Prayers

Click on the prayer title to expand

Golden Arrow Prayer

May the most holy, most sacred, most adorable, most incomprehensible and unutterable Name of God be always praised, blessed, loved, adored and glorified in Heaven, on earth, and under the earth, by all the creatures of God, and by the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. Amen.

Prayer of St. Therese of the Child Jesus

O Jesus, who in Thy bitter Passion didst become “the most abject of men, a man of sorrows”, I venerate Thy Sacred Face whereon there once did shine the beauty and sweetness of the Godhead; but now it has become for me as if it were the face of a leper! Nevertheless, under those disfigured features, I recognize Thy infinite Love and I am consumed with the desire to love Thee and make Thee loved by all men.

The tears which well up abundantly in Thy sacred eyes appear to me as so many precious pearls that I love to gather up, in order to purchase the souls of poor sinners by means of their infinite value. O Jesus, whose adorable face ravishes my heart, I implore Thee to fix deep within me Thy divine image and to set me on fire with Thy Love, that I may be found worthy to come to the contemplation of Thy glorious Face in Heaven. Amen.

Litany of the Holy Face

The Litany was composed by Sister Mary of St. Peter, and approved by Mgr. Morlot, Archbishop of Tours, in 1847.

Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.

Holy Virgin Mary, pray for us.

(After each of the following phrases, say “have mercy on us”)

O adorable Face, which was adored with profound respect by Mary and Joseph when they saw Thee for the first time, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, which in the Stable of Bethlehem didst ravish with joy the angels, the shepherds and the Magi,
O adorable Face, which in the Temple didst transpierce with a dart of love the saintly old man Simeon and the prophetess Anna,
O adorable Face, which was bathed in tears in Thy holy infancy,
O adorable Face, which, when Thou didst appear in the Temple at twelve years of age, didst fill with admiration the Doctors of the law,
O adorable Face, white with purity and ruddy with charity,
O adorable Face, more beautiful than the sun, more lovely than the moon, more brilliant than the stars,
O adorable Face, fresher than the roses of spring,
O adorable Face, more precious than gold, silver, and diamonds
O adorable Face, whose charms are so ravishing, and whose grace is so attractive,
O adorable Face, whose every feature is characterized by nobility,
O adorable Face, contemplated by angels,
O adorable Face, sweet delectation of the Saints,
O adorable Face, masterpiece of the Holy Ghost, in which the Eternal Father is well pleased.
O adorable Face, delight of Mary and Joseph,
O adorable Face, ineffable mirror of the Divine perfections,
O adorable Face, whose beauty is always ancient and always new,
O adorable Face, which appeasest the wrath of God,
O adorable Face, which makest the devils tremble,
O adorable Face, treasure of graces and of blessings,
O adorable Face, exposed in the desert to the inclemencies of the weather,
O adorable Face, scorched with the heat of the sun and bathed with sweat in Thy journeys, O adorable Face, whose expression is all divine,
O adorable Face, whose modesty and sweetness attracted both the just and sinners,
O adorable Face, which gavest a holy kiss to the little children, after having blessed them,
O adorable Face, troubled and weeping at the tomb of Lazarus,
O adorable Face, brilliant as the sun, and radiant with glory on the Mountain of Tabor,
O adorable Face, sorrowful at the sight of Jerusalem, and shedding tears on that ungrateful city,
O adorable Face, bowed down to the earth, in the Garden of Olives, and covered with confusion for our sins,
O adorable Face, bathed in a bloody sweat,
O adorable Face, kissed by the traitor Judas,
O adorable Face, whose sanctity and majesty smote the soldiers with fear and cast them to the ground,
O adorable Face, struck by a vile servant, shamefully blindfolded, and profaned by the sacrilegious hands of Thine enemies,
O adorable Face, defiled with spittle, and bruised by innumerable buffets and blows,
O adorable Face, whose Divine look wounded the heart of Peter, with a dart of sorrow and love,
O adorable Face, humbled for us at the tribunals of Jerusalem,
O adorable Face, which didst preserve Thy serenity when Pilate pronounced the fatal sentence,
O adorable Face, covered with sweat and blood, and falling in the mire under the heavy weight of the Cross,
O adorable Face, worthy of all our respect, veneration and worship,
O adorable Face, wiped with a veil by a pious woman on the road to Calvary,
O adorable Face, raised on the instrument of most shameful punishment,
O adorable Face, whose brow was covered with Thorns,
O adorable Face, whose eyes were filled with tears of blood,
O adorable Face, into whose mouth was poured gall and vinegar,
O adorable Face, whose hair and beard were plucked out by the executioners,
O adorable Face, which was made like to that of a leper,
O adorable Face, whose incomparable beauty was obscured under the dreadful cloud of the sins of the world,
O adorable Face, covered with the sad shades of death,
O adorable Face, washed and anointed by Mary and the holy women and wrapped in a shroud,
O adorable Face, inclosed in the sepulchre,
O adorable Face, all resplendent with glory and beauty on the day of the Resurrection, O adorable Face, all dazzling with light at the moment of Thy Ascension,
O adorable Face, hidden in the Eucharist,
O adorable Face, which will appear at the end of time, in the clouds, with great power and great majesty,
O adorable Face, which wilt cause sinners to tremble,
O adorable Face, which wilt fill the just with joy for all eternity,

Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.

Manual of the Archconfraternity of the Holy Face (1887), pg 150.

Prayer of Leo Dupont in Honor of the Holy Face
Adorable Face of my Jesus, my only Love, my Light and my Life, grant that I may see, know, and love You alone, that I may live by You, and for You. Amen.

Little Manual of the Confraternity of the Holy Face, pg. 37.