by Abraham dela Torre
AMONG THE MANY blessings bestowed on me by my friend (and former judge) Ate Thelma (Ponferrada), the most recent and outstanding is a couple of prayer booklets, “The Secret of Happiness” and its Tagalog translation. The prayer pair is published by the Order of Little Souls of the Merciful Heart of Jesus and available at Pauline outlets.
Page 3 narrates that, because St. Bridget had been for a long time desirous to know the number of blows our Lord received during His passion, He one day appeared to her and said, “I received 5,475 blows in My body. If you wish to honor them in some way, say 15 Our Fathers and 15 Hail Marys with the following prayers (which He taught her) for a whole year. When the year is up, you will have honored each one of My wounds.”
Page 4 immediately catches attention where the Lord makes promises to anyone who recites the prayers for a whole year. I could not possibly not share the indulgence that immediately engulfed me after perusing the promises our Lord made on page 4 to anyone who recites the prayers for a whole year. It is also timely that the prayers pertain to Christ’s sacrifices and sufferings, the most painful of which will be prayed at the end of the booklet.
- I will deliver 15 souls of his lineage from purgatory.
- 14 souls of his lineage will be confirmed and preserved in grace.
- 15 sinners of his lineage will be converted.
- Whoever recites these prayers will attain the first degree of perfection.
- 15 days before his death, I will give him My Precious Body in order that he may escape eternal starvation.; I will give him My Precious Blood to drink lest he thirst eternally.
- 15 days before his death, he will conceive a deep contrition for all his sins and a perfect knowledge of them.
- I will place before him My victorious cross for his help and defense against the attack of his enemies.
- Before his death I will come with My dearest and beloved Mother.
- I will graciously receive his soul and will lead it to eternal joy.
- And having led it there, I will give him a special draught from the fountain of My Deity, something I will not do for those who have not recited My prayers.
- Let it be known that whoever may have been living in a state of mortal sin for 30 years, but who will recite devoutly, or have the intention to recite these Prayers, the Lord will forgive him all his sins.
- I will defend him against evil temptations.
- I will preserve and guard his five senses.
- I will preserve him from sudden death.
- His soul will be delivered from eternal death.
- He will obtain all he asks from God and the Blessed Virgin.
- If he has lived all his life doing his own will and he is to die the next day, his life will be prolonged.
- Everytime one recites these Prayers, he will gain 100 days indulgence.
- He will be assured of being joined to the supreme Choir of angels.
- Whoever teaches these Prayers to another, will have continued joy and merit which will last throughout eternity.
- Where these Prayers are being said or may be said in the future, God will be present there by His grace.
Page 6 further assures “Whoever performs these exercises together with 15 Our Fathers and 15 Hail Marys every day will have recited in one year as many prayers as the number of blows received by our Lord during His sorrowful Passion. Jesus attached the most magnificent promises to the performance of these devotions in favor of those who carry on this holy practice with faith and devotion.”
First Prayer (One Our Father and one Hail Mary)
O Jesus Christ, eternal sweetness to those who love You, joy surpassing all joys and all desires, salvation and hope of all sinners, by assuming a human nature even for a brief period of time for love of us, You have proved that You have no greater desire than to be among men. Please recall all the suffering that You have endured from the first moment of Your conception, and especially during Your Passion, as it was decreed and ordained in the Divine Plan from all eternity.
Remember, O Lord, that after having washed the feet of Your disciples during the Last Supper, You gave them Your Precious Body and Blood. You consoled them as You related Your coming Passion.
Remember the sadness and bitterness which You experienced in Your Soul as You prayed: “My Soul is sorrowful even unto death.”
Remember all the fear, the anguish, the pain that You suffered before Your Crucifixion, when in the prime of Your life, after having prayed three separate times and bathed in a sweat of blood, You were betrayed by one of Your disciples, Judas. You were arrested by the people of the nation You have chosen and exalted. You were accused by false witnesses and unjustly condemned by three judges during the solemn Paschal season. Remember that You were despoiled of Your garments and in turn clothed with the garments of mockery. Your face was buffeted and Your head crowned with thorns. Your eyes were blinded by blood. You were tied to a column, crushed with blows and overwhelmed with insults and abuses.
In memory of all these pain and suffering You endured before Your Passion on the cross, grant that before I die, I may, with true contrition, make a sincere and entire confession, make worthy satisfaction and be given remission of all my sins. Amen.
Second Prayer (One Our Father and one Hail Mary)
O Jesus, true Liberty of Angels, Paradise of Delights, remember the horror and sadness You endured when Your enemies surrounded You like furious lions, and with thousands of blows, insults, lacerations and unheard-of cruelties, tormented You at will.
By these torments and insulting words, I beg You, my Savior, deliver me from all my visible and invisible enemies and may I, under Your protection, attain the perfection of eternal salvation. Amen.
Thrid Prayer (One Our Father and one Hail Mary)
O Jesus, Creator of Heaven and Earth, Whom nothing can encompass or limit! You, Who enfold and hold all under Your loving power, remember the very bitter pain You suffered when, with big blunt nails and with blows delivered one after another, the Jews nailed Your sacred hands and feet to the cross. Remember O Lord, Your infinite anguish, when Your cruel tormentors, not finding You in a sufficiently pitiable state to satisfy their rage and cruelty, enlarged Your wounds. Remember Your painful agony when Your executioners added more pain to Your sufferings when they stretched Your body on the cross and dislocated Your bones by pulling them mercilessly apart.
I beg of You, O Jesus, by the memory of this most holy and loving suffering of the cross, to grant me the grace to fear and love You. Amen
Fourth Prayer (One Our Father and one Hail Mary)
O Jesus, Heavenly Physician, raised aloft on the cross that our wounds might be healed by Your own! Remember the bruises and weaknesses You suffered in Your whole being, like never was there pain like that which You endured. From the crown of Your head to the soles of Your feet, there was not a spot on Your body that was not in torment. And yet, forgetting all Your suffering, You did not cease to pray to Your Heavenly Father for Your enemies, saying: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
Through this great mercy, and in memory of this suffering, may the remembrance of Your most bitter Passion effect in us a perfect contrition and the remission of all our sins. Amen.
Fifth Prayer (One Our Father and one Hail Mary)
O Jesus, Mirror of Eternal Splendor, remember the sadness You experienced when You saw by the light of Your Divinity the predestination of those who would be saved by the merits of Your Sacred Passion. At the same time, You saw the great multitude of reprobates who would be damned for their sins, making You complain of those hopeless, lost and unfortunate sinners.
Through this abyss of compassion and especially through the goodness You displayed to the good thief when You said to him: “This day, you will be with Me in Paradise.”
I beg of You, O Sweet Jesus, that at the hour of my death, You will show me mercy. Amen.
Sixth Prayer (One Our Father and one Hail Mary)
O Jesus, most loving and most desirable King! Remember the grief You suffered when You were fastened and raised aloft on the cross, naked, like a common criminal. Your relatives and friends had forsaken You, except Your beloved Mother and a few who remained with You during your agony.
Remember Your grief as You entrusted Your Mother to Your faithful disciple when You addressed them: “Woman, behold your son. Behold your Mother.”
By the sword of sorrow that pierced the soul of Your Holy Mother, I beg You, O Savior, to have mercy on me in all my corporal and spiritual afflictions, and to assist me in all my trials, especially at the hour of my death. Amen.
Seventh Prayer (One Our Father and one Hail Mary)
O Jesus, inexhaustible fountain of compassion Who, by a gesture of profound love, said from the cross, “I thirst!” suffered from the thirst of the salvation of all men. I beg You, my Savior, to inflame in our hearts the desire for perfection in all our acts, to extinguish in us the concupiscence of the flesh and the ardors of worldly desires. Amen.
Eighth Prayer (One Our Father and one Hail Mary)
O Jesus, Sweetness of Hearts and Delight of the Spirit! By the bitterness of the gall and vinegar that You tasted on the cross for love of us, grant us the grace to receive Your Precious Body and Blood worthily during our life and at the hour of our death, that they may serve as remedy and consolation of our souls. Amen.
Ninth Prayer (One Our Father and one Hail Mary)
O Jesus, Kingly Virtue and Joy of the Mind, recall the pain You endured when, plunged in an ocean of bitterness at the approach of death, insulted and outraged by the Jews, You cried out in a loud voice that You were abandoned by Your Father as You said: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me!”
Through this anguish, I beg of You, my Savior, not to abandon me in the terrors and pains of my death. Amen.
Tenth Prayer (One Our Father and one Hail Mary)
O Jesus, You Who are the Beginning and End of all things, of life and of virtue, remember that for our sake, You were plunged in an abyss of suffering from the soles of Your feet to the crown of Your head. Meditating upon Your innumerable wounds, teach me to keep Your Commandments through pure love. The fulfillment of Your Divine Commandments is easy for those who love You. Amen.
Eleventh Prayer ( One Our Father and one Hail Mary)
O Jesus, Deep Abyss of Mercy, for the sake of the wounds which pierced the very marrow of Your bones and the very depths of Your Being, I beg You to draw a miserable sinner like me, who is overwhelmed by great offenses, away from sin. Guide me from Your face justly irritated against me, hide me in Your wounds until Your anger and indignation will have passed away. Amen.
Twelfth Prayer (One Our Father and one Hail Mary)
O Jesus, Mirror of Truth, Symbol of Unity and Link of Charity, remember the multitude of wounds that afflicted You from head to foot. Your wounds that tore and reddened Your whole Being by the spilling of Your adorable Blood. O great and universal pain which You suffered in Your Divine Flesh for love of us! Sweetest Jesus, what is there that You could have done for us that You have not done?
May Your suffering bear fruit in my soul through the faithful remembrance of Your Passion. May Your love grow in my heart each day until that moment when I shall behold You in eternity. You Who are the treasure house of all goodness and all joy! O Sweetest Jesus, I beg You to grant me this precious gift of heaven. Amen
Thirteenth Prayer (One Our Father and one Hail Mary)
O Jesus, Strong Lion, Immortal and Invincible King, remember the pain which You endured when all your mortal and physical strength was entirely exhausted and You bowed Your head, saying: “All is consummated.”
By this anguish and grief, I beg You, O Lord, to have mercy on me at the hour of death, when my mind will be greatly troubled and my soul will be in great anguish. Amen.
Fourteenth Prayer (One Our Father and one Hail Mary)
O Jesus, only Son of the Father, Splendor and Figure of His Substance, remember the simple but humble recommendation You made of Your soul to Your Eternal Father when You said: “Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit.”
With Your body and Your heart all broken, and the springs of Your mercy opened themselves to redeem us, You expired.
By Your precious death, O King of Saints, I beg You to comfort me and give me strength to resist the devil, the flesh and the world, so that being dead to the world, I may live for You alone. I beg You to receive me, a pilgrim and an exile returning to You at the hour of my death. Amen.
Fifteenth Prayer (One Our Father and one Hail Mary)
O Jesus, True and Fruitful Vine, remember the abundant outpouring of Blood which You generously shed, in the same way that the grape is crushed and pressed down in the wine press. May all Your Saints praise You forever.
Remember that Your side was pierced by a soldier’s lance and blood and water issued forth from Your Body until not even a single drop was left. Like a bundle of myrrh You were held aloft on the cross, Your tender Body withered and the marrow of Your bones dried up.
Through this bitter Passion and by the outpouring of Your Precious Blood, I beg of You, Dear Jesus, to receive my soul when I am in my death agony. Amen.
To the faithful, this could well serve as the stations of the cross with the 15th added for spiritual measure and as a personal share in carrying the weight of Christ’s cross.
A concluding prayer is on page 24.
Without giving away the entirety of the beautiful booklet, there are optional prayers “To the Wound on the Shoulder” and “To Jesus Forsaken.”
A primer on page 26 explains the rest.
Needless to say, at the end of each praying day, the pray-er will discover in his own way how peace in reconciling with God unearths the secret called happiness, which is ought to be shared with all who have faith.
