What does it do?
1) The letter from Luisa Piccarreta to her confessor and theological censor, St Annibale M. di Francia.
St. Annibale: "I begin by reporting here a letter which the Author sent me…
"Most Reverend Father, I am finally sending you the Hours of the Passion, now written, and all for the glory of Our Lord. I also include another sheet which contains the effects, and the beautiful promises which Jesus makes to anyone who does these Hours of the Passion. I believe that if one who meditates them is a sinner, he will convert; if he is imperfect, he will become perfect; if he is holy, he will become more holy; if he is tempted, he will find victory; if he is suffering, in these Hours he will find the strength, the medicine, the comfort. And if his soul is weak and poor, he will find spiritual food and the mirror in which he will reflect himself continuously to be embellished and to become similar to Jesus, our model. The satisfaction that blessed Jesus receives from the meditation of these Hours is so great, that He would want at least one copy of these meditations to be present and practiced in each city or town. In fact, it would happen, then, as if Jesus heard His own voice and His prayers being reproduced in those reparations, just as the ones He raised to His Father during the 24 hours of His sorrowful Passion. And if this were done in each town or city at least, by as many souls, Jesus seems to make me understand that Divine Justice would be placated in part, and in these sad times of torments and bloodshed, Its scourges would be stopped, in part, and as though dampened. I let you, Reverend Father, make appeal to all; may you complete, in this way, the little work that my lovable Jesus had me do. I also tell you that the purpose of these Hours of the Passion is not so much that of narrating the story of the Passion, because there are many books that treat this pious topic, and it would not be necessary to make another one. But rather, the purpose is the reparation, uniting the different points of the Passion of Our Lord with the diversity of the many offenses, and making worthy reparation for them together with Jesus, almost making up for all that the other creatures owe Him. From this, the different ways of reparation present in these Hours: in some sections one blesses, in others one compassionates, in others one praises, in others one comforts suffering Jesus, in others one compensates, in others one supplicates, prays and asks. Therefore, I leave it to you, Reverend Father, to make known the purpose of these writings with a preface.
St. Annibale: "The sheet about which the author of these Hours of the Passion speaks at the beginningof her letter, here transcribed, contains what the Lord told her, and is reported here below:
2) Jesus's Words:
("< >" are my highlights)
June 5, 1906 Volume 6
Crosses are baptismal founts.
This morning, upon coming, blessed Jesus told me: <"My daughter, crosses and mortifications are as many baptismal founts, and any kind of cross which is dipped in the thought of my Passion loses half of its bitterness, and its weight diminishes by half."> And He disappeared like a flash.I continued to do certain adorations and reparations in my interior, and He came back, adding: <"What is not my consolation in seeing what my Humanity did many centuries ago being redone in you. In fact, anything which I established that each soul should do, was done before in my Humanity. If the soul corresponds to Me, she does again within herself that which I did for her; but if she does not, it remains done only in Me, and I feel an inexpressible bitterness.">
November 9, 1906 Volume 7
Effects of meditating continuously on the Passion.
Finding myself in my usual state, I was thinking about the Passion of Our Lord; and while I was doing this, He came and told me: "My daughter, one who meditates continuously on my Passion and feels sorrow for it and compassion for Me, pleases Me so much that I feel as though comforted for all that I suffered in the course of my Passion; and by always meditating on it, the soul arrives at preparing a continuous food. In this food there are many different spices and flavors, which form different effects. So, if in the course of my Passion they gave Me ropes and chains to tie Me, the soul releases Me and gives Me freedom. They despised Me, spat on Me, and dishonored Me; she appreciates Me,cleans Me of that spittle, and honors Me. They stripped Me and scourged Me; she heals Me and clothes Me. They crowned Me with thorns, mocking Me as king, embittered my mouth with bile, and crucified Me; while the soul, meditating on all my pains, crowns Me with glory and honors Me as her king, fills my mouth with sweetness, giving Me the most delicious food, which is the memory of my own works; and unnailing Me from the Cross, she makes Me rise again in her heart. And every time she does so, I give her a new life of grace as recompense. <She is my food, and I become her continuous food. So, the thing that pleases Me the most is meditating continuously on my Passion.">
March 24, 1913 Volume 11
The continuous thought of His Passion.…
I add that I was thinking to myself about the sweet Mama, and <Jesus told me: "My daughter, the thought of my Passion never escaped my dear Mama, and by dint of repeating it, she filled all of Herself with Me, completely. The same happens to the soul: by dint of repeating what I suffered, she arrives at filling herself with Me.">
April 10, 1913 Volume 11
The recompense for those who do the Hours of the Passion.
This morning my always lovable Jesus came, and hugging me to His Heart, told me: <"My daughter,one who always thinks about my Passion forms a fount within her heart, and the more she thinks about It, the larger this fount becomes. And just as the waters that spring up are waters common to everyone, in the same way, this fount of my Passion which is formed in her heart serves for the good of the soul, for my glory, and for the good of all creatures."> And I: ‘Tell me, my Good, what will You give as recompense to those who will do the Hours of the Passion the way You taught them to me?’And He: <"My daughter, I will look at these Hours, not as yours, but as done by Me. I will give you my same merits, as if I were in the act of suffering my Passion; and the same effects, according to the dispositions of the souls.> This, while they are on earth - and I could not give them a greater reward. Then, in Heaven, I will place these souls in front of Me, darting through them with darts of love and of contentments for as many times as they did the Hours of my Passion; and they will dart throughMe. What a sweet enchantment this will be for all the Blessed!"….
September 6, 1913 Volume 11
The Hours of the Passion are the very prayers of Jesus.
I was thinking about the Hours of the Passion, which have now been written, and how they are without any indulgence. So, those who do them gain nothing, while there are many prayers enriched with many indulgences. While I was thinking of this, my always lovable Jesus, all kindness, told me: "My daughter, through the prayers with indulgences one gains something, but the Hours of myPassion, which are my very prayers, my reparations, and all love, have come out of the very depth of my Heart. <Have you perhaps forgotten how many times I have united Myself with you to do them together, and I have changed chastisements into graces over the whole earth? So, my satisfaction is such and so great, that instead of the indulgence, I give the soul a handful of love, which contains incalculable prices of infinite value. And besides, when things are done out of pure love, my love finds its outpouring, and it is not insignificant that the creature gives relief and outpouring to the love of the Creator.">
October 1914 Volume 11
The effectiveness of these Hours depends on whether the soul does them in union with Jesus and in His Will.
How Jesus desires that souls do the Hours of the Passion. I was writing the Hours of the Passion, and I thought to myself: ‘How many sacrifices in order to write these blessed Hours of the Passion, especially to put on paper certain interior acts which had passed only between me and Jesus. What will be the recompense that He will give to me?’ And Jesus, letting me hear His tender and sweet voice, told me: "My daughter, as recompense for having written the Hours of my Passion, for each word you have written I will give you a kiss - a soul." And I: ‘My love, this is for me; and what will You give to those who will do them?’ <And Jesus: "If they do them together with Me and with my own Will, I will also give them a soul for each word they will recite, because the greater or lesser effectiveness of these Hours of my Passion is in the greater or lesser union that they have with Me. By doing them with my Will, the creature hides within my Volition, and since it is my Volition that acts, I can produce all the goods I want, even through one word alone; and this, for each time you will do them." > Another time I was lamenting to Jesus, because after so many sacrifices to write these Hours of the Passion, very few were the souls who were doing them. And He: "My daughter, do not lament - even if there were only one, you should be content. Would I not have suffered my whole Passion even if one soul alone were to be saved? The same for you. One should never omit good because few avail themselves of it; all the harm is for those who do not take advantage of it. And just as my Passion made my Humanity acquire the merit as if all were saved, even though not all are saved, because my Will was to save everyone, and I received merit according to what I wanted, not according to the profit which creatures would draw; the same for you: you will be rewarded depending on whether your will was identified with my Will in wanting to do good to all. All the harm is for those who, though being able to, do not do them. <These Hours are the most precious of all, because they are nothing less than the repetition of what I did in the course of my mortal life, and what I continue to do in the Most Holy Sacrament. When I hear these Hours of my Passion, I hear my own voice, my own prayers. In that soul I see my Will - that is, wanting the good of all and repairing for all - and I feel drawn to dwell in her, to be able to do what she herself does within her. > Oh, how I would love that even one single soul for each town did these Hours of my Passion! I would hear Myself in each town, and my Justice, greatly indignant during these times, would be placated in part." I add that one day I was doing the Hour in which the Celestial Mama gave burial to Jesus, and I followed Her to keep Her company in Her bitter desolation, to compassionate Her. I did not usually do this Hour all the times - only sometimes. Now, I was undecided about whether I should do it or not, and blessed Jesus, all love, and as though praying me, told me: <"My daughter, I do not want youto omit it. You will do it for love of Me, in honor of my Mama. Know that every time you do it, my Mama feels as if She were on earth in person, repeating Her life, and therefore She receives that glory and love which She gave Me while on earth; and I feel as if my Mama were on earth again - Her maternal tenderness, Her love and all the glory that She gave Me.> So, I will consider you as a mother." Then, as He embraced me, I heard Him say to me, very softly: "My mama, mama"; and He whispered to me all that sweet Mama did and suffered in this Hour - and I followed Her. From that time on, helped by His grace, I have never omitted it again.
November 4, 1914 Volume 11
The new and continuous way to meditate the Passion.
I was doing the Hours of the Passion and Jesus, all pleased, told me: "My daughter, if you knew what great satisfaction I feel in seeing you repeating these Hours of my Passion - always repeating them, over and over again - you would be happy. It is true that my Saints have meditated on my Passion and have comprehended how much I suffered, melting in tears of compassion, so much so, as to feel consumed for love of my pains; but not in such a continuous way, and repeated many times in this order. Therefore I can say that you are the first one to give Me this pleasure, so great and special, as you keep fragmenting within you - hour by hour - my life and what I suffered. And I feel so drawn that, hour by hour, I give you this food and I eat the same food with you, doing what you do together with you. Know, however, that I will reward you abundantly with new light and new graces; and even after your death, each time souls on earth will do these Hours of my Passion, in Heaven I will clothe you with ever new light and glory."
November 6, 1914 Volume 11
The soul who does the Hours of the Passion makes the life of Jesus her own, and does His same office.
As I continued the usual Hours of the Passion, my lovable Jesus told me: "My daughter, the world is in continuous act of renewing my Passion; and since my immensity envelopes everything, inside and outside the creatures, from their contact I am forced to receive nails, thorns, scourges, scorns, spit and all the rest which I suffered in the Passion - and still more. Now, at the contact with souls who do these Hours of my Passion I feel the nails being removed, the thorns shattered, the wounds soothed, the spit taken away. I feel I am repaid in good for the evil that others do to Me, and in feeling that their contact does no harm to Me, but good, I lean more and more on them. "In addition to this, returning to speak about these Hours of the Passion, blessed Jesus said: <"My daughter, know that by doing these Hours the soul takes my thoughts and makes them her own; she takes my reparations, prayers, desires, affections, and even my most intimate fibers, and makes them her own. And rising up between Heaven and earth, she does my same office, and as co-redemptrix, she says with Me: ‘Ecce ego, mitte me [Here I am, send me] - I want to repair for all, answer for all, and impetrate good for all’.">
April 23, 1916 Volume 11
At each thought about the Passion of Jesus, the soul draws light from His Humanity.
Continuing in my usual state, my adorable Jesus made Himself seen all surrounded with light, which came out from within His Most Holy Humanity, and embellished Him in such a way as to form anenchanting and enrapturing sight. I remained surprised, and <<He told me: "My daughter, each pain I suffered, each drop of Blood, each wound, prayer, word, action, step, etc., produced a light within my Humanity, which embellished Me in such a way as to keep all the Blessed enraptured. Now, at each thought that the soul has about my Passion, at each act of compassion, reparation, etc., she does nothing other than draw light from my Humanity, and be embellished in my likeness. So, each additional thought about my Passion will be one more light which will bring her eternal joy.">>
October 13, 1916 Volume 11
How the Angels are around the soul who does the Hours of the Passion.
These Hours are sweet little sips that souls give to Jesus. I was doing the Hours of the Passion, and blessed Jesus told me: "My daughter, in the course of my mortal life, thousands and thousands of Angels were the cortege of my Humanity, gathering everything I did – my steps, my works, my words, and even my sighs, my pains, the drops of my Blood – in sum, everything. They were the Angels in charge of my custody, and of paying Me honor; obedient to my every wish, they would rise to and descend from Heaven, to bring to the Father what I was doing. <Now these Angels have a special office, and as the soul remembers my Life, my Passion, my Blood, my wounds, my prayers, they come around this soul and gather her words, her prayers, her acts of compassion for Me, her tears and her offerings; they unite them to mine, and they bring them before my Majesty to renew for Me the glory of my own Life. > The delight of the Angels is so great that, reverent, they listen to what the soul says, and pray together with her. So, with what attention and respect must the soul do these Hours, thinking that the Angels hang upon her lips to repeat after her what she says."Then He added: "After the so many bitternesses that creatures give Me, these Hours are sweet little sips that souls give Me; but for the many bitter sips I receive, the sweet ones are too few. Therefore, more diffusion, more diffusion!"
December 9, 1916 Volume 11
Jesus wants to find Himself and what He did in the soul.
With this intention the soul must do the Hours of the Passion and every action. I was afflicted because of the privations of my sweet Jesus; and if He comes, while I breathe a little bit of life, I am left more afflicted in seeing Him more afflicted than I am. He does not want to hear about placating Himself, because creatures force Him, and snatch more scourges from Him. But while He scourges, He cries over the lot of man, and He hides deep inside my heart, almost not to see what man suffers. It seems that one can no longer live in these sad times; yet, it seems that this is only the beginning. Then, as I was worried about my hard and sad lot of having to be so very often without Him, my sweet Jesus came, and throwing one arm around my neck, told me: <"My daughter, do not increase my pains by worrying – they are already too many. I do not expect this from you; on the contrary, I want you to make my pains, my prayers and all of Myself your own, in such a way that I may find in you another Me.> In these times I want great satisfactions, and only one who makes Me his own can give them to Me. That which the Father found in Me – glory, delight, love, satisfactions whole and perfect, and for the good of all – I want to find in these souls, like as many other Jesuses that match Me. These intentions you must repeat in each Hour of the Passion that you do, in each action – in everything. If I do not find my satisfactions – ah, it is over for the world! The scourges will pour down in torrents. Ah, my daughter! Ah, my daughter!" And He disappeared.
February 2, 1917 Volume 11
The world has become unbalanced because it has lost the thought of the Passion.
As I was in my usual state, I found myself outside of myself, and I found my always lovable Jesus, all dripping with blood, with a horrible crown of thorns, looking at me with difficulty through the thorns. He told me: "My daughter, the world has become unbalanced because it has lost the thought of my Passion. In darkness, it has not found the light of my Passion which would illuminate it; and as it would make known to it my love and how much souls cost Me, it might turn to loving the One who has truly loved it; and the light of my Passion, guiding it, would put it on its guard against all dangers. In weakness, it has not found the strength of my Passion which would sustain it. In impatience, it has not found the mirror of my patience which would infuse in it calm and resignation; and in the face of my patience, feeling ashamed, it would make it its duty to dominate itself. In pains, it has not found the comfort of the pains of a God which, sustaining its pains, would infuse in it love of suffering. In sin, it has not found my sanctity which, placing itself in front of it, would infuse in it hate of sin. Ah! man has made an abuse of everything, because in everything he has moved away from the One who could help him. This is why the world has lost balance. It behaved like a child who no longer wanted to recognize his mother; or like a disciple who, denying his master, no longer wanted to listen to his teachings, or learn his lessons. What will happen to this child and to this disciple? They will be the sorrow of themselves, and the terror and sorrow of society. Such has man become – terror and sorrow; but a sorrow without pity. Ah! man is getting worse and worse, and I cry over him with tears of blood!"
May 16, 1917 Volume 12
Effects of the Hours of the Passion. There is not a soul who enters Purgatory without carrying the mark of the Hours of the Passion.
Finding myself in my usual state, I was fusing all of myself in my sweet Jesus, and then I poured all of myself into the creatures, in order to give the whole of Jesus to all. And my lovable Jesus told me: "My daughter, every time the creature fuses herself in Me, she gives the influence of Divine Life to all creatures; and according to their own needs, the creatures obtain their effects: those who are weak, feel strength; those who are obstinate in sin, receive light; those who suffer, receive comfort; and so with all the rest. "Then, I found myself outside of myself. I was in the midst of many souls - they seemed to be purging souls and Saints - who were speaking to me and mentioning one person known to me, who died not too long ago. And they said to me: ‘He feels happy in seeing that there is not a soul who enters Purgatory without carrying the mark of the Hours of the Passion. Surrounded by the cortege of these Hours and helped by them, the souls take a safe place. And there is not a soul who flies into Heaven, without being accompanied by these Hours of the Passion. These Hours make a continuous dew pour down from Heaven to earth, into Purgatory, and even into Heaven. ’On hearing this, I said to myself: ‘Maybe my beloved Jesus, in order to keep the word He had given- that for each word of the Hours of the Passion He would give a soul - is allowing that there be not a saved soul who does not benefit from these Hours.’ Afterwards, I returned into myself, and as I found my sweet Jesus, I asked Him whether that was true. And He: "These Hours are the order of the Universe; they put Heaven and earth in harmony, and restrain Me from sending the world to ruin. I feel my Blood, my wounds, my Love and all I did, being placed in circulation; and they flow over all to save all. <As souls do these Hours of the Passion, I feel my Blood, my wounds, my anxieties to save souls, being put in motion, and I feel my own Life being repeated.> How could creatures obtain any good if not by means of these Hours? Why do you doubt? This thing is not yours, but mine. You have been the strained and weak instrument."
July 12, 1918 Volume 12
Effects of the Passion of Jesus.
I was praying for a dying soul with a certain fear and anxiety, when my lovable Jesus came and told me: "My daughter, why do you fear? Don’t you know that for each word on my Passion, for each thought, compassion, reparation, memory of my pains - as many ways of electric communication open between Me and the soul, and therefore the soul keeps adorning herself with as many different beauties? She has done the Hours of my Passion, and I will receive her as daughter of my Passion, clothed with my Blood and adorned with my wounds. This flower has grown inside your heart, so I bless it and I receive it in my Heart, as a favorite flower." And while He was saying this, a flower came out of my heart, and took flight toward Jesus.
October 21, 1921 Volume 13
Everything that Jesus did and suffered is in continuous act of giving itself to man.
All the remedies needed for the whole humanity are in His Life and Passion. I was thinking about the Passion of my sweet Jesus, and upon coming, He told me: <"My daughter, every time the soul thinks about my Passion, remembers what I suffered, or compassionates Me, she renews the application of my pains within herself. My Blood rises to inundate her, and my wounds place themselves on the path to heal her if she is wounded, or to embellish her if she is healthy – and all my merits, to enrich her. The traffic she produces is amazing - it is as if she placed everything I did and suffered on a counter, earning twice as much. In fact, everything I did and suffered is in continuous act of giving itself to man, just as the sun is in continuous act of giving light and heat to the earth. My work is not subject to exhaustion; if the soul just wants it so, and as many times as she wants it, she receives the fruit of my Life. So, if she remembers my Passion twenty, a hundred, a thousand times, so many more times will she enjoy Its effects. > But how few are those who make a treasure of it! With all the good of my Passion, one can see souls who are weak, blind, deaf, mute,crippled - living cadavers, such as to be disgusting. This, because my Passion is put into oblivion. My pains, my wounds, my Blood are strength which removes weaknesses, light which gives sight to the blind, tongue which loosens tongues and opens the hearing, way which straightens the crippled, life which raises the cadavers.... All the remedies needed for the whole of humanity are in my Life and Passion. But the creature despises the medicine and does not care about the remedies; and so one can see, in spite of all my Redemption, the state of man perishing, as though affected by an incurable consumption. But that which grieves Me the most is to see religious people who tire themselves out in order to acquire doctrines, speculations, stories - but about my Passion, nothing. So, many times my Passion is banished from churches, from the mouths of priests; therefore, their speech is without light, and the peoples remain more starved than before."…
October 24, 1925 Volume 18
One who thinks about the Passion of Jesus, keeps Jesus company. But one who lives in the Divine Will, finds the Passion of Jesus in act, and repeats It within herself.…
<"My daughter, thinking about my Passion, compassionating Me in my pains, is very pleasing to Me. I feel I am not alone in my pains, but I have with Me the company of the creature, because of whom I suffer, and whom I love so much; and as I have her with Me, my suffering becomes sweeter for Me. How hard is isolation in suffering! When I see Myself alone, I have no one to whom to entrust my pains, nor anyone to whom to give the fruit which my pains contain; and so I remain as though drowned with pains and love. Therefore, as my love can endure no more, I come to You, to suffer within you, and you with Me, the pains of my Passion, in act, in order to repeat what I did and suffered in my Humanity. To repeat my Passion in act in the creature is different from one who only thinks about and compassionates my pains. The first is an act of my Life, which takes my place in order to repeat my pains, and I feel I am given back the effects and the value of a Divine Life. On the other hand, when one thinks about my pains and compassionates Me, it is the mere company of the creature that I feel. But do you know in whom I can repeat the pains of my Passion in act? In one who has my Will as center of life. My Will alone is one single act which has no succession of acts. This single act is as though fixed to one point which never moves; and this point is Eternity. And while being one single act, prime act, endless act, Its circumference is so immense that nothing can escape It; It embraces everything and everyone with one single embrace, because everything starts from that prime act, as one single act. So, the Creation, the Redemption and the Sanctification are one single act for the Divinity; and only because it is one single act, it has the power to make all acts its own, as if they were one alone. Now, one who lives in my Will possesses this single act, and it is no wonder that she takes part in the pains of my Passion, as though in act…>
