Christe, Exaudi Nos
Incline Thy ear, O Lord, and hear me: for I am needy and poor.[1]
O Lord, the God of my salvation: I have cried in the day and in the night before Thee. Let my prayer come in before Thee, incline Thy ear to my petition.[2]
For I know that thou art a gracious and merciful God, patient and of much compassion.[3]
Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer, and attend to my petition.[4]
“OUT of the depths have I cried unto Thee, O Lord,” What depths? The depths of my sins and miseries, of my infidelities, littlenesses, meannesses; from the depths of temptations, troubles, despondency and discouragement, in which I am plunged. “O Lord, Lord, hear my voice.” Do not turn a deaf ear to my supplications on account of my many transgressions against Thee, for if Thou, O Lord, shouldst begin to mark and note the iniquities of those who pray to Thee, which of us can bear the scrutiny? Certainly not I. It is not on any good, or absence of evil in myself that I base my hope of being heard, but on Thy word. “My soul hath relied on His word, my soul hath hoped in the Lord.” If we can, and do, put such great faith as we do in the words of a fellow-mortal, what may we not trust to receive from Thee when we have Thy own word to go upon? Thou hast said, “Call upon Me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver Thee.” “Ask, and you shall receive”; so now we say to Thee confidently: “Oh grant us aid from trouble, for vain is the help of man.” And dost Thou ask: “What is thy trouble? Why weepest thou?” Our answer is that we grieve because Thou art not loved, because few know Thee, and of these few how many do not really care for Thee! They are taken up with the passing toys and trinkets of time, with the “bewitching of trifling.” “Heart of Jesus, Thou lovest, Thou art not loved. Oh, would that Thou were loved!” Useless, dearest Lord, to bid us cease from troubling as long as we see Thee slighted, misunderstood, not cared for, Thy laws set aside, nay, even hated and trampled on. Pour out, we beseech Thee, from the wound in Thy sacred side, such a flood of love and grace that none can resist it. Thou has said to Blessed Margaret Mary that Thou wouldst set no limits to Thy graces for those who seek them in Thy Heart. Well, then, we beseech Thee, hearken to the voice of our supplication, and grant us what we ask: that all men may know Thee as Thou art, and love Thee proportionately. Can we find a prayer that more fully expresses our sorrow, desires and petitions than the one composed by our late holy Father, Pope Leo XIII, on the occasion of the consecration of the whole world to the Sacred Heart? Let us then with all our hearts say:
“O most sweet Jesus, Redeemer of mankind, behold us prostrate most humbly before Thy altar. To Thee we belong; Thine we wish to be; and that we may be united to Thee more closely we dedicate ourselves each one of us today to Thy Most Sacred Heart.
“Many have never known Thee; many, despising Thy commands, have rejected Thee. Have pity on them, most merciful Jesus, and draw all men to Thy Sacred Heart. Rule, O Lord, not only over the faithful, who never have gone away from Thee, but also over the prodigal sons who have forsaken Thee; and make them return quickly to their Father’s house, lest they perish of misery and hunger. Rule over those who have been misled by error or separated by schism, and call them back to the haven of truth and the unity of faith, so that there may soon be one fold and one Shepherd. Lastly, rule over all who are sunk in the old superstition of the Gentiles, and vouchsafe to bring them out of darkness into the light and kingdom of God.
“Give to Thy Church, O Lord, safety and sure liberty; give to all nations peace and order; and grant that over the whole world, from pole to pole, may resound the words: Praise be to the Divine Heart, through which was brought to us salvation; glory and honour be to It for ever. Amen.”
Christ, graciously hear us!
[1] Ps. 85:1.
[2] Ibid. 86:3.
[3] Jonas 4:2.
[4] Ps. 85:6.