Devotion at the Sacred Hour

Here is audio of the short devotion we held at 3:00 p.m. this afternoon - the hour our Lord Jesus Christ gave up His spirit.  The batteries in my digital voice recorder went dead just as we were finishing our devotion, so the Kyrie at the end is not included.  Below the audio is the text of the devotion (sorry for the formatting issues, but it'll just have to do).

Devotion at the Sacred Hour

P     In the name of the Father and of the T  Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C     Amen.

P     The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the 27th chapter.

C     Glory to You, O Lord. 

P  “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, ‘This man is calling Elijah.’  And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink.  But the others said, ‘Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.’  And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.” (Matt. 27:45-50)

P This is the Gospel of the Lord.

C Praise to You, O Christ.

P Our Father who art in heaven,

C      hallowed by Thy name,

     Thy kingdom come,

     Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven;

     give us this day our daily bread;

     and forgive us our trespasses

          as we forgive those who trespass against us;

     and lead us not into temptation,

     but deliver us from evil.

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory

     forever and ever.  Amen.

P Lord Jesus Christ, You became Incarnate to die on the Cross for our sins.  Therefore, with the angel Gabriel, we proclaim:

C Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.  Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.  Amen.

P Holy Spirit, You have gifted us with the faith to confess:

C I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.

And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the  

     Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate,

     was crucified, died and was buried.  He descended into hell.  The

     third day He rose again from the dead.  He ascended into heaven and

     sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.  From thence He

     will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion

     of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the

     life T everlasting.  Amen.

P Blessed Lord Jesus Christ, at this hour You hung upon the cross, stretching out Your loving arms to embrace the world in Your death.  Grant that all people of the earth may look to you and see their salvation; for Your mercy’s sake,

C hear our prayer. 

P Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God,

C have mercy on me, a sinner.

P Lord Jesus Christ, Eternal Word of the Father,

C have mercy on me, a sinner.

P Lord Jesus Christ, the Word through Whom all things were made,

C have mercy on me, a sinner.

P Lord Jesus Christ, foretold by the prophets in signs and words,

C have mercy on me, a sinner.

P Lord Jesus Christ, in the fullness of time conceived by the Holy Spirit,

C have mercy on me, a sinner.

P Lord Jesus Christ, born of the Holy Virgin Mary,

C have mercy on me, a sinner.

P Lord Jesus Christ, hymned by the angels,

C have mercy on me, a sinner.

P Lord Jesus Christ, adored by the shepherds,

C have mercy on me, a sinner.

P Lord Jesus Christ, worshipped by the Magi from the east,

C have mercy on me, a sinner.

P Lord Jesus Christ, held by St. Simeon,

C have mercy on me, a sinner.

P Lord Jesus Christ, praised by St. Anna,

C have mercy on me, a sinner.

P Lord Jesus Christ, obedient to Your parents,

C have mercy on me, a sinner.

P Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to a sinner’s Baptism,

C have mercy on me, a sinner.

P Lord Jesus Christ, fasting in the wilderness,

C have mercy on me, a sinner.

P Lord Jesus Christ, driving out demons,

C have mercy on me, a sinner.

P Lord Jesus Christ, cleansing the lepers,

C have mercy on me, a sinner.

P Lord Jesus Christ, giving sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf,

C have mercy on me, a sinner.

P Lord Jesus Christ, teaching the precepts of the Kingdom,

C have mercy on me, a sinner.

P Lord Jesus Christ, raising the dead,

C have mercy on me, a sinner.

P Lord Jesus Christ, walking on water and changing water into wine,

C have mercy on me, a sinner.

P Lord Jesus Christ, praised by the little children,

C have mercy on me, a sinner.

P Lord Jesus Christ, riding into Your city as the Sacrifice appointed,

C have mercy on me, a sinner.

P Lord Jesus Christ, giving Your Body and Blood as Food and Drink,

C have mercy on me, a sinner.

P Lord Jesus Christ, praying in the Garden,

C have mercy on me, a sinner.

P Lord Jesus Christ, bound and mocked,

C have mercy on me, a sinner.

P Lord Jesus Christ, stripped and beaten,

C have mercy on me, a sinner.

P Lord Jesus Christ, innocently condemned to death,

C have mercy on me, a sinner.

P Lord Jesus Christ, opening Your hands upon the Cross to embrace the world,

C have mercy on me, a sinner.

P Lord Jesus Christ, knowing the loneliness of our exile and our sin,

C have mercy on me, a sinner.

P Lord Jesus Christ, trampling down death by death,

C have mercy on me, a sinner.

P Lord Jesus Christ, pouring forth water and blood to save the world,

C have mercy on me, a sinner.

P Lord Jesus Christ, sanctifying our graves by lying in the tomb,

C have mercy on me, a sinner.

P Lord Jesus Christ, harrowing hell and releasing the prisoners,

C have mercy on me, a sinner.

P Lord Jesus Christ, rising in victory over death and corruption,

C have mercy on me, a sinner.

P Lord Jesus Christ, appearing to the disciples in the broken bread,

C have mercy on me, a sinner.

P Lord Jesus Christ, ascending in triumph,

C have mercy on me, a sinner.

P Lord Jesus Christ, seated at the right hand of the Father,

C have mercy on me, a sinner.

P Lord Jesus Christ, High Priest who ever lives to intercede for us,

C have mercy on me, a sinner.

P Lord Jesus Christ, coming on the clouds of glory to renew all things,

C have mercy on me, a sinner.

P Lord Jesus Christ, dread Judge at the Last Day,

C have mercy on me, a sinner.

P Lord Jesus Christ, Eternal Light of the Everlasting Kingdom to come,

C have mercy on me, a sinner.

P Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God,

C have mercy on me, a sinner.

P Eternal Father in heaven, we praise You for the gift of Your Son, who accomplished the salvation of the world by His Holy, Innocent, Bitter Sufferings and Death on the Cross.  Bless our devotion at this Sacred Hour.  For the sake of Your Son’s Sorrowful Passion,

C have mercy on us and on the whole world.

P By the Holy, Sinless Life He lived in our place,

C clothe us with His Holiness and Righteousness.

P By the water which gushed forth from His side on the Cross,

C fill our Baptismal fonts and cleanse us from all sin.

P By the Body He gave and the Blood He shed on the Cross,

C feed us with forgiveness and strengthen our faith.

P By His constant intercession at Your right hand,

C protect us from all harm and lead us to eternal life.

P For the sake of His Sorrowful Passion,

C have mercy on us and on the whole world.

Brief silence for personal meditation on Christ’s Passion

P We implore You, O Father, that Your abundant blessing may be upon Your people who have held the Passion and Death of Your Son in devout remembrance, that we may receive Your pardon and the gift of Your comfort, and may increase in faith and take hold of eternal salvation; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. 

C Amen.

P For the sake of His Sorrowful Passion,

C have mercy on us and on the whole world.

C Lord, have mercy.  Christ, have mercy.  Lord, have mercy.

Amen.  Amen.  Amen.

You may remain as long as you like to prayerfully meditate upon our Lord’s Holy and Sorrowful Passion.  When you depart, please do so in silence.

Soli Deo Gloria!