A prayer devotion to the Three Holy Heats of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph
My dear reader, I present to you the corporal method of devotion to the Three Most Holy Hearts. In humility, I wish to explain and instruct on how to say this chaplet. In doing so, I will also provide meditations and short readings to arouse devotion in the soul, if Our Good
Father in heaven were to allow it.
What is the Chaplet?
This Chaplet is modeled after the Beads of the Sacred Heart, for no greater foundation for devotion is there than Jesus.
It is composed of five groups of beads, arranged in order of six in each group. We begin with a crucifix, leading to a Pater bead, three Ave beads preceding to a Pater bead, leading to the centerpiece and going around into the five groups of six beads.
These beads add up to a total sum of thirty three, the number of years Our Lord lived on earth. As with the Most Holy Rosary, the chaplet is given five mysteries, to mediate upon while pronouncing the prayers. This chaplet is different than most, as each group present a different prayer to be said, but this is no cause for alarm, or concern that it is overbearing.
They are indulgenced prayers approved by Holy Mother Church, from the Raccolta,
with the exception of two prayers, but still approved by a priest who has reviewed it. They are short, and easily memorized.
The Chaplet
We shall now begin with the Inroit, and the preceding prayers:
I: Begin with the Sign of the Cross+ and on the Crucifix pray:
“Almighty and Blessed Trinity, I offer unto thee this day my life, and all my works, toils and sorrows, joys and every beat of my heart for thy glory, in reparation for all offenses committed against thy sovereign majesty, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the Pure Heart of her most chaste spouse, St. Joseph, in union with the Eucharistic and Most Sacred Heart of our Lord Jesus Christ, as well as the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass offered throughout the world and in communion with all thy Angels and Saints, for thy glory and thy praise. Amen.”
II: Pray the ‘Golden Arrow’; “May the most holy, most sacred, most adorable, most mysterious 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.”
III: On the three beads after, pray;
“Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Have Mercy on Us!”
“Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us!”
“Most Chaste Heart of St. Joseph, Pray for Us!”
IV: Glory Be
V: Announce The Mystery
VI: Golden Arrow, before or after the brief meditation
The Mysteries
Mystery I: On the Love of the Most Holy Hearts for Souls and the Dying
Meditation:
“The loving Heart of Jesus loves us with a boundless love. The divine and uncreated love which possess that adorable Heart, is nothing else but God Himself. Now since God is unlimited, His love is also unlimited. Since God is everywhere, His love is everywhere, in all places and all things.
Therefore the Sacred Heart of Jesus loves us not only in heaven, but He also loves us on earth. He loves us in the sun, in the stars and in all created things. He loves us in the hearts of all the denizens of heaven and in the hearts of all of all persons that have some measure of charity for us on earth.” (St. John Eudes, The Sacred Heart of Jesus, Pg 120.)
“The fourth good office which Our Lady renders to her children and faithful servants is to protect and defend them. Rebecca, by her cares and artifices, delivered Jacob from all the dangers in which he found himself, and particularly from the death which his brother Esau would have inflicted upon him, because of the envy and hatred which he bore him; as cain did of old to his brother Abel. Mary, the good Mother of the predestinate, hides them under the wings of her protection, as a hen hides her chickens. She speaks, she humbles herself, she condescends to all their weaknesses, to secure them from the hawk and the vulture. She puts herself round about them, and she accompanies them, like an army on battle array, ut castrorum acies ordinata.” (True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, St.Louis De Montfort, Pg 151-152)
“Where your treasure is, there will be your heart also.” (Lk 12:34). Saint Joseph has three treasures: Jesus, Mary and you. Nothing consumes the heart of St. Joseph other than these three treasures.” (Calloway, ‘Consecration to St.Joseph’, Pg 55)
“Blessed Joseph! It is not without important reasons that
you have been preferred to so many other saints, and honored as the special patron of dying persons, of those who are desirous of securing for themselves the greatest of all graces, that of a happy death.” (A Manual of Practical Devotion to St.Joseph Pg 104, Fr.Patrignani, S.J.)
Considerations:
How often do you tell Him; “I love you, Jesus.” Is it something that passes your lips every day? Do you consider how much He really loves those who have recourse to His Heart?
Do you trust in Mary’s intercession and love for you? Do you believe that she wants you to be with Jesus more than you even do? Tell her; “My mother, if you wish, could you press a kiss to His fine head on my behalf?”
Is St.Joseph frequently invoked during your day? How much do you think of this good father’s love for you as his own child?
The Prayer for this Mystery:
“Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I love you! Save Souls!”
End with a Glory Be
Mystery II: On the Love of the Most Holy Hearts for Poor Sinners
Golden Arrow Prayer:
“The people stood looking on. They that passed by, shaking their heads, blasphemed me. But they that stood around mocked Me: in like manner also, the chiefs of the priests, with the scribes and elders, insulted Me by derisive gestures. The soldiers, too, jeered at Me, and, adding insults, they offered Me vinegar. All, in fine, sated me with reproaches. And amidst all this, what was I doing, Child? What My Heart? Father! I exclaimed, unfolding My Heart, Father! Forgive them; they know not what they do: they know not how enormous is the crime which they are committing.” (Imitation of the Sacred Heart, Pg 348, Rev. Peter J. Arnoudt S.J.)
“Would you know in the further manner of divine mercy lives and reigns in the heart of the Mother of Mercy? Listen to Saint Bonaventure, “Great was Mary’s mercy towards the wretched while she was living in exile here below; but immeasurably greater still now that she happily reigning in Heaven. She manifests this greater mercy through innumerable benefits, now that she possesses a clear insight into the numberless woes of mankind. She does not require past merits, but grants the petitions of all men, out of charity, and opens the bosom of her clemency to everyone. She relieves every need and necessity with an incomparable affection and tenderness of heart.” (Admirable Heart of Mary, St.John Eudes, Pg 127-128)
“St. Joseph may be compared to the good father in the Gospel, who loves those among his children who obey, and are an honor to him, but whose tender and compassionate heart also yearns for the return of that ungrateful child who had abandoned and dishonored the best of parents. The meaning of this is, that if he grants favors to the just to enable them to advance in perfection, neither does he withhold his paternal care and solicitude from poor sinners.” (A Manual of Practical Devotion to St.Joseph Pg 120, Fr.Patrignani, S.J)
Considerations:
How often have you fallen into grave sin, and came back to Him in the Tribunal of Mercy? Do you think of all the times you’ve grieved His Heart? What about the love He says to you with the words; “Ego te absolvo?”, “I absolve you of your sins!” I forgive you, wipe away the stains upon your baptismal robe and declare you mine once more! Behold my heart! It burns for you! I am in love with you, I suffered for you, I am waiting for you! What of Our Lady?
Do you ignore the sparks from her Motherly Heart that fall upon your cold, dead one? What of the tears she cries for you, pleading her Divine Son to stay His judgement? My Son, though this soul has offended thee, please, for me, stay thy arm and have mercy! For I love this soul, as my own child, and do not wish to see it fall into perdition!
Does not St.Joseph not worry in anxious hope for you? He does! Like a good father waiting on a rebellious child, he prays and hopes for your return, never resting until you do. My Son, you were once lost for three days, and your mother and I searched anxiously for you, spending many restless hours and tears waiting to see your face once more, I ask, My Son, can you wait a little longer for this soul?
Prayer for this Mystery:
“My Jesus, Mercy!+Mother of Mercy, pray for us!+St. Joseph, pray for us!”
End with a Glory Be
Mystery III: On the Crucible of Love and Mercy of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Especially in the Blessed Sacrament
Golden Arrow Prayer:
“Believe in My love and My mercy. You have sinned against me; I forgive you. You have persecuted me; I love you. You have wounded me both by word and deed; still I wish to do you good and let you share all my treasures. Do not imagine I am ignorant of your state of soul. I know that you have despised my grace, perhaps even profaned My Sacraments. Yet you have from Me a full pardon.” (Way of Divine Love, Sister Josefa Menendez, Pg 402)
“Love gives itself as food to its own and this food is the substance which gives them life and sustains them. Love humbles itself before its own… and in doing psoriases them to the highest dignity. Love surrenders itself in totality, it gives an profusion and without reserve. With enthusiasm, with vehemence it is sacrificed, it is immolated, it is given for those it loves. … The Holy Eucharist is love to the extreme of folly.” (Way of Divine Love, Sister Josefa Menéndez, Pg 352)
“We reminded you in our former chapters of the first duties which Christians owe to Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Eucharist: faith in His real presence, and the obligation to adore Him. It will be well before proceeding further to consider the principal reasons why Our Lord instituted this august sacrament. An acquaintance with these reasons will enable us to appreciate more fully the love of Jesus Christ for us shown in the Eucharist. The Savior instituted this sacrament in order to be the companion of our earthly pilgrimage, our food at the Holy Table, and the victim offered to God in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.” (Prisoner of Love, Fr Xavier Lasance, Pg 39)
Considerations:
When the Host is lifted to The Father, do you not say; “My Lord and My God!” Do you not hail that Precious Blood shed for you on the cruel, adorable wood of the Cross? Look at Him! He condescends to veil Himself, infinite majesty He is, under the sacred species. Every day He calls you, burning brighter and hotter than any star in all of the universe combined. I say to you, if you combined every star and supernovae, it would never equal one angstrom, one iota, one atom, of fiery love and brightness of the Sacred Host during Holy Mass!
Behold, your Lord and God in the hands of the priest, why, do you not come to Me with all your woes, your sorrows, your tears? I can burn them away, I can heal you, I can help you! Yet you stay away from me? Oh, soul, if only you loved!
Even worse, reader, think of the times you approached His Majesty, with a cold and unbelieving heart. Woe, sorrow! What of the times you approached with grave sin upon your soul? Why do you persecute me? You eat my flesh and drink my blood with the coldness of a robber. You receive My Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in a state of sin! Why do
you crucify me again and again?
Happily, think of all the times The Eucharist was received, and believed in, and loved! The angels veil themselves before me, hell and all its fallen angels tremble and fall down in horror at the presence of My love and holiness! The Saints adore Me profoundly, and My Father is pleased at the sacrifice… for it is Myself offered to Him. Oh, Soul, you approach, I come to meet you… we are united, in a tender embrace, I in you, you in Me, I make my dwelling in thy heart! Behold, soul! In my nail scarred hands, I hold the universe, the cosmos, the planets, all of existence… your heart. I give you mine, am I not a generous lover, friend and father? O, I am, and so I give you myself to be strengthened, inflamed and forgiven! I love you!
Prayer for this Mystery:
“Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, on fire with love of us, inflame our hearts with love of thee!”
End with a Glory Be
Mystery IV: On the Crucible of Motherly Tenderness of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Golden Arrow Prayer:
“Thus does the Blessed Virgin love us with a most great and ardent love. In the first place, she loves us with the same love she has for God, seeing and loving God within us. The third theological virtue in Mary’s heart is not of another nature than the one in the hearts of the rest of the faithful which has as its sole object God and neighbor. It is true that this divine virtue is, in a sense, indescribably more ardent in the Blessed Virgin’s heart where its object is God instead of ourselves; nevertheless, it is substantially the same charity (though different in degree), and the Mother of Fair Love truly loves us with the same love wherewith she loves God Himself.” (Admirable Heart of Mary, St. John Eudes, Pg 215)
“I maintain, in the second place, that the most glorious Virgin loves us with a supremely ardent love, because she loves us with the very same love with which she loves the God-Man, her divine son Jesus Christ, for she knows that He is our Head and we are His members, that we are therefore one with Him, as members are one with their head.” (Admirable Heart of Mary, Pg 215)
“Mary’s charity is a love most zealous for the salvation of souls. This zeal gave the Blessed Virgin, from the beginning of her life, a most ardent desire to see the Son of God come into the world to save mankind from universal perdition of sin. This zeal made her offer many prayers, practice such mortifications and shed so many bitter tears to obtain the grace that the eternal Father might send His Son into the world to deliver us from the
Considerations:
When you pray the Rosary, do you not imagine yourself walking side by side with Our Lady? Are you not at her side, herself narrating the life of Jesus for you? My child, if only you truly knew how much God loves you, and how much I love you… you honor me with prayers and devotions, and I in return, laden the Divine Child with kisses on your behalf! If only you could see how much you’re loved! My Immaculate Heart burns for God, and for you! I am here, always a mother for you, always no matter what, ready to help you in affliction and temptation, always here… you are loved!
Prayer for this Mystery:
“Sweet Heart of Mary, be my salvation!”
End with a Glory Be
Mystery V: On the Crucible of Fatherly Love of the Most Chaste Heart of St. Joseph
Golden Arrow Prayer:
“God wants you to rest in St. Joseph’s fatherhood. Saint Joseph will never abandon you. No matter what your experience of fatherhood has been, St. Joseph will always be there for you. He is your spiritual dad, and he loves you. He will never hurt you. He would give his life for you a million times over.” (Consecration to St. Jospeh, Fr.Calloway, Pg 78)
“I cannot remember having asked Saint Joseph for anything which he did not obtain. I am quite amazed when I consider the favors our Lord has shown me through the intercession of this blessed saint, and the many dangers, both of body and soul, from which he has delivered me.” (The Truth about Saint Joseph, Fr. Maurice Meschler, S.J., on the autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila, Pg 144)
“Inspired by the Gospel, the Fathers of the Church from the earliest centuries stressed that just as St. Joseph took loving care of Mary and gladly dedicated himself to Jesus Christ’s upbringing, he likewise watches over and protects Christ’s Mystical Body, that is, the Church, of which the Virgin Mary is the exemplar and model.” (St. John Paul II)
Considerations:
St. Joseph, O, Joseph… dear soul, how often do you have recourse to the Defender of Holy Church? Do you forget him at times? He never forgets you… My child, do you know my Chaste Heart yearns to see you in heaven? It does! I am a faithful father, loving… and caring. Even if you’ve never known the love of an earthly father… I’m here for you! I can help in all troubles, all anxieties, and sorrows. You have but to ask! When the enemy assails you, I can defend you, protect you! I only wish to see you with my Son, Jesus, as He wishes to be with you!
Prayer for this Mystery:
“Most Chaste Heart of St. Joseph, crucible of chastity and purity, pray for us!”
End with a Glory Be
We have now come to the centerpiece, where that beautiful aspiration is now prayed; “Jesus Mary and Joseph, I give thee my heart and my soul, Jesus Mary and Joseph, assist me in my last agony, Jesus Mary and Joseph, may I breathe forth my soul out in peace with you.”
Dear Reader, you may offer one Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be, for the intentions of His Holiness, and the Bishop of your diocese if you so wish. This isn’t necessary, but it is completely optional. I also thank you for reading this little devotional, and if it but stirs up in your heart love for the Three Holy Hearts, I will consider myself the happiest of souls that another soul can love Jesus, Mary and Joseph more and more. Our Gentle Jesus, Mary and Joseph take care of you, and love you.
+AMDG+
+JMJ+
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