How praying at the Hour of Mercy (3pm) has changed my life
Jesus died on the Cross to redeem us at 3pm. It is more than a decade now that I have been stopping at 3 o’clock to remember the great sacrifice of Our Saviour Jesus Christ as I pray for the salvation of all souls.
I originally began praying at 3pm because I read that Jesus revealed to St. Faustina how much He wanted His people to pray at the time He died for us as we remember His Passion.
Jesus said to St. Faustina: “At three o’clock, implore My mercy, especially for sinners; and, if only for a brief moment, immerse yourself in My Passion, particularly in My abandonment at the moment of agony. This is the hour of great mercy for the whole world. I will allow you to enter into My mortal sorrow. In this hour, I will refuse nothing to the soul that makes a request of Me in virtue of My Passion…immerse yourself in prayer there where you happen to be, if only for a very brief instant.” Diary of St. Faustina 1320, 157
Here’s why you should consider praying at 3pm too!
Something unexplainable happens when you walk to the place of Christ’s crucifixion with Him.
What happens is you fall in love with Jesus! You will come face-to-face with the greatness of His Love and in this encounter the power of temptation in your life will die as you realize that pleasing Jesus is the only real thing that matters!
On the night before Jesus died He prayed that His people would be one.
“As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified. “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one–I in them and you in me–so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” John 17: 18-23
IMAGINE THE GLORY WE WILL GIVE TO GOD BEING UNITED IN PRAYER AT THE TIME OUR SAVIOUR JESUS DIED FOR US, 3pm (in your local time zone, or another time zone that is convenient for you)!
Jesus is so worthy of every form of honour and praise and as we stop to pray at the time He died for us we have an opportunity to unite as One Body of Christ to reflect deeply on how much Jesus loves us that He would choose to suffer the brutal, agonizing death of crucifixion to save us. We have an opportunity to do one of the most important things we can ever do to help save souls – PRAY AS WE THANK JESUS FOR HIS EVERLASTING LOVE!
St. Bonaventure wrote, “He who desires to go on advancing from virtue to virtue, from grace to grace, should meditate continually on the Passion of Jesus. There is no practice more profitable for the entire sanctification of the soul than the frequent meditation of the sufferings of Jesus Christ.” (Source: Meditations on the Passion of Jesus Christ, Saint Alphonsus de Liguouri)
St. Francis of Assisi was seen crying one day and he explained, “I am weeping over the pains and insults of my Divine Master. But what grieves me most is that men for whom He suffered so much never think of the torments He endured.” (Source: Saint Alphonsus de Liguori, Practice of the Love of Jesus Christ)
I have discovered in my own personal life that the Passion of Christ is a sacred key enabling me to understand the greatness of God’s love for every soul on earth. Walking the Way to Calvary has been the single most important thing I have ever done to develop a personal, intimate bond with my Saviour Jesus Christ. I encourage you to do the same and be part of the global prayer movement that unites to pray at the time Jesus died for us, 3pm (in your local time zone)
This is my daily meditation at the Hour of Mercy, 3pm – The Time Jesus died for our salvation:
Jesus has just celebrated His Last Supper with His friends. At this Sacred Meal, Jesus “took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” Luke 22:19 He has washed their feet and instructed them to serve and now Jesus and His chosen apostles enter the Mount of Olives singing a hymn. This will be the last time Jesus sings with His friends.
Jesus descends into the dark Garden of Gethsemane. He has asked His apostles not to sleep but they have fallen asleep and alone Jesus sees all that He has to suffer. In anguish, I hear His loud cries to the Eternal Father. Jesus is truly God and He is truly Man and His humanity cries out for solace while His divinity accepts His most painful mission. I see an angel come from heaven to comfort Jesus and Jesus drenched in perspiration and blood accepts His Father’s will. All the sins of humanity are on His innocent divine shoulders.
The soldiers come to arrest Jesus. Jesus asks them “Whom are you looking for.” The soldiers reply “Jesus of Nazareth” To this, Jesus replies “I am he.” John 18:7-8. And at the mere sound of His voice, the soldiers fall backward, collapsing to the ground!
The soldiers arrest Jesus and He is tied up and taken away like a common criminal. He is then interrogated by both the governor Pilate and the high priests. Pilate has him scourged but he is ready to release Jesus for he finds him to be innocent. Pilate gives the people the chance to choose to release Jesus or Barabbus (a convicted criminal), but the people cry out for Jesus to be crucified.
Jesus was scourged, mocked and ultimately crucified. The scourging alone could be enough to kill a man, but Jesus is so strong. Jesus is crowned with thorns and our sins are the thorns causing Jesus so much pain! We are all responsible for every drop of blood that He sheds and yet how many days and years go by without souls saying “I love You” to the Holy One who gave everything to spare His people from the price of Divine Justice.
I see the Holy Mother of God, stoic, watching quietly, suffering with her Son Jesus. Oh what shame and continuous insults! Jesus is pushed to the ground and forced to carry His own Cross up the Hill to Calvary. I see Him fall. I see His eyes so full of tears and pain yet full of resolve and hope…Jesus is saving the world! He is crushing the devil’s head as it was prophesied in Genesis 3:15. I hear Jesus cry out as He is crucified, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34
I see Jesus hanging on the Cross in agony, struggling to breathe. He thirsts. His body is tortured. Jesus is dying. Our Mother Mary stands in front of Him, strengthened and upheld by the grace of God. Her gaze full of tears and pain never leaves Him. People in the background are still taunting Him, hurling insults….But we love Him!…And with a sword in our heart, we never take our eyes off Him!
He gives us His Mother, honoring the Blessed Virgin in His last moments of life. “Behold your Mother.” John 19:26 The Virgin Mary’s communion with the Holy Spirit and with her Son Jesus is eternal and so too is ours if we choose, like Mary, to consent to God’s plan.
How do we bid farewell to the Holy One who is dying on the Cross? We don’t!…He promised He would not leave us orphans. He promised He would be with us in the Eucharist and that He would send His Holy Spirit upon us so that He could live in us. He promised He was going to prepare a place for us in Heaven and that He would be with us always until the end of time.
Our brave Saviour Jesus Christ deserves to be the center of our lives! His Passion, His suffering, His sacrifice must be remembered! Let us honour Jesus and the great suffering He endured to save us by stopping daily @ The Time Jesus died for us, 3pm, to remember and to pray for His infinite mercy to change our world.
Stopping every day at 3pm to contemplate The Passion of Christ has resulted in a relationship of intimacy with Jesus that I cannot describe in words. The Passion of Our LORD Jesus Christ changed my heart and it will change yours too. The Passion of Christ will change the world…one soul at a time…and as each soul enters truly and deeply into the suffering of Our Saviour Jesus Christ, we are transformed; we are renewed; we are sanctified. Temptation loses its grip on us. His wounds are upon our hearts and we become His beloved family forever!