Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (September 14, 2109)
BE THE ONE!
Be an Apostle of Mercy. Make reparation to Our Lord and Our Lady.
Mother Teresa (St. Teresa of Calcutta) often shared with me that Jesus looked for one to comfort Him but found none. She told me to, “Be the one.”
Our Lady of Fatima has requested prayer of reparation to make up for the countless blasphemies against Her Immaculate Heart. As well, Our Lady of Fatima revealed to the three young shepherd children: Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta that many souls go to hell because there is no one who will pray for them. She showed to them a frightening vision of hell. After that, the three young visionaries committed the remainder of their lives in making reparation for sinners.
Saint Faustina was also shown a vision of hell and told by Jesus to let the world know about the existence of hell. Saint Faustina observed that many of the souls that were suffering various excruciating torments there were those who had not previously believed in the existence of hell.
Mother Mary invites us to stand with Her at the foot of the Cross. Will we pause from our busyness and our idleness to be the one to comfort and console the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Mary who are sad because of the horrendous sins of the Church and the world?
Be the one! You can be an Apostle of Mercy to the world. Every First Friday and at any other time, offer an hour or a day of reparation to Our Lord and Our Lady. Invite your family and friends to gather together in your own home, your own parish, or perhaps while at a shrine.
Here are some prayers you may choose to use when you pray to make reparation on a First Friday or any day:
Prayers of Reparation
Reparation for Insults to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Most glorious Virgin Mary, Mother of God and our Mother, turn thine eyes in pity upon us, miserable sinners; we are sore afflicted by the many evils that surround us in this life, but especially do we feel our hearts break within us upon hearing the dreadful insults and blasphemies uttered against thee, O Virgin Immaculate. O how these impious sayings offend the infinite Majesty of God and of His only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ! How they provoke His indignation and give us cause to fear the terrible effects of His vengeance! Would that the sacrifice of our lives might avail to put an end to such outrages and blasphemies; were it so, how gladly we should make it, for we desire, O most holy Mother, to love thee and to honor thee with all our hearts, since this is the will of God. And just because we love thee, we will do all that is in our power to make thee honored and loved by all men. In the meantime do thou, our merciful Mother, the supreme comforter of the afflicted, accept this our act of reparation which we offer thee for ourselves and for all our families, as well as for all who impiously blaspheme thee, not knowing what they say. Do thou obtain for them from Almighty God the grace of conversion, and thus render more manifest and more glorious thy kindness, thy power and thy great mercy. May they join with us in proclaiming thee blessed among women, the Immaculate Virgin and most compassionate Mother of God. Hail Mary three times. Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us!
Reparation for Insults to the Blessed Virgin Mary
O blessed Virgin, Mother of God, look down in mercy from Heaven, where thou art enthroned as Queen, upon me, a miserable sinner, thine unworthy servant. Although I know full well my own unworthiness, yet in order to atone for the offenses that are done to thee by impious and blasphemous tongues, from the depths of my heart I praise and extol thee as the purest, the fairest, the holiest creature of all God’s handiwork. I bless thy holy Name, I praise thine exalted privilege of being truly Mother of God, ever Virgin, conceived without stain of sin, Co-Redemptrix and Mediatrix of All Graces for the human race. I bless the Eternal Father who chose thee in an especial way for His daughter; I bless the Word Incarnate who took upon Himself our nature in thy bosom and so made thee His Mother; I bless the Holy Spirit who took thee as His bride. All honor, praise and thanksgiving to the ever-blessed Trinity who predestined thee and loved thee so exceedingly from all eternity as to exalt thee above all creatures to the most sublime heights. O Virgin, holy and merciful, obtain for all who offend thee the grace of repentance, and graciously accept this poor act of homage from me thy servant, obtaining likewise for me from thy Divine Son the pardon and remission of all my sins. Amen.
Hail Mary three times. Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us!
The Angel taught the following prayer to the children at Fatima:
Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore You profoundly, and I offer You the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifference with which He Himself is offended. And, through the infinite merits of His most Sacred Heart, and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of You the conversion of poor sinners.
Prayer of Reparation for offenses made against the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary
O merciful Jesus, my King and my God, I worship You.
O Blessed Mother, Mary Immaculate, I cherish you.
For those who offer you insult, I offer you praise.
For those who offer you mocking, I offer you honor.
For those who offer you disbelief, I offer you trust.
For those who offer you hate, I offer you love.
For those who offer you cursing, I offer you blessing.
For those who offer you ridicule, I offer you loving gazes.
For those who offer you blasphemy, I offer you adoration.
For those who offer you rebellion, I offer you obedience.
For those who offer you indifference, I offer you devotion.
For those who offer you obstinate pride, I offer you a contrite heart.
For those who offer you scorn, I offer you fidelity.
Kind Jesus have mercy; Ever Virgin Mary pray for us. Forgive them Lord for they know not what they are doing. Soften the hearts of those who offend you, that they may come to know you and love you as you deserve. Make my heart more fervent that I may pray without ceasing for the conversion and salvation of souls. Amen.
Consecration Prayer to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
By St. Maximilian Kolbe
O Immaculate, Queen of Heaven and earth, refuge of sinners and our most loving Mother, God has willed to entrust the entire order of mercy to you. I, (name), a repentant sinner, cast myself at your feet, humbly imploring you to take me with all that I am and have, wholly to yourself as your possession and property. Please make of me, of all my powers of soul and body, of my whole life, death and eternity, whatever most pleases you.
If it pleases you, use all that I am and have without reserve, wholly to accomplish what was said of you: “She will crush your head,” and “You alone have destroyed all heresies in the whole world. ” Let me be a fit instrument in your immaculate and merciful hands for introducing and increasing your glory to the maximum in all the many strayed and indifferent souls, and thus help extend as far as possible the blessed kingdom of the most Sacred Heart of Jesus. For wherever you enter, you obtain the grace of conversion and growth in holiness, since it is through your hands that all graces come to us from the most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
V. Allow me to praise you, O sacred Virgin
R. Give me strength against your enemies.
Meditating on Jesus’ Passion
As well, you might also meditate on the Passion of Jesus while you are making reparation. Jesus revealed to St. Faustina that He is very pleased when she meditated on His Passion. He assured her that she would grow in holiness this way much more quickly than in any other way. Saint Faustina recorded in her Diary, “Jesus told me that I please Him best by meditating on His sorrowful Passion and by such meditation much light falls upon my soul (Diary, 1337, 267).
Jesus also told St. Faustina, “There are few souls who contemplate My Passion with true feeling; I give great graces to souls who meditate devoutly on My Passion. ” (Diary, 737).
