenting them did not touch me. My Guardian Angel did not leave me on my own there for a single moment. And I asked those souls what their greatest torment was. They all said unanimously that what tormented them most was the longing for God.” (Faustina’s Diary, No. 20). (1:04)
Z Song: The Hidden Jesus – 3rd stanza (0:53)
B Dearest Jesus! The greatest suffering in Purgatory is a tremendous longing for God. Those in Purgatory know now that they, during their mortal life, did not take care to love God as God expects… as God deserves as the giver of life… These people know now that they longed in mortality much more for persons or goods of this world than for You, O Beloved… They are suffering there now, for they realize that You, coming in the Blessed Sacrament with a longing for their love, did not experience relief in meeting with them infatuated at the time more in their affairs than in their desire to love You… To make reparation to You for their and our frigidity, therefore, we now sing with them for You a song of love: (1:19)
B Song: O Unspeakable Happiness Shone Forth – 2nd stanza (0:55)
W Our Savior! We know that Your sufferings are most thoroughly understood and generously soothed by Mary, Your Mother. She co-suffers with You. She also brings the most significant relief to those who suffer in Purgatory. Sister Faustina wrote in her Diary: “I saw Our Lady visiting the souls in Purgatory. The souls call Mary the Star of the Sea. She brings them relief. I wanted to continue talking to them, but my Guardian Angel gave me a sign to leave. We crossed the threshold and left that prison of torment. Then I heard an inner voice which said, “My Mercy does not want that, but justice commands it.” Ever since I have been closer in touch with the suffering souls.” (Faustina’s Diary, No. 20) (2:11)
W Song: Holy Mother to Your Heart – 1st stanza (0:34)
M Dearest Jesus! In a spirit of solidarity with our brothers and sisters suffering in Purgatory, and above all in obedience of love to You alone, who are co-suffering with the sufferings, we wish to enter with You on the path that from the Cenacle of the Last Supper leads through Calvary to the gates of the Abyss. For the intentions of these souls, we will pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, meditating on texts from Sister Faustina’s Diary on dying and Purgatory. May our love for You and Your Mother who suffers with You be expressed now in prayerful remembrance of those who pay out to God’s justice in the Purgatorial Abyss. (1:09)
P Beloved Lord Jesus! We wish now, therefore, to enter with St. Faustina into Your painful experiences which, out of love for the Father and us, You did not hesitate to accept, entering into the Passion of Gethsemane, into the time of Your being captured, into the experience of unjust judgments, into the drama of Your dying on Calvary… We are aware that this took place immediately after the end of the Last Supper, viz. at a time that is also given to us now, as we abide in union with You after the end of the Holy Mass… We believe, O Beloved, that the marvelous power of Eucharistic union makes it possible for You, having left the Cenacle among the Apostles, to come out also with us, participants of the Holy Mass just having celebrated in the Church of Divine Providence. Lord, guide us… (1:18)
Meditations for the Chaplet of Divine Mercy
(Duration of these meditations with prayer: about 37 min.)
Meditation 1. The Agony of Jesus in Gethsemane
G Song: Garden of Olives – 1-2 stanza (1:20)
G “Abba, Father, all things are possible to You. Take this cup away from Me, but not what I will but what You will.” (Mark 14:36). I kneel beside You, O Dearest Jesus, amidst the trees of the Garden of Olives… Thirsting for my love, O Beloved, You have strangely arranged that by the power of the received Blessed Sacrament, I can indeed be with You at that time two thousand years ago. I wish to respond to the longing of your Heart. That is why I remain in prayer after the Holy Mass to be with You, my beloved… I wish to show You the depth of my faith and love for You by my presence… (1:05)
J The time of Gethsemane is a time of decision-making, or rather, of reaffirming with renewed force the decision made in the Upper Room at the Consecration: as at the Last Supper You offered the Father Yourself dying on Calvary, so in Gethsemane You offer the Father the same irrevocable decision of obedience to His providential judgments: “Abba, Father, all things are possible to You. Take this cup away from Me, but not what I will but what You will.” (Mark 14:36). In this hour of grace, I also wish to decide to be obedient to the Father. May it express itself in my giving way more often and more willingly than before to my neighbor in situations that may be resolved variously. (1:17)
D Sister Faustina noted in her Diary: “One night one of our sisters who had died two months before came to me. She was a sister of the first choir. I saw her in a terrible condition: all in flames, her face contorted with pain. It lasted a moment, and then she disappeared. My soul trembled, for I did not know where she was suffering, in Purgatory or in Hell, nonetheless I redoubled my prayers for her.” (0:47)
Z The next night she came again, but I saw her in an even more terrible state, in flames that were more terrifying, and with despair in her face. I was very surprised that after all the prayers I had offered up for her I saw her in a worse condition, and I asked her, “Did not my prayers help you?” She replied that my prayers had not helped her at all and would be of no avail. I asked, “And what about the prayers the whole community had offered up for you? Did not they help either?” “Not at all,” she said. “They were used on behalf of other souls.” I replied, “If my prayers are of no avail, please do not come to me.” And immediately she vanished. (1:14)
B But I did not stop in my prayers. After a time she again came to me during the night, but she was in quite a different state, no longer in flames, and her face was bright, her eyes sparkling with joy. She told me I really had love for my neighbour, that many souls had benefitted from my prayers, and she encouraged me to continue praying for the souls in Purgatory. She also told me that she would not be staying in Purgatory for much longer. Still, how strange God’s judgements are.” (Faustina’s Diary, No. 58). (0:55)
W A MOMENT OF SILENCE. Beloved Jesus! As we recite the first decade of the Divine Mercy Chaplet, we unite with You, kneeling in the Garden of Gethsemane before the Face of the Father. (0:19)
Meditation 2. The Scourging of Jesus
M Song: Let us Love the Lord – 1st stanza (0:42)
M “Then Pilate took Jesus and had Him scourged,” St. John records in his Gospel (19:1). I am with You, O Beloved Jesus, when You, with such great humility and submission to the Will of the Father, take the painful blows of what cruel non-love… Indeed, I am with You because You wanted in Your love for me to unite me by receiving the Blessed Sacrament with You suffering this punishment. You have made it so that I may be close to You at this moment and love You with my presence… (0:53)
P Jesus, my Jesus! Let the painful blows of the scourges reach my heart, too… May the grace of being with You be salutary also for me – for the stirring of my heart. O, how dissimilar my heart is to Yours… How it hesitates to receive unjust blows… Jesus, my Jesus! In this hour of our mutual presence, heal my heart and grant that it, having been conformed to Your Heart, may be able to endure much for the sake of peace among men, to endure without complaint, to endure with gratitude for the opportunity to assist you in saving the world… (1:00)
G Sister Faustina noted in her Diary: “One day in the afternoon, when I came out into the garden my Guardian Angel said to me, “Pray for the dying!” Immediately started the rosary for the dying, and said it together with the gardener girls. When we had finished the rosary, we said various little prayers for the dying. When we had finished our prayers, the charges started up a merry conversation. Despite the noise, in my soul I heard these words, “Pray for me.” I could not make out the sense of those words, so I moved a few steps away from the girls, wondering who it was that was telling me to pray. (1:00)
J Then I heard the words, “I am Sister…” Sister… was in Warsaw, and I was in Vilnius at that time. “Pray for me until I tell you to stop; I am dying now.” Immediately, I started fervently praying for her to the dying Heart of Jesus. She gave me no respite and I continued praying for her from three o’clock to five o’clock. At five o’clock I heard these words, “Thank you.” I realised she had died. However, next day during Mass I prayed fervently for her soul. In the afternoon, a note came saying that Sister… had died at such and such an hour. I realised it was the time she had said, “Pray for me.” (Faustina’s Diary, No. 314) (1:08)
D A MOMENT OF SILENCE. Beloved Jesus! As we recite the second decade of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, we unite to You, who, humbly obedient to the Will of the Father, accept the punishment of scourging for our intention. (0:23)
Meditation 3. The crowning of the Lord Jesus with thorns
Z Song: Adoro Te Devote – 1st stanza (0:42)
Z The prophet Isaiah records (Isa 52:13-14. 53:2-3): “See, My servant shall prosper, He shall be raised high and greatly exalted. Even as many were amazed at him—so marred was his look beyond that of man, and his appearance beyond that of mortals … He grew up like a sapling before him, like a shoot from the parched earth; There was in him no stately bearing to make us look at him, nor appearance that would attract us to him. He was spurned and avoided by men, a man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity, One of those from whom men hide their faces, spurned, and we held him in no esteem.” (1:01)
B I look at You, the Crowned Love, and I think how much it takes to endure from people to make them love God truly, sincerely, without seeking their own “I” in it, without seeking their will in love… Jesus! Do I desire to imitate You in humbly accepting thorns from others? In this hour, when the power of the Blessed Sacrament makes me truly present with You, crowned with thorns, I resolve to ask myself more often in examining my conscience about successes in giving up carrying out my own will. I wish to console You now with my firm decision: with the help of Your grace, I will win my heart to cooperate with others in realizing their good intentions, even at the cost of giving up my preferences. Amen. (1:18)
W Sister Faustina noted in her Diary: “During the night, I was suddenly woken up and I realised that a soul was asking me for prayers, that it needed prayer desperately. Briefly, but as sincerely as my whole soul could manage, I begged the Lord for grace for that soul. Next day after twelve o’clock, when I entered the ward, I saw a person in the throes of death, and I was told it had started during the night. I ascertained it was the time when I was asked for prayer. Suddenly, I heard a voice in my soul telling me, “Say the Chaplet I have taught you.” (0:55)
M I ran back for my rosary and knelt down by the dying person’s bedside and started reciting the Chaplet as fervently as my spirit could manage. Suddenly, the dying person opened her eyes and looked at me; I had not finished saying the Chaplet when she passed away in extraordinary peace. I fervently begged the Lord to keep the promise He had given me for saying the Chaplet. The Lord let me know that the soul had been granted the grace He had promised me. It was the first soul to have experienced the Lord’s promise. I felt the power of mercy embracing that soul. (0:55)
P When I entered my solitude, I heard these words, “I shall treat every soul that says this Chaplet as My glory, and I shall grant it My defence at the hour of death; also those at whose deathbed others say the Chaplet shall be granted the same indulgence. When people say the Chaplet at a dying person’s bedside, God’s anger is placated, and unfathomed mercy embraces the soul, and the depths of My mercy are moved, for the sake of My Son’s sorrowful Passion.” Oh, if only all people realised how great the Lord’s mercy is, and how much all of us need it, especially at that critical hour. (Faustina’s Diary, No. 809-811). (1:04)
G A MOMENT OF SILENCE. Beloved Jesus! As we recite the third decade of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, we unite with You, who, humbly obedient to the Father’s Will, receive the pain of being crowned with thorns for our intention. (0:24)
Meditation 4. The Way of the Cross of the Lord Jesus
J Song: You go Through the Ages – 1st stanza (0:48)
J Dearest Jesus, carrying the cross beam to Hill of the Skull! St. Mark recorded Your instruction: “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it. What profit is there for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? What could one give in exchange for his life?” (Mark 8:34-37). (0:53)
D Jesus! Thanks to the reception of You in the Holy Communion, I am now with You, who are going towards Calvary to offer Yourself there as an atoning sacrifice for our sins! I am with You to at least partially take upon myself the burden of Your cross and, at the same time, of mine… I am so that You can feel how much I care about You, about the fulfillment of Your Heart’s saving design. O Lord! How incredible is the work of salvation… How worth pondering the mysterious plan of God, who desires to save us without exception from unloving… from disobedience… from not trusting in His loving will. (1:02)
Z Sister Faustina noted in her Diary: “This evening, I sensed in my soul that a certain person was in need of my prayers. I started praying straightaway; suddenly and inwardly, I recognised and sensed the spirit who had asked for my prayers; I continued praying until I was satisfied I had done enough. The Chaplet is a great help to the dying; I often pray for an intention which is given me inwardly, always until in my soul I feel that my prayers have been effective. Especially now, when I am here in this hospital, I am in spiritual contact with the dying, who ask me to pray for them as they start to die. (1:05)
B God has given me an extraordinary connectivity with the dying. Since it happens quite often, I even have the opportunity to check the exact time. Today, at eleven o’clock in the evening, I was suddenly woken up and distinctly felt that there was a spirit next to me asking for prayer; that in fact there was a force obliging me to pray. My vision is purely spiritual, coming at such a moment by means of sudden illumination from God. I keep praying until I get a feeling of peace in my soul; it’s not always the same length of time, sometimes it’s just a single Hail Mary and I’m at peace, so then I say the De Profundis and finish praying; but sometimes I do not feel at ease until I’ve said the whole Chaplet. (1:13)
W I’ve also observed that if I feel compelled to pray for a fairly long time, in other words, if I feel the spiritual discomfort for long, then the soul of the person dying is struggling more and they are taking longer to die. The way I’ve discovered this is by looking at my watch and the following day, when I’m told that someone has died I ask for the time of death and it tallies exactly [with the time I noted down], and so does the duration. I’m told that so-and-so had a very severe death struggle; another time I’m told that so-and-so died today, but passed away very quickly and peacefully. Sometimes, the person dying is in the second or third hospital barrack, but for the spirit distance is no obstacle. Sometimes, I get the same message when the dying person is hundreds of kilometers away. It’s happened several times with immediate family and relatives, religious, or people whom I never knew in life. (Faustina’s Diary, No. 834-835 a) (1:30)
M A MOMENT OF SILENCE. Beloved Jesus! As we recite the fourth decade of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, we unite with You, who, humbly obedient to the Father’s Will, undertakes the immense effort of carrying the cross to Calvary for our intention. (0:26)
Meditation 5. The death of the Lord Jesus on the cross
P Song: I Greet You – 1st stanza (0:56)
P “It was now about noon and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon 45 because of an eclipse of the sun. Then the veil of the temple was torn down the middle. 46 Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit”; and when He had said this He breathed His last.” (Luke 23:44-46) Dearest Jesus! With Mary, I participate in the heartbreaking drama of Your dying on the cross at Calvary… You love me very much, and that is why You have hidden in the Blessed Sacrament not only Yourself but also the mysterious possibility of mine truly participating in Your life and Your dying… (1:04)
G Jesus, my Jesus! You know the extent to which my heart thirsts to show love to You by my truly conscient being with You in the moments that are most difficult for You… in moments that are some two thousand years away from my point on the line of the worldly history… You know what my heart is toward You… You know the deepness of my belief in being sacramentally present with You, who are now giving Your life out on Calvary. Am I with You, O Beloved Jesus?… Am I with You consciously, O Dearest One… Do I desire with all my heart to be with You when You suffer so much, when You give Your life out of love for me, so that I may live forever? What is my faith, O Savior? (1:08)
J Sister Faustina noted in her Diary: “O infinitely merciful God, You allow me to bring relief to the dying and help them with my unworthy prayers, be blessed a thousand times for every star in the sky, for every drop of water in all the oceans. May the praise of Your mercy resound all over the Earth, and may it rise up to the feet of Your throne, glorifying Your greatest attribute, that is Your unfathomable mercy. (0:47)
D O God, it is Your unfathomable mercy that enraptures anew the saintly souls and all the spirits of Heaven. Those pure spirits are full of holy amazement, praising the unfathomable Divine mercy which brings them into a new state of ecstasy, and they give perfect praise. O eternal God, how ardently I long to praise Your greatest attribute, Your unfathomable mercy. I see my own tininess and I cannot compare with the heavenly inhabitants, who praise the Lord’s mercy in sacred amazement but I, too, have found a perfect way to praise the unfathomable mercy of God.” (Faustina’s Diary, No. 835 b) (1:07)
Z A MOMENT OF SILENCE. Beloved Jesus! As we recite the fifth decade of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, we unite with You, who, humbly obedient to the Father’s Will, gives Your life to save us from eternal death. (0:24)
Meditations after praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy
(Duration of the meditations here: about 22 min.)
B Beloved Jesus! Behold, we have come with You to the end of the way You passed from the Upper Room to Golgotha two thousand years ago. We believe that You have truly taken us by Your divine right hand back to the time of those events, which, from the point of view of our human nature, have passed away irretrievably… We believe that such is the unifying power of the Blessed Sacrament that we have eaten during the Holy Mass, and therefore, strictly during this only and not repeatable Your celebration of the Last Supper, in which we always participate with all the participants of all the Holy Masses celebrated during the history of the world until its final close, in moments that from our point of view have already passed and in those that from our point of view are yet to come. To You we sing the song of love… (1:21)
B Song: I Greet You – 2nd stanza (0:56)
W From the height of the cross of Golgotha, you descend into the Abyss – into the land of darkness, into the darkness of death. You descend with the power of God, who breaks the bonds of death, dispels the darkness of non-life, liberates, and leads out toward new life. At this moment, we unite with You and ask for all the dead, for those who have already departed from our mortality: grant them, Lord of life, grant them eternal life, life in love without limit… (0:47)
W Song: I Greet You – 3rd stanza (0:56)
M We adore You, O Christ, who conquers death in our dead sisters and brothers… who overcomes death also in our hearts. You love us and desire to bestow life upon us… You love us and desire to bestow happiness upon us… You love us and desire to open our hearts to love You… Yes, in the loving of You, in the loving unity with You, is the source of man’s happiness… the source of eternal life… the source of eternal fulfillment… To You we sing a song of praise, O Christ-Conqueror: (0:56)
M Song: Winner of Death – 1 stanza (0:56)
P Jesus, my Jesus, how can we not adore You after receiving You in the Holy Communion?… How can we not adore You in this particular time of union?… How can we not sing songs of love to You?… How good it is to be with You who love us so much… (0:27)
P Song: Winner of Death – 2nd stanza (0:56)
G Jesus, my Jesus, I am delighted by Your real bodily presence… You are with us in Your glorified body thanks to the Holy Communion with which You fed us at the Last Supper… You are with us now in the fullness of the power that the Father bestowed on You as a reward for the sacrifice You made on the cross… You are and bestow on us new strength, the spiritual powers so necessary on the way to the fullness of the development of every one of us… To You we sing in exultation a song… (0: 49)
G Song: Winner of Death – 3rd stanza (0:56)
J Jesus, my Jesus, how can we not adore You after receiving You in Holy Communion?… How can we not adore You in this particular time of union?… How can we not sing a song of love to You?… You are with us, and we are with You… Love requires the presence of mutually loving persons… Our love finds fulfillment now – in this sacramental time of grace when we abide after Holy Mass in prayer of loving You… To You we sing a song of love… (0:48)
J Song: Winner of Death – 4th stanza (0:56)
D Beloved Savior! It is probably no coincidence that we keep the relics of St. Padre Pio in our church. We have before our eyes his extraordinary Eucharistic piety, by virtue of which he both extraordinarily carefully prepared for the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice, poignantly deeply celebrated it, and stood in prayer after its completion for an hour / an hour and a half. At the beginning of his priestly life, Padre Pio met – by God’s special grace – a late priest who had repented in Purgatory for abandoning prayer after celebrating the Holy Mass. Italian writer Marcello Stanzione, in his book Padre Pio and the Purgatory Souls, writes about this in detail. [2] (1:13)
D Song: Jesus, Veiled in the Sacred Host – 1st stanza (0:26)
Z Marcello Stanzione reports that Padre Pio was staying in his hometown of Pietrelcina after his priestly ordination. One day, Father Salvatore, the provost there, confessed to him that he had been seeing the late Father Giovanni every day for some time, kneeling behind the altar during the entire Holy Mass. The late Father Giovanni was also seen in another church by the wife of a sacristan, who noticed him kneeling on the steps leading to the main altar before the Holy Mass. She looked at him closely and noticed that he was the late provost! (1:02)
B While celebrating the Holy Mass, Padre Pio also saw a priest kneeling in that church, but since he could not get a good look at him, he did not pay much attention to the event; he thought it was simply a priest immersed in prayer. B It turned out that the late Father Giovanni had been seen in such situations for about a month. The last time, he said to the current provost: “Salvatore, now I am leaving you; I will not return. How terrible it was for me and how much it cost me to participate in the Corpus Christi procession after Mass without proper thanksgiving.” (1:05)
B Song: Jesus, Veiled in the Sacred Host – 2nd stanza (0:26)
W What did the late Provost Giovanni mean when he confessed that it cost him a great deal to participate in the Corpus Christi procession after the Holy Mass without proper thanksgiving? Father Salvatore explained it. All the townspeople knew that the late Provost Giovanni was an honest priest with a good soul, but he was lazy in giving thanks to the Lord after the liturgy. He usually left the church immediately after the Holy Mass and indulged in conversation with the apothecary or some other acquaintance, discoursing politics or recent events. It was not appropriate. Indeed, immediately after the Holy Mass, the Eucharistic species had not yet been assimilated by his body – they were intact. Therefore, his body was like a living monstrance, carrying Jesus within it – just as it is during the Corpus Christi procession. It is known that during the procession, the attention of the priest carrying Jesus in the monstrance and the attention of all believers is focused on Jesus… (1:50)
M However, although the late provost Giovanni was like a living monstrance after the Holy Mass and carried Jesus within him, his focus was not on Jesus but on other people and things. Being the living monstrance carrying Jesus in the Sacred Host, he should have been burning with love for Jesus and not talking about mundane matters with friends, thus not setting a good example. For this behavior, he went to purgatory after his death. It was not until just Padre Pio, with his fervent prayers, shortened the good-natured provost’s punishment and freed him from the torments of purgatory.” (1:02)
M Song: Jesus, Veiled in the Sacred Host – 3rd stanza (0:26)
P Jesus! Moved by an event of the life of St. Padre Pio, we resolve in November, the month especially dedicated to prayers for the dead, to implore You more often for those who, in mortal life, admittedly received You in Holy Communion but who, after the end of the Holy Mass, refused to remain in prayer with You. Let us have as an example of this concern Blessed Candida, who, reading in her youth about the life of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, was touched by Your lament for the misunderstanding of Your presence in the Blessed Sacrament and the ingratitude of the people for Your love. At that time, she offered herself several times for any suffering to repair and compensate for Your pain of loneliness. [3] (1:15)
P Song: I Know in Whom I Believe – 1st stanza (0:48)
G The Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy was a particular period of God’s mercy, limited to a time between 8 December 2015 and 20 November 2016. The same is true with the extraordinary acts of Jesus in Holy Communion – they are enclosed in a limited period after receiving the Holy Host. In connection with it, it is worth quoting the words of St. Teresa of Jesus, who instructed her fellow Carmelite sisters in this way: [4] “12. When you have received the Lord, and are in His very presence, try to shut the bodily eyes and to open the eyes of the soul and to look into your own hearts. […] 13. But if we pay no heed to Him save when we have received Him, and go away from Him in search of other and baser things, what can He do? Will He have to drag us by force to look at Him and be with Him because He desires to reveal Himself to us? No; for when He revealed Himself to all men plainly, and told them clearly who He was, they did not treat Him at all well—very few of them, indeed, even believed Him. So He grants us an exceeding great favour when He is pleased to show us that it is He Who is in the Most Holy Sacrament.” (1:56)
Now, we consider sequentially the texts
prepared by the participants of the adoration,
interspersed with successive stanzas of the song.
(Duration of meditations here: about 7 min.)
J Disciple’s voice. 1. How great is the abundance of Your kindness, O Lord, which You have hidden from those who fear You! When I think how some devout persons come to Your Sacrament with the greatest devotion and love, I am frequently ashamed and confused that I approach Your altar and the table of Holy Communion so coldly and indifferently; that I remain so dry and devoid of heartfelt affection; that I am not completely inflamed in Your presence, O my God, nor so strongly drawn and attracted as many devout persons who, in their great desire for Communion and intense heart love, could not restrain their tears but longed from the depths of their souls and bodies to embrace You, the Fountain of Life. These were able to appease and allay their hunger in no other way than by receiving Your Body with all joy and spiritual eagerness. / 2. The faith of these men was true and ardent—convincing proof of Your sacred presence. They whose hearts burn so ardently within them when Jesus lives with them truly know their Lord in the breaking of bread. Such affection and devotion, such mighty love and zeal are often far beyond me. Be merciful to me, O sweet, good, kind Jesus, and grant me, Your poor suppliant, sometimes at least to feel in Holy Communion a little of the tenderness of Your love, that my faith may grow stronger, that my hope in Your goodness may increase, and that charity, once perfectly kindled within me by tasting heavenly manna, may never fail. / 3. Your mercy can give me the grace I long for and can visit me most graciously with fervor of soul according to Your good pleasure. For although I am not now inflamed with as great desire as those who are singularly devoted to You, yet by Your grace I long for this same great flame, praying and seeking a place among all such ardent lovers that I may be numbered among their holy company. [5] (2:59)
J Song: I Know in Whom I Believe – 2nd stanza (0:48)
D “1. The voice of Christ. As I offered Myself willingly to God the Father for your sins with hands outstretched and body naked on the cross, so that nothing remained in Me that had not become a complete sacrifice to appease the divine wrath, so ought you to be willing to offer yourself to Me day by day in the Mass as a pure and holy oblation, together with all your faculties and affections, with as much inward devotion as you can. What more do I ask than that you give yourself entirely to Me? I care not for anything else you may give Me, for I seek not your gift but you. / 2. Just as it would not be enough for you to have everything if you did not have Me, so whatever you give cannot please Me if you do not give yourself. Offer yourself to Me, therefore, and give yourself entirely for God – your offering will be accepted. Behold, I offered Myself wholly to the Father for you, I even gave My whole Body and Blood for food that I might be all yours, and you Mine forever. But if you rely upon self, and do not offer your free will to Mine, your offering will be incomplete and the union between us imperfect. Hence, if you desire to attain grace and freedom of heart, let the free offering of yourself into the hands of God precede your every action. This is why so few are inwardly free and enlightened – they know not how to renounce themselves entirely. My word stands: ‘Everyone of you that doth not renounce all that he possesses, cannot be My disciple.’ (Luke 14:33) If, therefore, you wish to be My disciple, offer yourself to Me with all your heart.” [6] (2:44)
D Song: I Know in Whom I Believe – 3rd stanza (0:48)
At the end of the adoration
J Beloved Jesus! Thank you so much for the love we can experience in relationship to You. How good it is to be with You, to look into Your eyes, to listen to Your voice. We will now stand in silence for a while until the Jasna Gora Appeal. Jesus, speak to our hearts, transform our hearts, rest in hearts so prepared by Your transforming grace. Jesus, Love of our hearts, love us… Jesus, Love of my heart, I love You… Amen. (0:48)