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vSt. Joseph, Patron of a Happy Death, 
 Pray for us and the Poor Dviinr vSinners ! 
 
 O 
 
PIOUS UNION IN HONOR OF 
 ST. JOSEPH 
 
 Patron of a Happy Death 
 
 The Salvation of the Dying 
 
 By 
 
 Rev. P. Hugolinus Storff, 0. F. M. 
 
 FRANCISCAN MONASTERY 
 3140 Meiamec Street 
 St. Eouis, Mo. 
 
“Amerika” 
 
 Print, 18 South Sixth St. 
 
_ 1 _ 
 
 Imprimatur. 
 
 Joannes J. Glennon, 
 
 Archiepiscopus St. Ludovici. 
 
 Sti. Ludovici, 
 die 7. Feb. 1914. 
 
 Imprimi Permittitur. 
 
 Fr. Benedictus Schmidt, O. F. M. 
 Min. Provlis. 
 
2 — 
 
 Approval of the Most Rev. Archhishop of 
 8t. Louis, Mo. 
 
 Archbishop’s House, 
 
 St. Louis, Dec. 15, 1913. 
 
 My Dear Reverend Father: 
 
 I send you returned enclosed my good 
 wishes for the Union, composed of the more 
 fervent members of the society established 
 by you some time ago for the purpose of 
 aiding the “Dying” by their prayers. I 
 gladly give my approval to the enclosed 
 papers, and wish you and the society suc¬ 
 cess and every blessing. 
 
 Yours sincerely, 
 
 John J. Glennon, 
 Archbishop of St. Louis. 
 
 N. B.—The enclosed papers contained the 
 Establishment of the Pious Union of St. Jo¬ 
 seph, Patron of a Happy Death, for the Sal¬ 
 vation of the Dying Sinners; the Conditions v 
 for actual membership; and the Act of Con- i 
 secration for the Dying, which papers were i 
 signed with the “Imprimatur,” to which i 
 the following commendation was added: 
 
 “I approve and heartily commend - this 
 very charitable organization.” 
 
 John J. Glennon, 
 Archbishop of fet. Louis. 
 
 St. Louis, December 14, 1913. 
 
— 3 — 
 
 Approdation of the Rt. Rev. Bishop of 
 Alton, III. 
 
 Alton, III., Feb. 25, 1914. 
 
 Dear Father: 
 
 You have my most cordial approbation for 
 the Union of St. Joseph and the publication 
 of your most excellent Manual. May Al¬ 
 mighty God bless and prosper more and 
 more efforts so well calculated to increase 
 piety and spread devotion! 
 
 Yours truly in Christ, 
 
 James Ryan, 
 
 Bishop of Alton. 
 
 Approbation of the Most Rev. Father Gen¬ 
 eral of the Franciscan Order. 
 
 Rome, January 17, 1914. 
 
 Reverend Father: 
 
 The Lord give thee Peace! 
 
 After receiving the documents, relating to 
 the “Pious Union in honor of St. Joseph, 
 Patron of a Happy Death, for the Salvation 
 of the Dying,” which you sent me with your 
 letter of Dec. 12th, I myself carefully read 
 them and thereupon entrusted the same to 
 another Father for examination. 
 
 Whereas it is evident that nothing op¬ 
 posed to faith or good morals is contained 
 in said documents, but on the contrary 
 much good, and that of the greatest impor- 
 
4 — 
 
 f 
 
 tance, can be expected from this Union, I 
 gladly impart to said work and the organi¬ 
 zation, as far as lies in my power, my ap¬ 
 proval together with the Seraphic Blessing, 
 in order that from day to day it may be¬ 
 come more and more widely spread among 
 the faithful who with their whole heart will 
 devote themselves to the Work, thus to as¬ 
 sist the Dying in life’s last decisive struggle, 
 upon which their eternity depends and to 
 open to them the gates of everlasting hap¬ 
 piness. 
 
 May Christ Jesus dying for us on the 
 Cross and St. Joseph, the Patron of the 
 Dying, bless the work and bestow upon the 
 well-deserving members an abundant re¬ 
 ward. 
 
 Imparting to you my blessing with pater¬ 
 nal affection, I remain in the Sacred Heart- 
 of Jesus, 
 
 Your most devoted, 
 
 Fr. Pacificus, 
 
 Minister General. 
 
 y 
 
— 5 — 
 
 Pious Union in Honor of St. Joseph, 
 
 Patron of a Happy Death, for the 
 Salvation of the Dying Sinners. 
 
 This Union has been founded for the 
 purpose of effectually helping every day 
 the poor Dying Sinners, especially those 
 who are still in the state of mortal sin, 
 and, therefore, in the proximate danger 
 of being eternally lost. 
 
 Conditions for Actual Membership: 
 
 1) To make the Act of Consecration 
 for the Dying. 
 
 2) To show a special love for this 
 work and to consider the Salvation of 
 the Dying the great object of one’s life 
 and work. 
 
 3) To strive to lead a good life and 
 to perform one’s duties with a good in¬ 
 tention, out of obedience and love of 
 God. 
 
 4) Frequently to call God’s mercy 
 on the Dying by saying for them: ‘ ‘ My 
 Jesus, Mercy!” 
 
 (300 Days’ Indulgence.) 
 
 5) At every Mass we hear to offer up 
 at the Consecration the Most Precious 
 
— 6 — 
 
 Blood of Jesus Christ for the Salvation 
 of the Dying. 
 
 6) To receive Holy Communion fre¬ 
 quently, that is, as often as it can con¬ 
 veniently be done, and either to offer it 
 up for the Dying, or at least to pray for 
 the Dying immediately after receiving 
 Holy Communion. 
 
 7) To ask and encourage others to 
 help the good work either by joining 
 the Society or by having Holy Masses 
 said for the Dying. 
 
 8) If any person is dying close by, to 
 assist such a person, if it can conveni¬ 
 ently be done. 
 
 9) To report occasionally to the Di¬ 
 rector about the progress of the work. 
 
 10) To venerate in a special manner 
 St. Joseph as the Patron of the Dying, 
 for which reason this Union and its 
 work and members have been placed un¬ 
 der the special Protection of St. Joseph 
 
 -as the Patron of the Dying. 
 
— 7 — 
 
 Act of Consecration for the Dying. 
 
 I promise to Almighty God, the dear 
 Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, our Im¬ 
 maculate Mother Mary, St. Joseph, our 
 Patron (our holy Father St. Francis), 
 and to my Guardian Angel to consecrate 
 my whole life and my life’s work for 
 the Salvation of the poor Dying Sinners, 
 especially those who on account of mor¬ 
 tal sin are in the greatest and-proximate 
 danger of being eternally lost. As far 
 as I can and my other obligations per¬ 
 mit, I now give and offer up through the 
 hands of Mary Immaculate and St. Jo¬ 
 seph all my good works, prayers, and 
 sacrifices in Union with the Precious 
 Blood of Jesus Christ and all the Holy 
 Masses, that they may continually plead 
 for the Dying and obtain for them all 
 the graces necessary and conducive to 
 their eternal Salvation. In union with 
 the Loving and Agonizing Heart of Je¬ 
 sus I wish to live, work, and die for 
 them. My Jesus, Mercy! Amen. 
 
— 8 — 
 
 PART I. i 
 
 'v': 
 
 The Salvation of the Dying and a ^ 
 
 -h 
 
 Happy Hour op Death. ‘ 
 
 I. Object of the Work. 
 
 Dear Friend and Kind Reader : 
 
 Did you ever seriously consider that { 
 the most important grace for every man 
 is the grace of a happy death, that means, j 
 a death in the love and friendship of a j 
 merciful God? Although all would like | 
 to die well, yet how few even think of J 
 duly preparing or properly working for 
 it! To many death comes as an utter , 
 surprise, since it finds them entirely un- I 
 prepared. And yet, upon the moment j 
 of death will depend an eternity of j 
 either unspeakable happiness in heaven f 
 or greatest misery in hell. Should | 
 Christian prudence not move you to pro- 1 
 vide in due time the best possible means r 
 of securing for yourself the grace of a 
 happy death? However, we must not I 
 forget that this grace of final persever- j 
 ance can not be merited in the strict 
 
— 9 — 
 
 sense of the word, as it is a special gift 
 of God’s mercy and kindness. Bnt this 
 great mercy of God will not be refused 
 to those whom God himself promised it. 
 For Jesus Christ himself has said: 
 ‘ ‘ Blessed are the merciful, for they 
 shall obtain mercy;” and: “With what 
 measure you mete, it shall be measured 
 to you again. ’ ’ Firmly relying on these 
 promises of Christ, every Christian who 
 sincerely wishes to obtain a happy death, 
 should strive most earnestly to render 
 God merciful to his soul by performing 
 I works of mercy for his neighbor. Which, 
 i then, is the best and greatest work of 
 I mercy that we can perform for our 
 neighbor at any time, no matter in what 
 circumstances we may be? It is the 
 work especially recommended in this lit¬ 
 tle book: ‘ ‘ The Salvation of the poor 
 Dying Sinners.” The purpose of this 
 little book is, therefore, to help the poor 
 Dying Sinners and, by daily imploring 
 the mercy of God, to save as many of 
 them as possible. By this work of mercy, 
 faithfully practised till the end of our 
 
10 
 
 life, we confidently hope to obtain the 
 same mercy of God at the moment of 
 our own death, namely, the grace of a 
 happy death. As St. Joseph is the spe¬ 
 cial Patron of the Dying, he shall be our 
 Model, Leader, and Protector in this 
 work. 
 
 Dear friend and kind reader, take this 
 little book; read, pray, reflect seriously, 
 and then resolve courageously to help 
 this work of mercy as much as you can 
 for the honor and love of God, for your 
 own welfare, and for the eternal Salva- . 
 tion of many immortal souls. May Je¬ 
 sus, the merciful Savior of all poor sin¬ 
 ners, move your charitable heart and 
 say to you, as he said in the Gospel: 
 
 ‘ ‘ This do, and thou shalt live. ’ ’ 
 
 II. The Number of the Dying. 
 
 Do you know what is the actual num¬ 
 ber of the Dying every day, every week, ■ 
 every month, and every year in the | 
 whole world ? According to the most re¬ 
 liable statistics, every day about 120,000 
 die and must appear before the judg- I 
 
 
— 11 — 
 
 ment-seat of God. This means that every 
 second one person is dying; every min¬ 
 ute about 80 persons, every hour nearly 
 5,000, every day about 120,000, every 
 week over 800,000, every month over 3 
 millions, and every year about 40 mil¬ 
 lions of men die, which is about the 40th 
 part of the whole .human race. What a 
 great number! And some day in the 
 future you will be one of them, who 
 knows how soon ? • Consider now well 
 that every moment some person is dying 
 and is perhaps in the greatest danger of 
 being lost forever. Does this not clearly 
 show you that this work of charity and 
 mercy is continually needed, more than 
 any other? What we need now, is a 
 number of fervent Christians who will 
 daily, nay hourly, pray for the Dying 
 Sinners, even if it is but the short ejac¬ 
 ulation: ‘‘My Jesus, mercy on the poor 
 Dying Sinners! ’ ’ What is still better, is 
 a number of truly charitable and heroic 
 souls, who will not only pray, but also 
 continually work for the Dying and by 
 the Act of Consecration make of their 
 
— 12 
 
 whole life a constant pleading to the 
 throne of Mercy for the Salvation of the 
 Dying. You will surely one, day belong 
 to the number of the Dying, will you not 
 also belong to the number of those, who 
 try hard to save the poor Dying Sin¬ 
 ners? Ask now your charitable heart: 
 ‘‘How many would you like to save?” 
 The more you will save, the surer will be 
 your own Salvation, for those who have 
 been saved by your prayers and good 
 works will pray and plead also for you 
 at the moment of your own death. 
 Therefore come, join the pious Union, 
 and even induce others to take up this 
 good work; the more members we get, 
 the better it will be. Although our num¬ 
 ber is yet small when compared with the 
 great number of the Dying, still we can 
 do a great deal for their Salvation, be¬ 
 cause God himself will help us as long 
 as we wish and try to do His work. 
 
— 13 — 
 
 III. The Religious Condition of the 
 
 Dying. 
 
 How many of the Dying, do you 
 think, are. in the state of sanctifying 
 grace and actually prepared for a good 
 death? There are about 1,600 millions 
 of human beings living on the earth. Of 
 these about one-half, that is, 700,000,000, 
 are still pagan, not knowing or at least 
 not honoring the one true God. Of 
 those who adore the one true God, mil¬ 
 lions do not believe in Jesus Christ and 
 His great work of redemption, as the 
 Jews and Mohammedans. Of the Chris¬ 
 tians we And millions separated from the 
 only true Church of Christ, namely, all 
 the different Protestant and Schismati- 
 cal sects. Thus of the 1,600 millions of 
 men only about 250 millions belong to 
 the Catholic Church and profess the 
 true faith of Jesus Christ. If we now 
 carefully consider the spiritual and re¬ 
 ligious condition of the Catholics, we 
 find that a great many are Catholics 
 only in name, because they do not prac¬ 
 tice their holy religion. How few prop- 
 
14 — 
 
 erly prepare for death by leading a 
 truly Catholic life and by conscien¬ 
 tiously fulfilling all their religious du¬ 
 ties ! This sad religious condition of the 
 world can in no way be attributed to 
 God, but must be ascribed to the sins 
 and crimes of the different nations and 
 of men. The grace of the true faith was 
 offered to all nations. It was also of¬ 
 fered in some way to all men. But what 
 has happened? These nations or men 
 either rejected the light and grace of ! 
 faith or afterwards lost it through their I 
 fault or the fault of their ancestors. 
 Although we do not want to judge or 
 condemn any one in particular, yet we 
 can not help thinking that perhaps most 
 or at least very many of the Dying are 
 not in the state of sanctifying grace, or 
 not well prepared for the last moment, 
 and thus in the greatest danger of being 
 eternally lost. And all could be saved. 
 All that is needed is the worthy recep¬ 
 tion of the Holy Sacraments, or a good 
 act of perfect contrition. This may in ’ 
 many cases require a special, even an 
 
— 15 — 
 
 extraordinary grace of God, which your 
 charity, your prayers, your good works, 
 your sacrifices shall obtain for them. In 
 such a way you may perhaps save a 
 great many immortal souls for all eter¬ 
 nity. What a vast field of action for 
 your charitable heart! Should this con¬ 
 sideration not arouse your best feelings 
 and animate you to increased fervor to 
 promote this work of charity and 
 mercy ? Will you now join the ranks of 
 true apostolic laborers and help the 
 good cause with all zeal and fervor? 
 Do not hesitate any longer, for every 
 moment is precious. As the Act of Con¬ 
 secration is the best way of helping the 
 Dying continually, a short explanation 
 of this Act will now be given. 
 
 IV. About the Act of Consecration for 
 the Dying. 
 
 •It is urged by the rules of the Union 
 that the members try to be always in the 
 state of sanctifying grace and to per¬ 
 form all their actions in the spirit of 
 obedience and true love of God and for 
 
— 16 — 
 
 the same intention that Christ, the 
 Savior, had in all his actions and suffer¬ 
 ings, namely, the honor of God, his 
 Father, and the eternal Salvation of 
 man. Christ, however, honored his 
 Father most and became our Savior 
 principally by shedding His blood and 
 by dying for us, poor sinners. As good 
 ' Christians we should try to return this 
 love to Christ by showing the same love 
 to our neighbor; we should try to be¬ 
 come like Christ another Savior for our 
 neighbor. This is done in a general way | 
 by praying and working for the conver- | 
 sion of sinners. But no one will deny 
 that of all the poor sinners, the Dying 
 Sinners are most in need of our help. 
 Severe sickness, entire exhaustion, cor¬ 
 poral and mental suffering, the dread of 
 the impending judgment, the uncer¬ 
 tainty of the future lot, terrible tempta¬ 
 tions of the devil, using once more his 
 utmost endeavors to ruin the soul for- 
 ever, may make the agony, or death- 
 struggle, very hard, perhaps more so in | 
 the soul than in the body. The Catholic 
 
— 17 — 
 
 Church, as a good mother, tries to help 
 her Dying Children by the last Sacra¬ 
 ments and the assistance of the priest at 
 the last moment. But what about the 
 thousands every day who can not re¬ 
 ceive the Holy Sacraments and will not 
 have the assistance of a priest when they 
 are dying? The hour of decision is at 
 hand and death is the most important 
 moment of our whole life, becg^use a 
 never-ending eternity will depend upon 
 it. You can, therefore, show no greater 
 love or mercy to your neighbor than by 
 trying to procure for him the grace of a 
 happy death. At the same time you will 
 show the greatest love to your Dying 
 Savior. 
 
 If on the last day of judgment Christ 
 will say to those who fed their hungry 
 neighbor: “I was hungry, and you gave 
 me to eat,” He will in like manner say 
 to those who help and assist their dying 
 neighbor: “I was dying, and you 
 helped and assisted me. Amen I say to 
 you, as long as you did it to one of these 
 my least brethren, you did it to me.” 
 
 1 
 
18 — 
 
 The Dying Sinners should therefore re¬ 
 present to you Christ dying and laden 
 with all our sins and you should piously 
 believe that whatever you do to help the 
 Dying, Christ will consider it as being 
 done to Him, agonizing in the garden of 
 Olives and dying on the Cross. 
 
 All these considerations will clearly 
 show why for the members of the Union 
 the special intention of all their good | 
 works and prayers should be : ‘ ‘ To save 
 the Dying Sinners.” But to help the 
 Dying continually, all our good works, 
 even our whole life, should be devoted 
 to this great cause. This, we think, is 
 best done by the Act of Consecration 
 and Offering for the Dying. What, 
 then, do we really offer to God by this 
 Act? We must know that every good 
 work, performed in the state of sanctify¬ 
 ing grace and with a good intention will 
 produce a threefold good fruit: 
 
 1) The fruit of real merit, this means, 
 we merit an increase of sanctifying 
 grace and of our glory in heaven. This i 
 fruit of our good works remains always ; 
 
— 19 — 
 
 a personal merit and can never be given 
 to any other person. 
 
 2) The fruit of satisfaction, by which 
 we atone for our past offences and sat¬ 
 isfy Divine Justice for the punishments 
 deserved for our sins. This fruit of our 
 good works may be given to the Poor 
 Souls in Purgatory, who must still atone 
 and suffer* for their past offences. The 
 so-called ‘‘Heroic Act for the Poor 
 Souls’’ consists in this that a person 
 gives to God through the hands of Mary 
 all the satisfactions of the good works 
 performed by him that God may apply 
 these satisfactions to the Poor Souls to 
 shorten their time of suffering and de¬ 
 liver them from purgatory. 
 
 3) The fruit of impetration, by which 
 we obtain new actual graces that 
 may help us to avoid sin, to overcome 
 difficulties and temptations, to perform 
 other good works, and to persevere in 
 doing good till the end. This third fruit 
 of our good works by which actual 
 graces are obtained, may also be offered 
 for other living persons, for it is Catho- 
 
— 20 — 
 
 lie doctrine that by prayers and good 
 works we may obtain actual graces not 
 only for ourselves, but also for others. 
 The Act of Consecration for the Dying 
 consists in this that, as far as we are not 
 bound to pray and work for ourselves or 
 others, the fruit of impetration of* all 
 our prayers and good works shall be of¬ 
 fered to God for the Salvation of the 
 poor Dying Sinners. To meet some ob¬ 
 jections that might be made against this 
 Act, the following points should be well 
 considered: 
 
 1) This Act for the Dying is entirely 
 compatible with the Heroic Act for the 
 Poor Souls. For by the Heroic Act for 
 the Poor Souls we can give them only 
 the satisfactory merit of our good works. 
 However, by the Act for the Dying we . 
 wish to obtain actual graces for the eter¬ 
 nal Salvation of the Dying. But the 
 Poor Souls are safe for all eternity, and 
 can not receive any more graces, since 
 with the moment of death the time of j 
 grace has elapsed. Both Acts may there- ’ 
 fore be made at the same time, if a per- 
 
— 21 — 
 
 son wishes to do so to help both the liv¬ 
 ing and the dead. 
 
 2) The Act for the Dying does not 
 hinder any one of us from praying for 
 some other intention or some other per¬ 
 son for whom we are bound or wish to 
 pray. For this reason the words: “As 
 far as I am able and my other obliga¬ 
 tions permit” were expressly inserted in 
 the Act. But consider that so many 
 prayers, devotions, and good works are 
 performed without any special intention 
 or application and by making the Act 
 all these prayers and good works will be 
 offered for the Dying. Besides, we may 
 have several good intentions in our pray¬ 
 ers and good works and thus we can 
 always include the Dying in the good 
 works and prayers that are offered for 
 others. 
 
 3) If it is said that we continually 
 need the grace of God to work out our 
 own salvation, we answer that this is 
 true indeed; but mind well that Jesus 
 Christ expressly said: ‘ ‘ Thou shalt love 
 thy neighbor as thyself.” Therefore 
 
_ 22 — 
 
 true charity will work as hard for the 
 salvation of one’s neighbor as for one’s 
 own salvation. Know also that God is 
 infinite in bounty and in response to our 
 prayers and works of charity He will 
 gladly give His graces not only to us, 
 but also to the Dying, if with true Chris¬ 
 tian charity we always include them and 
 thus desire not only our own salvation, 
 but also the salvation of our neighbor. 
 
 4) Never forget that our eternal sal¬ 
 vation will principally depend upon the 
 mercy of God. But the surest way of 
 securing the mercy of God for us is to 
 show mercy to our neighbor, as Christ 
 himself has said: ‘ ‘ Blessed are the mer¬ 
 ciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” 
 Again: ‘ ^ Take heed, what you hear : 
 With what measure, you shall mete, it 
 shall be measured to you again.” Now 
 there is no greater act of true mercy and 
 charity for our neighbor tharr by con¬ 
 tinual endeavor to work for his eternal 
 Salvation. 
 
 5) Of all our suffering brethren the 
 Dying are perhaps the most neglected. 
 
— 23 
 
 although they are in the greatest need of 
 our help. How many Masses are daily 
 said for the Poor Souls in Purgatory, 
 but how few for the Salvation of the 
 Dying! Yet the Poor Souls are safe for 
 all eternity, but every day many of the 
 Dying Sinners are in the greatest and 
 immediate danger of being eternally 
 lost. Your charity may save at least 
 some of them. Which is, then, the 
 greater work of charity; ‘‘To free a 
 Poor Soul from Purgatory, or to save a 
 Dying Sinner from eternal hell-fire ? ’ ’ 
 
 6) The Act of Consecration for the 
 Dying shall even make the Salvation of 
 the Dying the main object of our whole 
 life and of our life’s work. As an artist 
 lives for his art, continually works for it 
 and tries to make the best success of it, 
 thus we wish to live, to work, and even 
 to die for the Salvation of the Dying. 
 Our life shall be a continual sacrifice for 
 them. Even our death accepted with 
 perfect resignation to God’s holy will in 
 union with the death of Christ shall be 
 
— 24 — 
 
 offered to God to help those who will be 
 dying at the same time. 
 
 7) To render this Act the more effi¬ 
 cacious, we shall unite our prayers, 
 good works, and sacrifices first with the 
 precious Blood of Christ, as it is the 
 price of our redemption, and secondly 
 with all the holy Masses that are cele¬ 
 brated every day, since in Holy Mass 
 Christ continually renews the Sacrifice 
 of the Cross and offers again his Body 
 and Blood for the remission of sins. We 
 are, then, praying and working in union 
 with our blessed Savior who promised 
 US: “Whatever you shall ask the Father 
 in my name, that will I do.” Knowing 
 moreover our sinfulness and unworthi¬ 
 ness, we make the offering of the Act 
 through the hands of Mary Immaculate 
 and St. Joseph. In her Immaculate 
 Conception Mary conquered the devil 
 and crushed his head. The Immaculate 
 Conception shall also obtain the victory 
 over the devil in the souls of the Dying, 
 and Mary will thus prove to be the best 
 Mother of the Poor Dying Sinners. 
 
— 25 — 
 
 Since St. Joseph, is the Patron of the 
 Dying, he was chosen to be the special 
 Protector of this work, who with Mary 
 shall present our Act of offering to God. 
 
 8) Therefore the real meaning of the 
 
 Act of Consecration for the Dying is 
 this: “Without making a vow, we 
 
 promise, as far as we can, and our other 
 obligations permit, to give to God 
 through the hands of Mary Immaculate 
 and St. Joseph all the good works, pray¬ 
 ers, and sacrifices of our whole life for 
 the eternal Salvation of the Poor Dying 
 Sinners. ’' How many will you now try 
 to save with God’s grace? How many 
 of the 120,000 persons that die every 
 day need your helping hand to rescue 
 them from eternal perdition? 
 
 9) Do you truly love jthe great St. 
 Joseph? Then venerate him as the spe¬ 
 cial Patron of the Dying, as the best 
 Patron of a Happy Death. Since the 
 Union was instituted in honor of St. Jo¬ 
 seph, let the lovers of St. Joseph and the 
 workers for the Dying attentively read 
 the following explanation and take it to 
 
— 20 
 
 heart. May the dear St. Joseph bless 
 this work, adopt it as his own, and 
 crown it with success! 
 
 V. St. Joseph, the Patron of the Dying. 
 
 To increase proper devotion to St. Jo¬ 
 seph for the purpose of obtaining a 
 happy hour of death both for ourselves 
 and for the poor Dying Sinners, it will 
 be very good for the members of the 
 Union to know why St. Joseph is consid¬ 
 ered the best Patron of the Dying to ob¬ 
 tain for them the grace of a happy 
 death. A brief explanation of the rea¬ 
 sons v/hich moved the church to give St. 
 Joseph in the approved Litany the title, 
 ‘‘Patron of the Dying,” will also show 
 the members of this Union why St. Jo¬ 
 seph was chosen as its principal Pa¬ 
 tron. 
 
 1) St. Joseph was the person to whom 
 the ever-blessed Trinity entrusted its 
 greatest treasures on earth, namely Je¬ 
 sus and Mary. But on Jesus and Mary 
 rests our principal hope of eternal Sal¬ 
 vation. This ought to show us that God 
 
27 
 
 Himself looked upon St. Joseph as the 
 most faithful Guardian and Protector of 
 both the Savior and His dearest Mother 
 Mary and their joint work, the Salva¬ 
 tion of man. Then we, too, should en¬ 
 trust to St. Joseph the greatest treasure 
 we have, our immortal soul, and its most 
 important affair, our.eternal Salvation. 
 But the Salvation of our soul will chiefly 
 depend upon our death,* for a happy 
 death in the state of sanctifying grace 
 will bring us eternal happiness, but an 
 unhappy death in the state of mortal 
 sin will cause eternal damnation. We 
 should, therefore, entrust principally to 
 St. Joseph the last hour of our life and 
 the moment of our death by making him 
 our Patron of a happy death. 
 
 2) St. Joseph was prefigured by Jo¬ 
 seph of Egypt. What the Egyptian Jo¬ 
 seph Avas and did for his family and the 
 people of Egypt, St. Joseph shall be and 
 do for his family and his people in the 
 New Law. As Joseph of Egypt was 
 called in the language of the Egyptians, 
 “the Savior of the world,” thus St. Jo- 
 
— 28 — 
 
 sepli shall become for us the Savior by 
 obtaining the grace of a happy death. 
 As Joseph of Egypt was made the first 
 minister of king Pharaoh, thus St. Jo¬ 
 seph is now the first minister of our 
 heavenly king, Jesus Christ. This Heav¬ 
 enly King directs us in our greatest need 
 to St. Joseph, and like the king of Egypt 
 says to us: ‘‘Go to Joseph and do all 
 that he shall say to you. ’ ’ Whenever 
 we resemble the people of Egypt and are 
 in danger of dying an eternal death on 
 account of spiritual want and famine, 
 St. Joseph shall give us the heavenly 
 bread, Jesus Christ, to preserve our soul 
 to life everlasting. Like the people of 
 Egypt we should then say to St. Joseph: 
 “Give us bread, why should we die in 
 thy presence? . . . Our life is in thy 
 hand, only let my lord look favorably 
 upon us, and we will gladly serve the 
 king.” In like manner we should pray 
 to St. Joseph: “O, St. Joseph, our life 
 is in thy hand, thou art our Patron, pro¬ 
 tect us by thy presence from eternal 
 death, look now favorably upon us, give 
 
— 29 — 
 
 us Christ, our best bread, and we will 
 gladly serve Him, our heavenly king. ’ ’ 
 
 3) But the dignity and power of St. 
 Joseph is by far greater than that of Jo¬ 
 seph of Egypt. St. Joseph is the Fos¬ 
 ter-Father of Jesus Christ, the Son of 
 God. Thus St. Joseph alone shares in 
 the dignity of the heavenly Father. 
 Both Jesus and Mary call him by that 
 sweet name, ‘‘Father.” Mary said to Je¬ 
 sus when she found him in the temple : 
 “Son, why hast Thou done so to us? 
 Behold, thy father and I have sought 
 thee sorrowing.” Besides, St. Joseph is 
 also the spouse of the Blessed Virgin 
 Mary and the head of the Holy Family 
 of God on earth. With this threefold 
 high dignity and power given to no 
 other Saint of God, St. Joseph must in¬ 
 deed be the best Patron of the Dying, 
 the best Patron of a happy death. For 
 we can only be saved, if we die as the 
 adopted children of God, our heavenly 
 Father, as the spiritual children of 
 Mary, our heavenly Mother, and as liv¬ 
 ing members of the great family of God 
 
p 
 
 — so¬ 
 on earth, the Holy Catholic Church. 
 But it is clear that no one is better fitted 
 to obtain these graces and favors for us 
 at the hour of our death than St. Jo¬ 
 seph. If at the moment of death, St. 
 Joseph is our spiritual Foster-Father, 
 and we his foster-children, he will see 
 that we also die as the children of God, 
 the heavenly Father, whose place he took 
 on earth and with whom he alone shares 
 that sweet name, ‘‘Father of Jesus.” 
 Besides, St. Joseph, being the spouse of 
 Mary, is best fitted to make us the spir¬ 
 itual children of Mary. No other Saint 
 is so closely united with Mary as St. Jo¬ 
 seph. The two are like one heart and 
 one soul. Mary will then he the special 
 loving Mother of those who at death are 
 the spiritual children of St. Joseph, for, 
 whom St. Joseph loves, also Mary will 
 love. Moreover, St. Joseph is also the 
 special Patron of the Universal Church, 
 the present family of God on earth. The 
 Patron of the Church will take the best 
 care that his devoted children and clients 
 will die as good members of the Catholic 
 
31 
 
 Church, the family of God, now spe¬ 
 cially entrusted to him. Know then that 
 if you wish to die as a good Christian, 
 you must like Christ be under the spe¬ 
 cial care and protection of St. Joseph, if 
 you wish to die as a true child of Mary, 
 you must be a foster-child of St. eTo- 
 seph, and if you wish to die as a good 
 Catholic, St. Joseph, the Patron of the 
 Catholic Church, must also be your spe¬ 
 cial Patron at your death. Thus it is 
 clear that St. Joseph is best fitted to be 
 the Patron of the Dying. 
 
 4) St. Joseph will gladly do for his‘ 
 spiritual children what he did for the 
 Child Jesus, which again points him out 
 as the best Patron of the Dying. When 
 the wicked king Herod sought to kill 
 the Infant Jesus, St. Joseph saved the 
 Savior for us by fleeing to Egypt. But 
 this work of saving the life of Christ 
 from the danger of death was entrusted 
 by God to St. Joseph. Thus when we 
 are in danger of losing the Savior and 
 our eternal life, especially at the hour of ' 
 death, on account of the most wicked 
 
32 
 
 and cruel king, the devil, so well prefig¬ 
 ured by Herod, we shall be safe, if we 
 are under the special protection of St. 
 Joseph, sinee he will guard the life of 
 the Savior in our soul by frustrating the. 
 evil designs of the devil. It was also St. 
 Joseph, who with great sorrow sought 
 Jesus after the child was lost, and found ' 
 Him again after three days in the tern- ^ 
 pie. In like manner, if we should have the 
 misfortune of losing Jesus by mortal! 
 sin, let us call upon St. Joseph that he,! 
 as our Patron, may help us to seek Jesus; 
 in the sorrow of our heart by an aet of ! 
 perfect Contrition and a sincere Confes-] 
 sion and find Him again in the temple] 
 of our own heart by a worthy, holy Com-1 
 munion. If St. Joseph is our Patron of ] 
 a happy death, he will surely help us! 
 not to lose Jesus at the moment of death,! 
 but to find Him then as a loving, merci-| 
 fill Savior to the greatest joy of our' 
 heart. 
 
 5) St. Joseph himself-had the most 
 liappy death, for, as tradition relates, he 
 died in the arms of Jesus and of Mary. 
 
- 33 — 
 
 He therefore best knows what it means 
 to die a holy and a happy death; he also 
 knows that this is the greatest grace and 
 favor God can bestow on any man. 
 Therefore if he is our Patron, he will try 
 to obtain this grace and favor for his 
 devoted children. As to the power of 
 St. Joseph, there can be no doubt that it 
 is very great in heaven, for Jesus who 
 had been obedient to St. Joseph on 
 earth, will even obey him in heaven, at 
 least not refuse him any petition in 
 favor of his children. We must not for¬ 
 get that next to the Blessed Virgin Mary 
 no one stood in closer relation to Jesus 
 on earth than St. Joseph. We may then 
 safely say that a good child and client of 
 St. Joseph will not be lost. For this 
 reason we should choose him as our spe¬ 
 cial Patron of a happy death and invoke 
 him every day as the great Patron of 
 the Dying. 
 
 6) But nothing will please St. Joseph 
 more than if we try to imitate his holy 
 example by becoming also Patrons of 
 the Dying in consecrating our whole life 
 
34 — 
 
 for the Salvation of the Dying. This is 
 the reason why we have chosen St. Jo¬ 
 seph as the special Patron for our 
 Union, and we do not donbt that the 
 dear St. Joseph will prove to he our 
 powerful helper and protector in this 
 great work of saving the poor Dying 
 Sinners. But what will be our reward 
 as members of this Union? If we work 
 hard with the kind and powerful assist¬ 
 ance of St. Joseph daily to save as many 
 as we can, St. Joseph will recognize us 
 as his best children both at the moment 
 of death and before the judgment-seat 
 of God. Jesus, called ‘Hhe Son of Jo¬ 
 seph,” will not condemn those whom St. 
 
 Joseph will present to Him as his special 
 devoted children and clients. You ask ' 
 for your reward ? If you faithfully imi¬ 
 tate St. Joseph as Patron of the Dying, 
 you may confidently hope that he will . 
 bring Jesus and Mary to your dying- 
 bed, that you die like him in their sweet 
 embrace. What a strong incentive to . 
 join this Union and be a faithful mem¬ 
 ber, that means, to be a most zealous 
 
35 — 
 
 worker for the Salvation of the poor 
 Dying Sinners under the Patronage of 
 St. Joseph! 
 
 Remember well that every day over 
 100,000 persons die and perhaps most of 
 them are in the greatest danger of being 
 eternally lost; therefore, in the greatest 
 need of our help. St. Joseph will gladly 
 help us in a work so dear to him and he 
 will also see to our proper reward. 
 Those who join this Union should make 
 the Act of Consecration before an altar 
 or statue of St. Joseph and renew it 
 from time to time, especially, on the 
 feasts of St. Joseph. The following 
 prayers are added for the convenience 
 of the lovers of St. Joseph to help them 
 in their devotion to this great Saint and 
 powerful Protector. Let the members 
 of this Union often say with great confi¬ 
 dence and fervor: ‘‘St. Joseph, Patron 
 of a happy death, pray for us and the 
 poor Dying Sinners. Amen.’^ 
 
— 36 — 
 
 YI. 
 
 Devotions and Prayers to St. Joseph 
 FOR THE Dying. 
 
 The Seven Sorrows and Seven Joys of 
 St. Joseph. 
 
 This devotion owes its origin-to a cele¬ 
 brated event, never omitted by any his¬ 
 torian of the Saint. It is as follows: 
 
 Two Franciscan Fathers were sailing 
 along the coast of Flanders, when a ter¬ 
 rible tempest arose, which sank the ves¬ 
 sel with its three hundred passengers. 
 The two Fathers had sufficient presence 
 of mind to seize hold of a plank, upon 
 which they were tossed to and fro upon 
 the waves for three days and nights. In 
 their danger and affliction their whole 
 recourse was to St. Joseph, whom they 
 begged for assistance in their sad condi¬ 
 tion. The Saint, thus invoked, appeared 
 in the habit of a young man of beauti¬ 
 ful features, encouraged them to con¬ 
 fide in his assistance, and as their pilot, 
 conducted them into a safe harbor. 
 They, desirous to knqw who their bene- 
 
— 37 — 
 
 factor was, asked his name, that they 
 might gratefully acknowledge so great a 
 favor and blessing. He told them he was 
 St. Joseph, and advised them daily to 
 recite seven times ‘‘Our Father” and 
 “Hail Mary” in memory of his seven 
 dolors or griefs, and of his seven joys;_ 
 and then disappeared. This beautiful 
 devotion has been specially applied for 
 the needs of the Dying that St. Joseph, 
 their special Patron, may safely conduct 
 them into the harbor of eternal bliss. 
 
 The Seven Dolors and Joys of St. Jo¬ 
 seph for the Dying. 
 
 • 1) 0 glorious St. Joseph, chaste Hus¬ 
 band of most holy Mary, great was thy 
 grief, when in a state of great uncer¬ 
 tainty thou wast minded to put away 
 Mary, thy stainless spouse. But how 
 great was thy joy, when the angel re¬ 
 vealed to thee the sublime mystery of 
 Christ’s Incarnation and the great dig¬ 
 nity of Mary, as Mother of God. By 
 this thy grief and thy joy we pray thee 
 to relieve the Dying of all anxieties and 
 
38 — 
 
 dreadful doubts about their future state 
 and fill their hearts with the greatest 
 confidence in the powerful protection of 
 Mary, the Immaculate Mother of God. 
 Amen. 
 
 V. St. Joseph, Patron of a Happy 
 Death, 
 
 R. Pray for us and the Poor Dying 
 Sinners. Amen. 
 
 2) 0 glorious St. Joseph, chosen Fos¬ 
 ter-Father of the Word made man, great 
 was thy grief, when thou didst see the 
 Infant Jesus born in such extreme pov¬ 
 erty. But how great was thy joy when 
 thou didst behold the brightness of that 
 holy night in which the angels sang: 
 ‘‘Glory to God in the highest and on 
 earth peace to men of good will. ’ ’ By 
 this thy grief and thy joy, we pray thee 
 to obtain by thy powerful intercession 
 for all the Dying the grace that the In¬ 
 fant Jesus may again be born in their i 
 hearts, and that blessed with the sweet j 
 peace of God, they may also join after! 
 their death the joyful company of the^ 
 angels. Amen. ; 
 
— 39 — 
 
 V. St. Joseph, Patron of a Happy 
 Death, 
 
 R. Pray for us and the Poor Dying 
 Sinners. Amen. 
 
 3) 0 glorious St. Joseph, Model of 
 perfect Obedience, great was thy grief, 
 when at the Circumcision the Infant Je¬ 
 sus shed His first precious blood. But 
 how great was thy joy, when thou didst 
 give Him the sweet name of Jesus, that 
 should bring Salvation to the sinners. 
 By this thy grief and thy joy we pray 
 thee to assist the Dying in their greatest 
 
 - need by applying to their souls the most 
 precious blood of Jesus, that being 
 cleansed from sin they may depart with 
 the sweet name of Jesus on their lips 
 and in their hearts, and thus be saved 
 for all eternity. Amen. 
 
 V. St. Joseph, Patron of a Happy 
 Death, 
 
 R. Pray for us and the Poor Dying 
 Sinners. Amen. 
 
 4) O glorious St. Joseph, faithful 
 Companion of Mary, great was thy grief, 
 when at the presentation of the Infant 
 
— 40 — 
 
 in the temple thou didst hear Simeon’s 
 •prophecy of the future sufferings of Je¬ 
 sus and of Mary, hut how great was thy 
 joy when Simeon foretold that Jesus 
 would be the light for the revelation of 
 the gentiles, the glory of his people, and 
 the resurrection of many in Israel. By 
 this thy grief and thy joy we pray thee 
 to assist the Dying that through the 
 light and the grace of the Infant Jesus 
 and the power of the sorrowful Mother, 
 the Dying like Simeon may also see their 
 Salvation and praise and thank God for 
 the grace of a happy death. Amen. 
 
 V. St. Joseph, Patron of a Happy 
 Death, 
 
 R. Pray for us and the Poor Dying 
 Sinners. Amen. 
 
 5) 0 glorious St. Joseph, Protector of 
 the Infant Jesus, great was thy grief 
 when obeying the voice of the angel, 
 thou didst flee with the Infant Jesus 
 and His Mother Mary to Egypt. But 
 how great was thy joy when at the en¬ 
 trance into Egypt the idols were de¬ 
 stroyed, by falling to the ground. By 
 
/ 
 
 — 41 — 
 
 this thy grief and thy joy we pray thee 
 to help the Dying to banish from their 
 hearts all idols of sinful habits that Je¬ 
 sus and Mary may come and lead their 
 souls to the land of eternal bliss. Amen. 
 
 V. St. Joseph, Patron of a Happy 
 Death, 
 
 R. Pray for us and the Poor Dying 
 ■ Sinners. Amen. 
 
 6) 0 glorious St. Joseph, Head and 
 Guardian of the Holy Family, great was 
 thy grief when at the return from 
 . Egypt thou didst hear that cruel Arehe- 
 laus was reigning in Judea in place of 
 Herod. But how great was thy joy 
 when the angel of God directed thee to 
 go to Nazareth, where thou didst live 
 most peacefully with Jesus and Mary 
 till thy happy death. By this thy grief 
 and thy joy we pray thee to assist the 
 Dying that they overcome all attacks of 
 the evil spirits and die peacefully under 
 the special protection of Jesus and 
 Mary. Amen. 
 
 V. St. Joseph, Patron of a Happy 
 Death, 
 
42 — 
 
 R. Pray for us and the Poor Dying 
 Sinners. Amen. 
 
 7) 0 glorious St. Joseph, Best Patron ' 
 of the Dying, great was thy grief when 
 without thy fault thou didst lose Jesus 
 and seek Him for three days. But how j 
 great was thy joy when thou didst find j 
 Him again in the temple. By this thy j 
 grief and thy joy we pray thee to help ( 
 the Dying not to lose their Savior for all j 
 eternity, but to find Him at least at the | 
 moment of death with His grace and ] 
 mercy in the temple of their own hearts. 
 Let us all die like thee in the sweet em¬ 
 brace of Jesus and Mary. Amen. 
 
 V. St. Joseph, Patron of a Happy 
 Death, 
 
 R. Pray for us and the Poor Dying 
 Sinners. Amen. 
 
 Litayiy of St. Joseph. 
 
 Lord, have mercy on us. 
 
 Christ, have mercy on us. 
 
 Lord, have mercy on us. 
 
 Christ, hear us. 
 
 Christ, graciously hear us. 
 
 .ffi iii I I I ir^t— 
 
— 43 
 
 God, the Father of Heaven, * **) ) 
 
 God, the Son, Redeemer of the world. 
 God, the Holy Ghost. 
 
 Holy Trinity, One God. 
 
 Holy Mary. 
 
 St. Joseph. 
 
 Illustrious Scion of David. 
 
 Light of Patriarchs. 
 
 Spouse of the Mother of God. 
 
 Chaste Guardian of the Virgin. 
 Foster-Father of the Son of God. 
 Watchful Defender of Christ. 
 
 Head of the Holy Family. 
 
 Joseph most just. 
 
 Joseph most chaste. 
 
 Joseph most prudent. 
 
 Joseph most valiant. 
 
 Joseph most obedient. 
 
 Joseph most faithful. 
 
 Mirror of patience. 
 
 Lover of poverty. 
 
 Model of workmen. 
 
 Glory of domestic life. 
 
 *) Have mercy on us. 
 
 **) Pray for us. 
 
_ 44 — 
 
 Guardian of virgins. ) 
 
 Pillar of families. 
 
 Solace of the afflicted. 
 
 Hope of the sick. 
 
 Patron of the dying. 
 
 Terror of demons. 
 
 Protector of Holy Church. 
 
 Lamb of God, Who takest away the 
 sins of the world, spare us, 0 Lord. 
 
 Lamb of God, Who takest away the , 
 sins of the world, graciously hear us, O 
 Lord. 
 
 Lamb of God, Who takest away the 
 sins of the world, hhve mercy on us, 0 
 Lord. 
 
 V. He hath made him the Lord of his 
 house. 
 
 R. And the ruler of 'all his posses¬ 
 sions. 
 
 Let us Pray: 
 
 0 God, who by thy unspeakable provi- ; 
 dence didst deign to choose Blessed Jo¬ 
 seph to be the spouse of Thy most holy 
 Mother, grant that as we venerate him . 
 
 '1 
 
 *) Pray for us. 
 
— 45 — 
 
 for our Protector on earth, we may de¬ 
 serve to have him as an intercessor in 
 heaven, who livest and reignest forever 
 and ever. Amen. 
 
 Act of Consecration to St. Joseph, Pa¬ 
 tron of the Dying. 
 
 0 Blessed Joseph, faithful Guardian 
 of my Redeemer, Jesus Christ, protector 
 of thy chaste spouse, the virgin Mother 
 of God, and best Patron of the Dying, I 
 choose thee this day to he my special Pa¬ 
 tron and Helper for the work of saving 
 the poor Dying Sinners. I firmly re¬ 
 solve to honor thee all the days of my 
 life and to pray and work for the Salva¬ 
 tion of the Dying under thy guidance 
 and powerful protection. Therefore I 
 humbly beseech thee to receive me as thy 
 client, to instruct me in every doubt, to 
 comfort me in every affliction, to obtain 
 for me and others the knowledge and 
 love of the Heart of Jesus and Mary, 
 and finally to defend and protect me and 
 all poor sinners at the hour of death. 
 Amen. 
 
46 — 
 
 The ‘‘Memo7’are” in Honor of St. 
 
 J oseph. 
 
 Remember, 0 most pure spouse of the 
 Blessed Virgin Mary, my sweet Protec¬ 
 tor, St. Joseph: that no one ever had re¬ 
 course to thy protection, or implored thy 
 aid without obtaining relief. Confiding, 
 therefore, in thy goodness I come before 
 thee and humbly supplicate thee. Oh, 
 despise not my petitions, Foster-Father 
 of my Redeemer, but graciously receive ' 
 them. Amen. 
 
 (Indulgence of 300 days, once a day. Pius 
 IX, June 26, 1863.) 
 
 Prayer to St. Joseph for a Happy 
 
 Death. 
 
 0 Blessed Joseph, who didst yield thy 
 last breath in the arms of Jesus and of 
 Mary, when God will send death to end 
 our career of life, come Holy Father . 
 with Jesus and Mary to aid us and to 
 obtain this grace for us to accept death - 
 with perfect resignation to God’s holy 
 will, and in union with the bitter death j 
 of Jesus that by our death we may atone 
 for our own sins and help the other poor | 
 
 i 
 
 
— 47 — 
 
 Dying Sinners. Let us all die in the 
 sweet embrace of Jesus and of Mary. 
 Into your sacred hands, Jesus, Mary, 
 Joseph, we living and dying commend 
 our souls. Amen. 
 
 Prayer to St. Joseph for the Dying 
 Sinners. 
 
 0 St. Joseph, Patron of the Dying, by 
 the love of Jesus and of Mary, we ask 
 thee, our best Helper and Protector, to 
 come to the aid of all poor Dying Sin- 
 'ners. Bring to them the light of the 
 true faith from God, the heavenly 
 Father whose place thou didst take on 
 earth. Let them put all their hope in 
 the blood, passion, and death of thy dear 
 Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior. Pill their 
 soul with the perfect love of God, the 
 best gift of the Holy Ghost. Make them 
 now the spiritual children of thy most 
 chaste spouse, our dear Mother Mary 
 Immaculate. Exercise thy power against 
 the devil who tries his best tu ruin the 
 Dying Sinners forever. Thus we pray 
 that by thy help and powerful interces- 
 
48 — 
 
 sion with Jesus and Mary the Dying 
 may obtain the grace of a happy death. 
 Amen. 
 
 Prayers in Honor of St. Joseph for the 
 
 Agonizing. 
 
 Eternal Father, by Thy love for St. 
 Joseph, whom Thou didst select from 
 among all men to represent Thee upon 
 earth, have mercy on us and on the Dy¬ 
 ing. Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be 
 to the Father. 
 
 Eternal Divine Son, by Thy love for 
 St. Joseph, who was Thy faithful Guar¬ 
 dian upon earth, have mercy on us and 
 on the Dying. 
 
 Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to 
 the Father. 
 
 Eternal Divine Spirit, by Thy love 
 for St. Joseph, who so carefully watched 
 over Mary, Thy beloved spouse, have 
 mercy on us and on the Dying. 
 
 Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to 
 ^ the Father. 
 
 (Indulgence of 300 days, once a day, Leo 
 XIII, May 17, 1884.) 
 
— 49 — 
 
 Prayer- to St. Joseph^ Patron of the Dy¬ 
 ing, for Perseverance. 
 
 0 Dear St. Joseph, Foster-Father of 
 our Divine Redeemer, and Spouse of our 
 holy Mother, Mary Immaculate, thou 
 didst live with them and toil for them 
 through all the years of the hidden life, 
 and thou didst die in their arms. By 
 the love thou bearest to them and the 
 love they bear to thee, pray for us 
 always and guard us. Obtain for us, 0' 
 Patron of a happy death the grace to 
 live and die in God’s love and favor, 
 that we may spend our eternity with Je¬ 
 sus and Mary and with thee, 0 dear St. 
 Joseph. Amen. 
 
 Novena in Honor of St. Joseph, Spouse 
 of Mary, Most Holy. 
 
 The Sovereign Pontiff, Pius IX, Nov. 
 28, 1876, granted to all the faithful who 
 with contrite heart devoutly make at 
 any time during the year a Novena in 
 honor of St. Joseph, Spouse of Mary, 
 most holy, with any formula of prayer, 
 provided it be approved by competent 
 
50 
 
 ecclesiastical authority, an indulgence of 
 300 days, once a day. 
 
 Indulgenced Prayers to St. Joseph. 
 
 St. Joseph, reputed father of our i 
 Lord, Jesus Christ, and true spouse of: 
 Mary, ever Virgin, pray for us. ■ 
 
 (300 days, once a day. Leo XIII, May 15, 
 1891.) j 
 
 St. Joseph, model and patron of those | 
 
 who love the Sacret Heart of Jesus, pray 
 
 for us. ' 
 
 ' 
 
 (100 days, once a day. Leo XIII, Dec. 19,1 
 1891.) 
 
 Help US, Joseph, in our earthly strife, 
 
 E ’er to lead a pure and blameless life. ■ 
 
 (300 days, once a day. Leo XIII, March 18,1 
 1882.) ? 
 
 Jesus, Mary, Joseph, I give you my-f 
 heart and my soul. ' j 
 
 Jesus, Mary, Joseph, assist me in my| 
 last agony. . I 
 
 / Jesus, Mary, Joseph, may I hreathel 
 forth my soul in peace with you. ^ 
 
 (300 days for all three, each time they are 
 said. Pius VII, August 26, 1814.) 
 
— 51 — 
 
 Prayer to St. Joseph for the Month of 
 
 October. 
 
 To thee 0 Blessed Joseph, we have re¬ 
 course in our affliction, and after im¬ 
 ploring the help of thy most holy 
 Spouse, we confidently invoke thy pat¬ 
 ronage also. By that affection which 
 united thee with the Immaculate Virgin 
 Mother of God, and by the fatherly love 
 with which thou didst embrace the In¬ 
 fant Jesus, look down, we beseech thee, 
 with gracious eyes on the precious in¬ 
 heritance, which Jesus Christ purchased 
 by His blood, and help us in our necessi¬ 
 ties by thy power and aid. Protect 0 
 most provident Guardian of the Holy 
 Family, the elect children of Jesus 
 Christ; ward off from us 0 most loving 
 Father, all plagues of errors and deprav¬ 
 ity; be propitious to us from heaven, 0 
 most powerful Protector in this our 
 struggle with the powers of darkness; 
 and as thou didst once rescue the child 
 Jesus from the greatest peril to his life, 
 so now defend God’s holy church from 
 
— 52 
 
 the snares of the enemy and all adver¬ 
 sity. Finally, shield every one of usi 
 with thy patronage, that, imitating thy 
 example and strengthened by thy help,i, 
 we may live a holy life, die a happy 
 death and attain to everlasting happi¬ 
 ness in heaven. Amen. 
 
 (300 days, once a day, Sept. 21, 1889.) 
 
 Prayer to St. Joseph for Grace^o Com-] 
 municate Devoutly. i 
 
 0 Blessed Joseph, how sweet and; 
 wonderful a privilege was thine, not- 
 only to see, but to carry in thy arms, to { 
 kiss, and to embrace with fatherly alfec-j 
 tion that only begotten Son of God,l 
 Whom so many kings and prophets de-j 
 sired to see, but were not able! O that,] 
 inspired by thy example and aided by| 
 thy patronage, I may often with like^ 
 feelings of love and reverence, embrace | 
 my Lord and Redeemer in the Blessed- 
 Sacrament of the altar, so that, when: 
 my life on earth is ended, I may merit- 
 to embrace Him eternally in heaven.' 
 Amen. 
 
— 53 — 
 
 Dedicate the month of March and 
 every Wednesday to the special venera¬ 
 tion of St. Joseph. Perform then, some 
 special devotion in his honor, for which 
 you may say the following prayer: 
 
 0 St. Joseph, who for nearly thirty 
 years didst live in the blessed company 
 of Jesus and of Mary, receive the humble 
 service by which I wish to honor thee 
 this month (day) and help me that I 
 may also devote all the days of my life 
 to the special service of Jesus and of 
 Mary in trying to save the poor Dying 
 Sinners and let me enjoy thy kind pro¬ 
 tection, guidance, and blessing for this 
 holy work till death. Amen. 
 
 St. Joseph, Patron of a Happy Death, 
 pray for us and the poor Dying Sinners. 
 Amen.- 
 
— 54 — 
 
 VII. 
 
 To the Lovers of St. Joseph and the 
 Zealous Workers for the Dying. 
 
 To encourage the members of the 
 Union to remain faithful to their holy 
 work, let them consider what the Blessed 
 Virgin Mary revealed to the Venerable 
 Servant of God, Mary of Agreda, con¬ 
 cerning the privileges of St. Joseph, his 
 great power and sanctity, and the Devo¬ 
 tion for the Dying. 
 
 Mary of Agreda writes: ‘ ‘ It was re¬ 
 vealed to me that the Most High has 
 granted St. Joseph, on account of his 
 holiness, some privileges or prerogatives 
 in favor of those who invoke him in a 
 proper manner. ’ ’ These privileges are: 
 
 1) Through the intercession of St. Jo¬ 
 seph a person will obtain the virtue of 
 chastity and victory in the dangers of 
 impure temptations. 
 
 2) Through St. Joseph a person will 
 receive powerful graces of assistance to 
 forsake the state of sin and to return to 
 the’friendship of God. 
 
 3) Through the mediation of St. Jo- 
 
— 55 — 
 
 seph a person will gain the favor of the 
 Blessed Virgin Mary and a true devo¬ 
 tion to her. 
 
 4) Through St. Joseph we shall ob¬ 
 tain the grace of a happy death and pro¬ 
 tection against the devil in the hour of 
 death. 
 
 5) The evil spirits tremble when they 
 hear the name “Joseph.” 
 
 6) Through him we can obtain health 
 of the body and help in our diverse 
 needs. 
 
 7) His intercession will obtain for 
 parents the grace to be blessed with chil¬ 
 dren. 
 
 The Blessed Virgin said to Mary of 
 Agreda: 
 
 ‘ ‘ Men are not able in this life to know 
 the sublime holiness of St. Joseph who 
 occupies a very high rank amongst the 
 princes of the heavenly Jerusalem. But 
 on the last day of judgment, the damned 
 will bitterly weep that, on account of 
 their sins, they did not know what a 
 powerful means of salvation the inter¬ 
 cession of St. Joseph is and that they 
 
— 56 — 
 
 neglected to make use of it to gain; 
 the friendship of the just judge. All, 
 the children of the world are in great/ 
 ignorance of the privileges and preroga- ^ 
 tives which the Highest Lord has ■ 
 granted to my spouse and of the power 
 of his intercession with the Divine | 
 Majesty and with me. I assure you that 
 in heaven he is one of the most intimate; 
 friends of the Lord and that he can do ; 
 much to keep away the punishments of^ 
 Divine Justice from the sinners. En¬ 
 deavor, then, all the time of your life to 
 increase in the devotion and hearty love 
 of my spouse. Praise the Lord that he¬ 
 lms so bountifully enriched him with 
 graces. In all your needs ask his inter¬ 
 cession and strive to gain for him 
 numerous clients. What my spouse asks; 
 in heaven, this the Most High will grant; 
 on earth. Great, even extraordinary 
 graces have been surely promised to his 
 petitions for the salvation of men.” 
 
 About the Devotion for the Dying, the 
 Blessed Virgin said: 
 
 “Not without special reason did it 
 
— 57 — 
 
 happen that your heart has been filled 
 with an extraordinary compassion for 
 the Dying and with a special desire to 
 help them in the hour of death. It is 
 true that in that hour the souls are ex¬ 
 posed to very great dangers arising from 
 the evil spirits, from their own nature, 
 and the things of this world. Death is 
 that moment in which the acts of life 
 are closed, and the final judgment is 
 passed which decides either eternal life 
 or eternal death, everlasting pain or per¬ 
 petual glory. The Most High who gave 
 you this desire (of helping the Dying) 
 will also grant you the grace to fulfil it 
 indeed. I, too, confirm you in this de¬ 
 sire and exhort you to use all endeavors 
 to cooperate with this grace and to obey 
 the Lord and me. . . . From what I have 
 said, you may learn how exceedingly 
 great the danger is that death brings 
 along, and how many souls will perish 
 in that hour in which the good merits as 
 well as the sins begin to produce their 
 effects. I do not tell you how many will 
 be lost ; for, if you are filled with true 
 
— 58 — 
 
 love for God, you would die of grief, if 
 you would hear it. The general rule is 
 this, that a good life is followed by a 
 good death. . . . Prepare your soul 
 that you may gladly accept death, when 
 it comes. 
 
 “In order that you may help accord¬ 
 ing to your desire those who are in this 
 extreme necessity (the Dying), I advise 
 you to tell all to care for their soul dur¬ 
 ing their life-time. Besides, every day, 
 without exception, you must olfer special 
 prayers for this intention. Pray with a 
 most ardent devotion and with a loud 
 cry of your heart to the Almighty that 
 He may dispel the illusions by which the 
 evil spirits deceive the Dying, pray that 
 God may destroy the snares of the dev¬ 
 ils, frustrate their wicked designs, and 
 with His Divine Arm confound all evil 
 spirits. You know that I have prayed 
 in this manner for the Dying, and I wish 
 that you imitate me in this respect. You 
 shall even command the evil spirits in 
 the name of God to depart from the 
 Dying and not molest them. You must 
 
— 59 — 
 
 execute these admonitions for the love 
 of God; I shall, then, obtain from His 
 Majesty several privileges for you as 
 well as for those whom vou desire to 
 help in that terrible hour. Be not stingy 
 with your love, for in this matter you 
 work not by your own power, but by the 
 power of the Most High Who Himself 
 wishes to work in you. ’ ’ 
 
 o 
 
— 60 — 
 
 PART SECOND. 
 
 Other Devotions and Prayers for the 
 
 Dying. 
 
 I. The Agony of Jesiis. 
 
 Those who do not wish to make the 
 Act of Consecration and yet would lik^ 
 to help the Dying may join the Confra¬ 
 ternity of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus, 
 which is under the same direction and 
 with which the Union is intimately con¬ 
 nected. The members of this Confra¬ 
 ternity say every day the Daily Prayer 
 for the Dying and once a month on the 
 day appointed or on the following Sun¬ 
 day pray for half an hour for the Dy¬ 
 ing, which may be done by hearing Holy 
 Mass and offering it up for them. Since 
 the Agony of Jesus was His greatest suf¬ 
 fering, by which Christ wished to rep¬ 
 resent the condition of the agonizing, 
 to sanctify the death-struggle, and to 
 become the model, consolation and 
 strength for the Dying, the devotion and 
 meditation of the Holy Agony of Jesus 
 
61 — 
 
 is very much recommended to the mem¬ 
 bers of the Society. 
 
 The Daily Prayer for the Dying. 
 
 O most merciful Jesus, lover of souls, 
 I pray Thee by the agony of Thy most 
 Sacred Heart and by the sorrows of Thy 
 Immaculate Mother, cleanse in Thy 
 Blood the sinners of the whole world, 
 who are now in their Agony and are to 
 die this day. Amen. 
 
 Agonizing Heart of Jesus, have mercy 
 on the dying. 
 
 (An Indulgence of 100 days every time it is 
 said with a contrite heart and devotion. If 
 said at three distinct intervals every day 
 during the month, a plenary Indulgence un¬ 
 der the usual conditions. Pope Pius IX. Feb. 
 2, 1850.) 
 
 Morning and Evening Offering for the 
 
 Dying. 
 
 0 my God, for the Salvation of the 
 Dying, especially for those who are to 
 die this day (night), I offer to Thee 
 through the hands of Mary Immaculate 
 and St. Joseph, our. Patron, all my 
 thoughts, words, actions, and sufferings 
 
 1 
 
— 62 — 
 
 of this day and of my whole life in 
 union with the good works of our asso¬ 
 ciates and pious Christians and with the 
 merits of all the Saints in Heaven. But 
 particularly do I thus offer to Thee for 
 the Dying Sinners the most Precious 
 Blood, the hitter Passion and Death of 
 Jesus Christ, the sorrows of His Dearest 
 Mother Mary, and all the Holy Masses 
 that are celebrated to-day (to-night) 
 throughout the world. I desire to renew 
 this Act of Offering for the Dying, 
 whenever shall say: “My Jesus, 
 Mercy,” and I promise again to conse¬ 
 crate my whole life to the Salvation of 
 the Poor Dying Sinners. Give me the 
 grace to persevere in this noble work till 
 death. Amen. 
 
 Pious Practice for the Faithful in Their 
 
 Agony. 
 
 If one says, kneeling, 3 Our Fathers 
 in remembrance of the Passion and 
 Agony of our Lord Jesus Christ, and 3 
 Hail Mary’s, in memory of the hitter 
 sorrows experienced by our Lady at the 
 
— 63 — 
 
 foot of the Cross during the Agony of 
 her Divine Son, for the faithful in their 
 Agony, he gains each time an Indul¬ 
 gence of 300 days, and if said once a 
 day during a month a plenary Indul¬ 
 gence under the usual conditions. 
 
 (Pope Pius VII, April 18, 1809.) 
 
 Meditation on the Agony of Jesus. 
 [For the Hour of Intercession for the 
 
 Dying.] 
 
 ‘‘Jesus knowing that His hour was 
 come, that He should go out of this 
 world to the Father, having loved His 
 own who were in the world. He loved 
 them unto the end.” 
 
 By these words St. John describes the 
 infinite love that was burning in the 
 Heart of Jesus the night before His Pas¬ 
 sion. This infinite love moved Him to 
 institute the Blessed Sacrament, “the 
 memorial of His love,” to deliver that 
 beautiful discourse (“Love one another 
 as I loved you”), and that fervent prayer 
 in which he asked his Heavenly Father: 
 “That the love wherewith Thou hast 
 
— 64 — 
 
 loved me, may be in them and I inji 
 them.” He then goes to the garden of^ 
 Olives to begin His Passion. To make 
 Jesns, so to speak, fully understand and l 
 feel the cause, the extent, and the effects.- 
 of His bitter Passion and Death, Godji 
 sends to him that terrible suffering!.' 
 which caused His Agony so that ‘‘His i 
 sweat became as drops of blood trickling; 
 down upon the ground. ’ ’ Consider now, i 
 briefly, the causes of this greatest of our , 
 Savior’s sufferings. ’ : 
 
 I. Christ is loaded with the sins of all 
 men so that he appears before the Di¬ 
 vine Majesty as the greatest malefactor. 
 If you now consider how great a horror 
 Jesus feels even of the smallest sin, how 
 much must it then grieve and oppress 
 His Heart to see the Inflnite Majesty so 
 much offended and outraged by most un¬ 
 grateful creatures, and Himself loaded:! 
 with all their sins and crimes. 
 
 II. Then Almighty God shows Jesus 
 all the sufferings that our Divine Savior-■ 
 afterwards took upon Himself for the- 
 sins and crimes of all men. This sight 
 
— 65 — 
 
 has the effect of causing Jesus to feel 
 and suffer all at once in His Heart, 
 whatever He had to suffer afterwards in 
 His Holy Body by being scourged, 
 crowned with thorns; etc. His human 
 nature shudders at the thought of so 
 cruel sufferings and so ignominous a 
 death. 
 
 III. But God also shows Him the 
 effect of His bitter Passion and Death: 
 that the honor of the Most High would 
 be restored, the Divine Justice be ap¬ 
 peased, mankind be reconciled to God, 
 and a number of souls be eternally 
 saved, namely, all those that would 
 strive to profit by His Passion and 
 Death. But, at the same time, Christ 
 also foresees that, notwithstanding all 
 His Sufferings, a great many will de¬ 
 spise His love, even abuse and profane 
 His Sacred Blood, and on that account, 
 be condemned to eternal hell-fire. This 
 foresight greatly increases His Suffer¬ 
 ings and He begins to become “very 
 sorrowful even unto death. ’ ’ 
 
 IV. There arises now in the Heart of 
 
— 66 — 
 
 Jesus the greatest struggle between His 
 Infinite Love for the salvation of all men 
 and the Infinite Justice of the Divine 
 Nature demanding the eternal reproba¬ 
 tion of impenitent*sinners. Christ’s in¬ 
 finite Love wishes to save all men, as 
 He is also willing to suffer and die for 
 all. Therefore, He begins to pray and 
 ask His Heavenly Father: ‘‘My Father, 
 if it be possible, let this chalice pass 
 from me.” This longing and struggling 
 for the salvation of souls brings Jesus 
 into a state of so great an agony that it 
 even presses the Blood from the pores of 
 His Body. “His sweat became as drops ! 
 of blood, trickling down upon the 
 ground. ” 
 
 This same desire for the salvation of 
 poor sinners makes Jesus also exclaim 
 in His Agony on the Cross: “My God, 
 my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?” 
 by which words, according to the revela¬ 
 tions made to Ven. Mary of Agreda, Je- ■ 
 sus principally complains of being for- • 
 saken by so many souls that He wishes 
 to save by His Death, but that reject 
 
— 67 — 
 
 His Love to their greater eternal dam¬ 
 nation. And to express how much even 
 at the moment of His Death He longs 
 for their salvation, He again exclaims, 
 ‘ ‘ I thirst, ’ ’ that means: I am consumed 
 by the most ardent desire for the pos¬ 
 session of these immortal souls. 
 
 V. Now consider that all the sins come 
 from the heart and will of man and, 
 therefore, Christ principally suffers in 
 His Heart to atone for our many in¬ 
 terior sins. Will you not, then, begin to 
 hate and avoid sin? Do you not feel 
 sorry for the many sins of your past 
 life? Do you not also wish to save im¬ 
 mortal souls and to comfort Jesus in 
 His Agony as the Angel strengthens 
 Him in the garden of Olives? But Je¬ 
 sus says to you: ' ‘ As long as you did it 
 to one of these my brethren, you did it 
 to me.” When you clothed your neigh¬ 
 bor, you clothed your Savior. There¬ 
 fore, hasten to assist, to comfort, to save 
 the dying, and you will comfort your 
 Agonizing Savior, you will even strug¬ 
 gle with Him for the salvation of im- 
 
— 68 — 
 
 mortal souls. Thank, then, Jesus for the 
 Agony He suffered for you and all poor 
 sinners, and promise Him to show your 
 gratitude by serving Him in the Dying 
 Sinners, that they may be saved for all 
 eternity. 
 
 Litany of Jesus in the Garden of Olives. 
 
 Lord, have mercy on us. 
 
 Christ, have mercy on us. 
 
 Lord, have mercy on us. 
 
 Christ, hear us. 
 
 Christ, graciously hear us. 
 
 God, the Father of Heaven, have 
 mercy on us. 
 
 God, the Son, Redeemer of the world, 
 have mercy on us. 
 
 God, the Holy Ghost, have mercy on 
 us. 
 
 Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on 
 us. 
 
 Jesus, "Who didst go to a solitary 
 place to pray before delivering Thyself 
 up to Thine enemies, have mercy on the 
 Dying. 
 
69 — 
 
 ' Jesus, Whose heart was oppressed by 
 f mortal sadness in the Garden of Geth- 
 ' semani, have mercy on the Dying. 
 
 I Jesus, filled with fear at the thought 
 1 of the torments of Thy Passion and at 
 our sins, have mercy on the Dying. 
 
 Jesus, overwhelmed with sadness by 
 foreseeing the fruitlessness of Thy suf¬ 
 ferings for souls that refuse to profit by 
 them, have mercy on the Dying. 
 
 Jesus, strengthened in Thine Agony 
 by an Angel from Heaven, have mercy 
 on the Dying. 
 
 Jesus, accepting the chalice of Thy 
 Passion for love of us, have mercy on the 
 Dying. 
 
 Jesus, Who didst say in the midst of 
 Thine anguish: “Father, not My will, 
 but Thine be done,” have mercy on the 
 Dying. 
 
 Jesus, persevering in prayer, notwith¬ 
 standing the weakness of nature, have 
 mercy on the Dying. 
 
 Jesus, Who didst come to Thine Apos¬ 
 tles and find them sleeping, have mercy 
 on the Dying. 
 
70 — 
 
 Jesus, Who didst say to them: ‘ ‘ Could 1 
 you not watch with Me one hour ? ’ ’ have 
 mercy on the Dying. 
 
 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 takest away the 
 sins of the world, have mercy on us, O 
 Lord. 
 
 V. Agonizing Heart of Jesus. 
 
 R. Have mercy on the Dying. 
 
 Let us Pray: 
 
 O my Divine Savior, remember the. 
 sadness of Heart which oppressed Thee,; 
 and the fear which Thou hast felt when, 
 being in Agony, Thou didst pray the 
 longer and water the earth with a Sweat ] 
 of Blood. I offer it to Thee with tender ; 
 love, and I beseech Thee, by every drop 
 of that Precious Blood, to have mercy ( 
 on the Dying, and to put away all their 
 sins. Amen. . 1 
 
71 — 
 
 Prayer for the Dying. 
 
 Lord Jesus Christ! we beseech Thee, 
 by Thy bitter Agony and prayer in the 
 garden, that Thou wouldst be pleased to 
 be an advocate with Thy eternal Father 
 in behalf of these Thy servants: lay be¬ 
 fore Him all those drops of blood which, 
 in Thy anguish of spirit, flowed from 
 Thy body, and offer them for the remis¬ 
 sion of all their sins: that in this hour of 
 extremity they may be discharged from 
 that handwriting of sin which stands 
 against them, and from that punishment 
 which they fear to be too justly due to 
 their sins. 
 
 Our Father, etc.; Hail, Mary, etc. 
 
 Lord Jesus Christ! who for our sal¬ 
 vation was pleased to suffer death on 
 the cross, we beseech Thee to offer all 
 the anguish and pains Thou didst then 
 endure, and most especially at the hour 
 of Thy death, in behalf of these Thy 
 servants, that they may be accepted in 
 their favor, for the good of their souls, 
 for the obtaining of a happy hour, and 
 for the release from that punishment 
 
o 
 
 — 72 — 
 
 which they have deserved for their sins. 
 
 Our Father, etc.; Hail, Mary, etc. 
 
 Lord Jesus Christ! who hadst such a 
 boundless love for man as to induce 
 Thee to become man for his salvation, 
 we beseech Thee to let this. Thy infinite 
 charity and goodness towards mankind, 
 so plead in behalf of these Thy poor 
 servants, that by Thy powerful media¬ 
 tion their soul, at the moment of its 
 departure from the body, being freed 
 from the bonds of sin, may find a full 
 admittance through the gates that lead 
 to the mansions of eternal bliss. 
 
 Our Father, etc.; Hail, Mary, etc. 
 
 Lord Jesus Christ! who by Thy pre¬ 
 cious blood has redeemed us, we beseech 
 Thee. to imprint deep in the soul of 
 these Thy servants, the memory of Thy 
 most sacred wounds, that, having them 
 perpetually in sight they may be en¬ 
 couraged to suffer with patience and 
 resignation, and be armed against all 
 the pangs of death. Let them cheerfully 
 submit to all the difficulties of their con¬ 
 dition, and begin, even here, to be united 
 
— 73 — 
 
 to Thee with a love that shall never end. 
 Grant them now to partake of the fruit 
 of Thy holy incarnation, of Thy bitter 
 passion, of Thy glorious resurrection 
 and admirable ascension. Grant that 
 they may be sensible of the effects of 
 Thy holy mysteries and sacraments, and 
 of all the prayers which are offered by 
 the whole church. 
 
 Remember, 0 Lord, that Thou wast 
 once in the straits of death; and in this 
 extremity, after crying out to Thy eter¬ 
 nal Father, and commending Thy spirit 
 to Him didst expire. Behold now these 
 Thy servants in their anguish crying 
 aloud to Thee; stand Thou by them, de¬ 
 fend and comfort them in this their dis¬ 
 tress, and receive their soul into Thy 
 merciful embraces. 
 
 Remember, 0 Jesus, that Thy arms 
 were stretched forth. Thy side opened, 
 and Thy sacred head bowed down from 
 the cross; have regard now, we beseech 
 Thee, to the soul of these Thy servants, 
 which, departing out of this world, seeks 
 refuge in Thee; receive it into Thy arms. 
 
— 74 — 
 
 clasp it to Thy breast, and there let it 
 hide itself, secured from the attacks of 
 all its enemies, till the anger of God 
 pass over. Into Thy hands we commend 
 their spirit, which has been created and 
 redeemed by Thee; despise not, we be¬ 
 seech Thee, the work of Thy hands. 
 
 0 Christ Jesus, who wast crucified for 
 our redemption, we beseech Thee, by 
 that love which brought Thee from 
 heaven, to have compassion on the soul 
 of Thy servants; forgive them all their 
 sins, and by the merits of Thy bitter 
 passion, satisfy for all their failings and 
 supply their defects; let them now expe¬ 
 rience the multitude of Thy tender mer¬ 
 cies, and be sensible how good Thou, 0 
 Lord, art. Dispose now their soul by 
 Thy grace, that they may be prepared at 
 Thy call to go forth to meet Thee, their 
 heavenly bridegroom. Grant them, we. 
 beseech Thee, true patience and perfect 
 resignation in their pains and anguish. 
 Give them full discharge from all their 
 sins; confirm their faith; strengthen 
 their hope and perfect their charity. 
 
— 75 — 
 
 that, departing hence, their soul may be 
 received into Thy mercy. 0 dear Re¬ 
 deemer, by that distress which Thou 
 didst suffer on the cross when Thou 
 didst cry out to Thy eternal Father, we 
 pray Thee to show mercy to these Thy 
 servants in their extremity; hear the 
 sighs and desires of their heart; and 
 since they are now deprived of their 
 faculty of speech, speak Thou for them, 
 we beseech Thee, who art the eternal 
 word, and to whom the Father will re¬ 
 fuse nothing. 
 
 By Thy victory over death, and the 
 infinite merits of Thy passion, we be¬ 
 seech Thee, on behalf of these servants, 
 to have no other thoughts than of peace, 
 of mercy and comfort, and not of afflic¬ 
 tion. Bear them up against all distrust 
 and despair; deliver them from their 
 necessities, and be their comforter in 
 their distress. Let those hands which 
 were once nailed to the cross now plead 
 for them, and obtaining their pardon, 
 conduct them to eternal rest. Amen. 
 
— 7G — 
 
 II. The Precious Blood of Jesus Christ. 
 
 St. Paul attributes the remission of 
 sins, the grace of our redemption, and 
 our eternal Salvation principally to the 
 Most Precious Blood of Christ. St. 
 John says: ‘‘The Blood of Jesus Christ 
 cleanses us from all sin.” It is there¬ 
 fore a very useful devotion to offer up 
 the Most Precious Blood of Christ for 
 the poor Dying Sinners. Especially at 
 the Consecration and Elevation of the 
 chalice in Holy Mass, this offering of the 
 Precious Blood should prove very effic_a- 
 cious for the Dying. For, when the 
 priest consecrates the Blood of Christ in 
 Holy Mass, he says: ‘ ‘ This is the chalice 
 of my Blood, of the new and eternal tes¬ 
 tament, a mystery of faith, which shall 
 be shed for you and for many-unto the 
 remission of sins. ’ ’ May the word 
 “Many” in this formula of Consecra¬ 
 tion signify the Many Dying Sinners of 
 fhat hour and day. 
 
— 77 
 
 Nine Offerings of the Precious Blood for 
 
 the Dying. 
 
 I. 
 
 0 Jesus, with our dear Mother, Mary 
 Immaculate, we adore and offer up for 
 the Dying Sinners all Thy Holy Blood 
 shed at Thy Circumcision, when Thou 
 didst receive the sweet name Jesus. By 
 this Thy Precious Blood and Thy Most 
 Holy Name, ^we ask Thee to forgive the 
 Dying all sins committed against faith. 
 Grant to all dying children the grace of 
 holy Baptism and to the rest of the Dy¬ 
 ing the light of the true, saving faith. 
 Amen. 
 
 Our Father. Hail M^ry. Glory be to 
 the Father. 
 
 We pray Thee, therefore, to help Thy 
 servants. 
 
 Whom Thou hast redeemed with Thv 
 Precious Blood. My Jesus, mercy. Amen. 
 
 II. 
 
 0 Jesus, with our dear Mother, Mary 
 Immaculate, we adore and offer up for 
 the Dying Sinners all Thy Holy Blood 
 
— 78 — 
 
 which trickled down at Thy Holy Agony 
 in the garden of Olives. By this Thy 
 Precious Blood and Thy Holy Agony 
 we ask Thee to forgive the Dying all 
 their sins of ingratitude. Grant them 
 the grace to make a sacrifice of their life 
 and to die with full resignation to the 
 will of Thy Heavenly Father. Amen. 
 
 Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be to ■ 
 the Father. 
 
 We pray Thee, therefore,, to help Thy ■ 
 servants. 
 
 Whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy f 
 Precious Blood. My Jesus, mercy. Amen, i 
 
 III. ^ 
 
 0 Jesus, with our dear Mother, Mary J 
 Immaculate, we adore and offer up for | 
 the Dying Sinners all Thy Holy Blood i 
 shed by the most cruel scourging at the f 
 pillar. By this Thy Precious Blood and > 
 all the wounds of Thy mangled body we * 
 ask Thee to forgive the Dying all their 
 sins of impurity and to clothe their souls t 
 with the beautiful garment of sanctify- 
 ing grace and of holy purity. Amen. i 
 
— 79 — 
 
 Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be to 
 the Father. 
 
 We pray Thee, therefore, to help Thy 
 servants. 
 
 Whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy 
 Precious Blood. My Jesus, mercy. Amen. 
 
 IV. 
 
 0 Jesus, with our dear Mother, Mary 
 Immaculate, we adore and offer up for 
 the Dying Sinners all Thy Holy Blood 
 pressed out of Thy Sacred Head by the 
 horrible crown of thorns. By this Thy 
 Precious Blood and the sufferings of 
 Thy Sacred Head we ask Thee to for¬ 
 give the Dying all their interior sins 
 committed in thought and desire, espe- 
 pecially by pride. Grant them true hu¬ 
 mility that they may ask for pardon and 
 mercy. Amen. 
 
 Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be to 
 the Father. 
 
 We pray Thee, therefore, to help Thy 
 servants. 
 
 Whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy 
 Precious Blood. My Jesus, mercy. Amen, 
 
— •80 
 
 V. 
 
 0 Jesus, with our dear Mother, Mary 
 Immaculate, we adore and offer up for 
 the Dying Sinners all Thy Holy Blood 
 shed when carrying the heavy Cross and 
 falling so often under its weight. By 
 this Thy Precious Blood and the suffer¬ 
 ings of Thy repeated falls we ask Thee 
 to forgive the Dying their repeated re¬ 
 lapses into sin. Grant them the grace to 
 carry their cross with patience as atone¬ 
 ment for their many sins. Amen. 
 
 Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory he to 
 the Father. 
 
 We pray Thee, therefore, to help Thy 
 servants. 
 
 Whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy 
 Precious Blood. My Jesus, mercy. Amen. 
 
 VI. 
 
 O Jesus, with our dear Mother, Mary 
 Immaculate, we adore and offer up forJ 
 the Dying Sinners all Thy Holy Blood ^ 
 that gushed forth from Thy Sacred! 
 Hands and Feet when being nailed to 
 the Cross. By this Thy Precious Blood" 
 
— Bl¬ 
 
 and the wounds of Thy Sacred Hands 
 and Feet we ask Thee to forgive the Dy¬ 
 ing all their exterior sins committed by 
 lany bad actions. Unite them now to 
 Thy holy Cross that they may suffer in 
 the spirit of true penance. Amen. 
 
 Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be to 
 the Father. 
 
 We pray Thee, therefore, to help Thy 
 servants. 
 
 Whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy 
 Precious Blood. My Jesus, mercy. Amen. 
 
 0 Jesus, with our dear Mother, Mary 
 Immaculate, we adore and offer up for 
 the Dying Sinners all Thy Holy Blood 
 that was flowing from all the wounds of 
 Thy Holy Body when hanging on the 
 Cross. By this Thy Precious Blood and 
 Thy most Holy Death we ask Thee to 
 forgive the Dying all sins committed 
 against hope. Let them not despair, 
 give them full confidence in the merits 
 of Thy bitter Passion and Death and as- 
 
— 82 — 
 
 sist them at the last moment that they 
 may die a truly happy death. Amen. 
 
 Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be to 
 the Father. 
 
 We pray Thee, therefore, to help Thy 
 servants. 
 
 Whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy 
 Precious Blood. My Jesus, mercy. Amen. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 0 Jesus, with our dear Mother, Mary 
 Immaculate, we adore and offer up for I 
 the Dying Sinners all Thy Holy Blood i 
 that came forth from Thy Sacred Heart 
 when pierced with a lance. By this Thy 
 Precious Blood and the love of Thy Sa¬ 
 cred Heart we ask Thee to forgive the 
 Dying all their sins of neglect, and after 
 purifying their hearts in Thy Precious 
 Blood to enkindle in them the fire ofi 
 Thy Divine Love, so pleasing to ThyJ 
 Heavenly Father. Amen. 
 
 Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be to 
 the Father. 
 
 We pray Thee, therefore, to help Thy i 
 servants, I 
 
. z' 
 
 — 83 — 
 
 Whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy 
 Precious Blood. My Jesus, mercy. Amen. 
 
 IX. 
 
 0 Jesus, with our dear Mother, Mary 
 Immaculate, we adore and offer up for 
 the Dying Sinners all Thy Holy Blood 
 that is daily flowing on all our altars in 
 all the Holy Masses for th'e remission of 
 sins. By this Thy Precious Blood and 
 Thy great love for man in the Blessed 
 Sacrament we ask Thee to forgive the 
 Dying all sins committed against Thee 
 in the Holy Eucharist. From this most 
 Holy Sacrament plead now, 0 Jesus, 
 with Thy Holy Body and Blood and 
 Thy Holy Wounds for all the Dying 
 Sinners that they receive from Thy in- 
 flnite mercy the grace of flnal persever¬ 
 ance, and thus be saved forever. Amen. 
 
 Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be to 
 the Father. 
 
 We pray Thee, therefore, to help Thy 
 servants. 
 
 Whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy 
 Precious Blood. My Jesus, mercy. Amen. 
 
 
84 — 
 
 IIL 
 
 The Sacrifice of Holy Mass and the Re¬ 
 ception of Holy Communion for the 
 Dying Sinners. 
 
 There is no better means of assisting 
 the Dying than to have Holy Masses 
 said and offered for the Dying. When¬ 
 ever, therefore your means allow it, 
 show that you have, indeed, true love for 
 your dying neighbor. At least, often as¬ 
 sist at Holy Mass with the intention of- 
 offering it up for them. Accustom your¬ 
 self to make, then, the acts of adoration, 
 atonement, thanksgiving, and petition 
 for them and, as it were, in their stead. 
 Particularly, at the moment of Conse¬ 
 cration, offer up with all fervor the most 
 Holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ to 
 His Heavenly Father that He may ap¬ 
 ply to the souls of the Dying the merits 
 of Christ’s redemption. - 
 
 Frequently, and, if possible, even 
 daily receive Holy Communion. At that 
 blessed moment ask Jesus Christ, then 
 
85 — 
 
 present in your heart, by His ardent de¬ 
 sire for the Salvation of souls, to spare 
 and save the Poor Dying Sinners. You 
 may use the following prayers, specially 
 composed to help the Dying: 
 
 » 
 
 Prayers at Mass for the Dying. 
 
 7. Before Mass. 
 
 0, my Jesus, I firmly believe that the 
 Sacrifice of Mass is the renewal of that 
 great sacrifice which Thou didst offer at 
 the Last Supper and on the Cross for 
 the salvation of the world. Grant me 
 the grace to assist at it with due atten¬ 
 tion and devotion, in union with Thy 
 sorrowful Mother, standing under the 
 Cross. Through the hands of Mary, Thy 
 Immaculate Mother,^! wish to offer this 
 and all other holy Masses that are cele¬ 
 brated today all over the world for the 
 eternal salvation of the Dying Sinners, 
 the deliverance of the poor souls in pur¬ 
 gatory, and the welfare of this house, 
 and of all those for whom I am bound 
 and Thou wishest me to pray. My Je¬ 
 sus, Mercy. Amen. 
 
— 86 — 
 
 I 
 
 II. At the Beginning of Mass. 
 
 0, my God, with all the angels and 
 saints, I humbly adore Thee, most Holy 
 Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, 
 and in order to give due honor to Thy 
 divine- majesty, I offer up through my 
 Mother Mary, all the praise and homage 
 which Jesus Christ, Thy beloved Son, in 
 whom Thou art well pleased, did offer 
 in his mortal life, and is still offering in 
 this most holy sacrifice. Honor, praise, • 
 and adoration, now and forever to Thy: 
 most Holy Name, through Jesus Christ, : 
 Thy Son, our Lord and Savior. Mayest < 
 Thou be also glorified by the Salvation' 
 of'the Poor Dying Sinners that they 
 may praise with us Thy infinite mercy . 
 for all eternity. My Jesus, Mercy. Amen. 
 
 III. At the Offertory. 
 
 Almighty and eternal God, I offer 
 Thee through the hands of the priest 
 and my Immaculate Mother Mary, this 
 bread and wine in union with my body 
 and soul and all I have that it may be¬ 
 come a most pleasing sacrifice to Thy di- . 
 
— 87 
 
 vine majesty. In order to render Thee 
 due thanksgiving, I oiler up all the 
 thanks that Thy divine Son gives to 
 Thee in this august sacrifice for all the 
 benefits, graces and favors bestowed 
 upon me and all mankind, but especially 
 upon the Dying Sinners that their in¬ 
 gratitude may not hinder the grace of 
 true conversion. What thanks will they 
 offer Thee for all eternity, if like the 
 penitent thief they will hear the consol¬ 
 ing words: ‘ ‘ This day thou shalt be 
 with me in paradise.” My Jesus, Mercy. 
 Amen. 
 
 IV. After the Consecration. 
 
 0 Jesus, my Savior, I firmly believe 
 that Thou art now present upon the 
 altar, with Thy body and soul. Thy 
 flesh and blood. Thy humanity and di¬ 
 vinity. I most profoundly adore Thee 
 with all the holy angels that invisibly 
 surround Thy altar. Thou now renewest 
 the great sacrifice of the Cross. Through 
 the hands of Mary, Thy Immaculate 
 Mother, I offer up this Thy sacred body 
 
— 88 — 
 
 and Thy most holy blood, as atonement 
 for my many sins, and those of the 
 whole world, but especially for the Poor 
 Dying Sinners. Plead Thou, O Jesus, 
 for them, with Thy blood and Thy most 
 holy wounds, at the throne of Thy mer¬ 
 ciful Father! May Thy body preserve 
 their souls to life everlasting, and Thy 
 blood again be shed, for the remission of 
 their sins, that Thou didst not suffer and 
 die in vain for them. My Jesus, Mercy. 
 Amen. 
 
 V. At the Communion. 
 
 0 Jesus, I am not worthy that Thou 
 shouldst enter into my soul, but speak 
 one word, and my soul shall be healed. 
 How I long to receive Thee now into my " 
 heart, as Thy Holy Church wishes me to 
 communicate even daily. Come then into 
 my heart with all Thy graces and bless¬ 
 ings! Unite me most intimately with 
 Thy Sacred Heart, preserve me from 
 sin, let me always fulfil Thy holy will, 
 for Thy greater honor and glory, and 
 give me the grace of final perseverance. 
 
— 89 
 
 I now recommend to Thee my parents, 
 teachers, friends, and enemies, but espe¬ 
 cially the Dying Sinners, that through 
 the graces of this sacrifice they may die 
 united with Thee and strengthened by 
 Thy holy blessing. Let also the poor 
 souls share in the merits of this sacrifice ! 
 O Mary, present these petitions to Thy 
 divine Son, that we all find grace and 
 salvation. 
 
 My Jesus, Mercy. Amen. 
 
 YI. Prayer After Holy Communion. 
 
 O Jesus, I firmly believe that Thou, 
 the Son of God, and of my Mother, Mary 
 Immaculate, didst come into my heart. 
 With most profound humility, I wish to 
 honor, praise, love, and adore Thee, as 
 Thy Mother Mary and St. Joseph loved 
 and adored Thee, when lying in the 
 crib. From the bottom of my heart I 
 thank Thee for this Holy Communion 
 and all the graces and blessings Thou 
 didst bring to my soul. In return for 
 Thy love I wish to make now a complete 
 sacrifice of myself to Thee, through 
 
90 — 
 
 Mary, Thy and my Immaculate Mother. 
 All I am, all I have, and all I do, shall 
 belong only to Thee! 0 Jesus, keep the 
 thought of Thy holy presence before my 
 mind that I may never offend Thee by 
 sin. 0 Jesus, hear my prayer, save the 
 Dying Sinners, console the poor souls in 
 purgatory, keep me pure in body and 
 soul, and give now the fullness of Thy 
 blessing both to me and all those whom 
 I have recommended to Thy loving 
 Heart. My Jesus, Mercy. Amen. 
 
 The Visit and Adoration of the Blessed 
 
 Sacrament. 
 
 The center of all real Catholic devo¬ 
 tion should be the Blessed Sacrament. 
 For this reason, the members of the 
 Union and Society for the Dying should 
 love to visit and adore the most Holy 
 Sacrament. There you find the loving 
 Savior, the real Sacred Heart, the most 
 Precious Blood, and an abundance of 
 graces that Christ is ready to distribute 
 to his faithful adorers for their own wel¬ 
 fare and the Salvation of those they 
 
— 91 — 
 
 wish to save. At the foot of the Taber¬ 
 nacle is the best place for prayer, for 
 there you plead with Christ, Who is con¬ 
 tinually interceding for man in the Sac¬ 
 rament of love and only waiting for he¬ 
 roic souls that wish to become like unto 
 Him, namely, another Savior for the 
 poor Dying Sinners. Help to promote, 
 as far as lies in your power, the great 
 Eucharistic movement of our days. Try 
 to be a daily and devout communicant 
 and to attend the Holy Hour where it is 
 kept. If you are a Tertiary, or a child 
 of St. Francis, consider that our holy 
 Father St. Francis often spent entire 
 hours, especially at night, before the 
 Tabernacle to plead for the poor sinners, 
 and when Christ appeared to him in the 
 chapel of the Portiuncula, and told him 
 to ask a favor of Him, St. Francis would 
 only ask: ‘ ‘ Pardon for the poor . sin¬ 
 ners. ” The great Portiuncula Indul¬ 
 gence was not asked by St. Francis for 
 the poor souls in purgatory, but for the 
 poor sinners here on earth. Before the 
 Tabernacle, you will then, as it were. 
 
— 92 — 
 
 storm the Sacred Heart and the throne 
 of Mercy, and obtain the greatest victo¬ 
 ries over satan and hell for the Poor Dy¬ 
 ing Sinners. 
 
 Accustom yourself, when entering or 
 leaving the church or chapel to say: 
 “Honor, Praise, and Adoration without 
 end, to Jesus Christ in the most Holy 
 Sacrament. O Sacrament most holy, O 
 Sacrament divine, all Praise and all 
 Thanksgiving be every moment Thine.” 
 
 The beautiful prayer of St. Francis 
 was: 
 
 “We adore Thee, most Holy Lord, Je¬ 
 sus Christ, here and in all Thy churches 
 that are in the whole world, and we give 
 Thee praise, because by Thy Holy Cross 
 Thou hast redeemed the world. ’ ’ 
 
 At the time of Adoration you may say 
 the Rosary of the Blessed Sacrament for 
 the Dying in this manner. Add after 
 the word Jesus in the Hail Mary: 
 “Praised and adored in the most Holy 
 Sacrament of the Altar, . . . Now and 
 forevermore, . . . Holy Mary ...” 
 
 After each decade insert the Daily 
 
— 93 — 
 
 Prayer for the Dying: ‘ ‘ 0 most merci¬ 
 
 ful Jesus . . . ’ ’ 
 
 By adding the Offerings of the -Pre¬ 
 cious Blood and other suitable prayers 
 from this Manual, you can easily spend 
 an hour of Adoration that will please 
 Jesus and Mary, and obtain many graces 
 for the Dying Sinners. 
 
— 94 — 
 
 IV. The Immaculate Conception of the 
 Blessed Virgin Mary. 
 
 Mary in her Immaculate Conception 
 conquered the devil. For God said to 
 the serpent after the fall of man: ‘‘1 
 will put enmity between thee and the 
 Woman, between thy seed and her seed; 
 She shall crush thy head, and thou shalt 
 lie in wait for her heel. ’ ’ This singular 
 privilege is most dear to Mary, there¬ 
 fore, when she appeared at Lourdes, and 
 was asked her name, Mary said: ‘ ‘ I am 
 
 the Immaculate Conception. ’ ’ At one of 
 these miraculous apparitions, Mary spe¬ 
 cially ordered Bemardette to ‘^Pray for 
 the Sinners and to do Penance.” The 
 special devotion to the Immaculate Con¬ 
 ception Avill be then a great help to the 
 members to obtain through Mary Im¬ 
 maculate powerful graces for the poor¬ 
 est of sinners, the Dying Sinners. May 
 then the Immaculate Conception again 
 conquer the devil in the souls of the Dy¬ 
 ing, and thus prove to be the best 
 Mother for the poor Dying Sinners. 
 
— 95 
 
 If you are a child of St. Francis, know 
 that the devotion to the Immaculate 
 Conception is the great inheritance and 
 special glory of the Seraphic Order 
 ; through the great Defender of Mary Im¬ 
 maculate, the blessed John Duns Scotus. 
 For the love of Mary foster a great ven¬ 
 eration to this great servant of God, 
 since Mary had entrusted to him the de¬ 
 fence of her dearest privilege. Love to 
 say the Rosary and the special prayers 
 in honor of Mary Immaculate and offer 
 them up for the Dying Sinners. 
 
 The Franciscan Rosary of the Seven 
 Joys of Mary Immaculate. 
 
 This Rosary consists of seven Decades 
 and each decade of one Our Father, ten 
 Hail Mary’s and one Glory be to the 
 Father. 
 
 For the seven joyful mysteries add 
 after the word Jesus in the Hail Mary: 
 
 1) Whom thou, Immaculate Virgin 
 Mary with joy didst conceive by the 
 j Holy Ghost. 
 
— 96 
 
 2) Whom thou, Immaculate Virgin 
 Mary with joy didst carry to Elizabeth. 
 
 3) Whom thou, Immaculate Virgin 
 Mary with joy didst bear in Bethlehem. 
 
 4) Whom thou. Immaculate Virgin 
 Mary with joy didst offer to the Magi 
 for adoration. 
 
 5) Whom thou. Immaculate Virgin 
 Mary with joy didst find again in the - 
 temple. 
 
 6) Whom thou. Immaculate Virgin . 
 Mary with joy didst first see again after . 
 His Kesurrection. 
 
 7) Who assumed thee Immaculate 
 Virgin Mary with joy into heaven and 
 crowned thee Queen of heaven and 
 earth. 
 
 Add two Hail Mary’s in honor of the 
 72 years of Mary and one Our Father, 
 Hail Mary, and Glory be to the Father, 
 
 . . . for the intention of the Holy 
 
 Father to gain the Plenary Indulgence 
 granted to all the members of the 3 
 Orders of St. Francis, whenever they 
 say this Rosary. (Sept. 7, 1901.) 
 
 »\ • 
 
I f 
 
 r 
 
 — 97 — 
 
 1 Saturday, Specially Devoted to Mary 
 
 • j Immacidate. 
 
 > A beautiful devotion for Saturday in 
 
 • honor of Mary Immaculate is: 
 
 1 f- 
 
 j i The Little Rosary of the Immacidate 
 [• Conception. 
 
 In the name of the Father, and the 
 I Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen. 
 
 K 1)1 give Thee thanks, eternal Heav- 
 1" enly Father, because by Thy Omnipo- 
 tence Thou hast preserved the Blessed 
 7 Virgin Mary, Thy Daughter, from all 
 j stain of original sin. Then say 4 Hail 
 i' Mary’s and after each these words: 
 r “Blessed be the holy, most pure, and 
 I Immaculate Conception of the Blessed 
 !. Virgin Mary. ’ ’ Then Glory be to the 
 ! Father, . . . 
 
 1 . 2) I give Thee thanks, eternal Divine 
 
 I Son, because by Thy Wisdom Thou hast 
 I preserved the Blessed Virgin Mary, Thy 
 i Mother, from all stain of original sin. 
 
 ’ ... 4 Hail Mary’s, and after each Hail 
 
 j Mary these words: 
 
 ' “Blessed be the holy, most pure, and 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
— 98 — 
 
 Immaculate Conception' of the Blessed 
 Virgin Mary.” Then Glory be to the 
 Father, . . . 
 
 '3) I give Thee thanks, eternal Holy 
 Ghost, because by Thy Love Thou hast 
 preserved the Blessed Virgin Mary, Thy 
 Spouse, from all stain of original sin. 
 ... 4 Hail Mary’s, and after each Hail 
 Mary these words: 
 
 ^‘Blessed be the holy, most pure, and 
 Immaculate Conception of the Blessed 
 Virgin Mary.” Then Glory he to the 
 Father, . . . 
 
 The Three Hail Mary’s in Honor of 
 Mary Immaculate. 
 
 Accustom yourself to say them fre¬ 
 quently, if possible, every morning and 
 evening. Add to each Hail Mary the 
 following invocations: 
 
 ‘‘0 Mary, conceived without ^ stain of 
 original sin. Pray for us, who have re¬ 
 course to thee. ’ ’ 
 
 (100 days, once a day, March 15, 1884.) 
 
 ‘‘Sweet Heart of Mary, be my Salva¬ 
 tion. ’ ’ 
 
 (300 days each time. Sept. 30, 1852.) 
 
99 — 
 
 The Memorare. 
 
 Remember, 0 most gracious Virgin 
 Mary, that never was it known that any 
 one who fled to thy protection, implored 
 ' thy help, and sought thy intercession, 
 was left unaided. Inspired with this 
 confldence, I fly unto thee, 0 Virgin of 
 virgins, my Mother! To thee I come; 
 before thee I stand, sinful and sorrow¬ 
 ful. 0 Mother of the Word Incarnate! 
 despise not my petitions, but in thy 
 mercy, hear and answer me. Amen. 
 
 (300 days, Dec. 11, 1846.) 
 
 “0 Mary, who didst come into this 
 world free from stain! obtain of God for 
 me that I may leave it without sin. ’ ’ 
 
 (100 days, March 27, 1863.) 
 
 Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 
 
 Kyrie, eleison. 
 
 Christe, eleison. 
 
 Kyrie, eleison. 
 
 Christe, audi nos. 
 Christe, exaudi nos. 
 
 Lord, have mercy on 
 us. 
 
 Christ, have mercy 
 on us. 
 
 Lord, have mercy on 
 us. 
 
 Christ, hear us. 
 
 Christ, graciously 
 hear us. 
 
100 — 
 
 Pater de coelis Deus, 
 miserere nobis. 
 
 Pili Redemptor 
 mundi Deus, mise¬ 
 rere nobis. 
 
 Spiritus Sancte 
 Deus, miserere no¬ 
 bis. 
 
 S a n c t a Trinitas, 
 unus Deus, mise¬ 
 rere nobis. 
 
 Sancta Maria, 
 
 Ora pro nobis. 
 
 Sancta Dei Genitrix, 
 Ora pro nobis. 
 
 Sancta Virgo Virgi- 
 num. Ora pro nobis. 
 
 Mater Cbristi. 
 
 Mater divinae gra- 
 tiae. 
 
 Mater purissima. 
 
 Mater castissima. 
 
 Mater inviolata. 
 
 Mater intemerata. 
 
 Mater amabilis. 
 
 Mater admirabilis. 
 
 Mater boni consilii. 
 
 Mater Creatoris. 
 
 God, the Father of 
 heaven, have mercy 
 on us. 
 
 God, the Son, Re¬ 
 deemer of the world, 
 have mercy on us. 
 
 God the Holy Ghost, 
 have mercy on us. 
 
 Holy Trinity, one 
 God, have mercy on 
 us. 
 
 Holy Mary, 
 
 Pray for us. 
 
 Holy Mother of God. 
 
 Holy Virgin of vir¬ 
 gins. 
 
 Mother of Christ. 
 
 Mother of divine- 
 grace. 
 
 Mother most pure. 
 
 Mother most chaste. 
 
 Mother inviolate. 
 
 Mother undefiled. 
 
 Mother most amia¬ 
 ble. 
 
 Mother most admir¬ 
 able. 
 
 Mother of good coun¬ 
 sel. 
 
 Mother of our Cre- - 
 ator. 
 
 
— 101 — 
 
 Mater Salvatoris. 
 
 Virgo prudentissima. 
 
 Virgo veneranda. 
 
 Virgo praedicanda. 
 
 Virgo potens. 
 
 Virgo Clemens. 
 
 Virgo fidelis. 
 
 Speculum justitiae. 
 Sedes sapientiae. 
 Causa nostrae laeti- 
 tiae. 
 
 Vas spirituale. 
 
 Vas honorabile. 
 
 Vas insigne devo- 
 tionis. 
 
 Rosa mystica, 
 Turris Davidica. 
 Turris eburnea. 
 Domus aurea. 
 Foederis area. 
 
 Janua coeli. 
 
 Stella matutina. 
 Salus infirmorum. 
 Refugium peccato- 
 rum. 
 
 Mother of our Re¬ 
 deemer. 
 
 Virgin most pru¬ 
 dent. 
 
 Virgin most venera¬ 
 ble. 
 
 Virgin most re¬ 
 nowned. 
 
 Virgin most power¬ 
 ful. 
 
 Virgin most merci¬ 
 ful. 
 
 Virgin most faith¬ 
 ful. 
 
 Mirror of justice. 
 
 Seat of wisdom. 
 
 Cause of our joy. 
 
 Spiritual vessel. 
 
 Vessel of honor. 
 
 Vessel of singular 
 devotion. 
 
 Mystical rose. 
 
 Tower of David. 
 
 Tower of ivory. 
 
 House of gold. 
 
 Ark of the covenant. 
 
 Gate of heaven. 
 
 Morning star. 
 
 Health of the sick. 
 
 Refuge of sinners. 
 
 
— 102 — 
 
 Consolatrix afflicto- 
 rum. 
 
 Auxilium Christia- 
 norum. 
 
 Regina Angelorum. 
 
 Regina patriarcha- 
 rum. 
 
 Regina propheta- 
 rum. 
 
 Regina apostolorum. 
 
 Regina martyrum. 
 
 Regina confessorum. 
 
 Regina virginum. 
 
 Regina Sanctorum 
 omnium. 
 
 Regina sine 1 a b e 
 originali concepta. 
 
 Regina sacratissimi 
 Rosarii. 
 
 Regina Ordinis Min- 
 orum. 
 
 Agnus Dei, qui tollis 
 peccata m u n d i, 
 parce nobis, Dom- 
 ine. 
 
 Agnus Dei, qui tollis 
 peccata mundi, ex- 
 audi nos, Domine. 
 
 Comfortress of the 
 afflicted. 
 
 Jlelp of Christians. 
 
 Queen of angels. 
 
 Queen of patriarchs. 
 
 Queen of prophets. 
 
 Queen of apostles. 
 
 Queen of martyrs. 
 
 Queen of confessors. 
 
 Queen of virgins. 
 
 Queen of all saints. 
 
 Queen conceived 
 without stain of 
 original sin. 
 
 Queen of the most 
 holy Rosary. 
 
 Queen of the Order 
 of Minors. 
 
 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, gra¬ 
 ciously hear us, O 
 Lord. 
 
— 103 
 
 ■ Agnus Dei, qui tollis 
 peccata mundi, mi¬ 
 serere nobis! 
 
 Tota pulchra es, Ma¬ 
 ria. 
 
 Tota pulchra es, Ma¬ 
 ria, 
 
 Et macula originalis 
 non est in te. 
 
 Et macula originalis 
 non est in te. 
 
 Tu gloria Jerusalem. 
 
 Tu laetitia Israel. 
 
 Tu honorificentia 
 populi nostri. 
 
 Tu advocata peccato- 
 rum. 
 
 O Maria. 
 
 O Maria. 
 
 Virgo prudentissi- 
 ma. 
 
 Mater clementissi- 
 ma. 
 
 Ora pro nobis. 
 
 Intercede pro nobis 
 ad Dominum Jesum 
 Christum. 
 
 Lamb of God, Who 
 takest away the sins 
 of the world, have 
 mercy on us, O 
 Lord. 
 
 Thou art all fair, 
 Mary. 
 
 Thou art ^ill fair, 
 Mary. 
 
 And original sin is 
 not in thee. 
 
 And original sin is 
 not in thee. 
 
 Thou art the glory 
 of Jerusalem. 
 
 Thou art the joy of 
 Israel. 
 
 Thou art the honor 
 of our people. 
 
 Thou art the advo¬ 
 cate of sinners. 
 
 O Mary. 
 
 O Mary. 
 
 Virgin most prudent. 
 
 Mother most clem¬ 
 ent. 
 
 Pray for us. 
 
 Intercede for us with 
 Jesus Christ, our 
 Lord. 
 
104 — 
 
 In conceptione tua, 
 Virgo immaculata 
 fuisti. 
 
 Ora pro nobis Pa- 
 trem, cujus Filium 
 peperisti. 
 
 Oremus. 
 
 Dens, qui per im- 
 maculatam Virginis 
 Conceptionem di- 
 gnum filio tuo habi- 
 taculum praeparasti, 
 quaesumus, ut qui ex 
 morte ejusdem filii 
 tui praevisa earn ab 
 omni labe praeser- 
 vasti, nos quoque 
 mundos ejus inter- 
 cessione ad te per- 
 venire concedas. Per 
 eundem Christum, 
 Dominum nostrum. 
 Amen. 
 
 In tby conception O ! 
 Virgin, thou wast 
 immaculate. 
 
 Pray for us to the 
 Father, Whose Son 
 thou didst bring 
 forth. 
 
 Let us Pray. 
 
 O God, Who 
 through the Immac¬ 
 ulate Conception of 
 the Virgin didst pre¬ 
 pare a worthy habi¬ 
 tation for Thy Son, 
 we beseech Thee, 
 that as by the fore¬ 
 sight of the death of 
 Thy same Son, Thou 
 didst preserve her 
 from all stain, Thou 
 wouldest grant that 
 we too, purified by 
 her intercession may 
 come to Thee. 
 Through the same 
 Christ, our Lord. , 
 Amen. 
 
 Devotion to the Sorrowful Mother of 
 
 God. 
 
 Mary Immaculate suffered with her 
 Divine Son and offered up all her suf- 
 
— 105 — 
 
 ferings in union with the bitter Passion 
 and Death of Jesus Christ for the Sal¬ 
 vation of the poor sinners. It will there¬ 
 fore please Mary Immaculate, if we 
 piously venerate her sorrows and ask 
 her compassionate Mother’s heart to 
 offer them up again for the Poor Dying 
 Sinners. The following prayers may be 
 used for this purpose: 
 
 Prayer to the Compassionate Heart of 
 
 Mary. 
 
 0 sweetest mother Mary, refuge of 
 sinners and comforter of the afflicted, 
 we pray thee, by the sorrows of thy im¬ 
 maculate Heart and by the agony of the 
 Heart of Jesus, thy most beloved Son, 
 intercede for all sinners that are now in 
 their agony, show thyself a kind mother 
 to all souls oppressed with sorrow and 
 afflictions. Amen. 
 
 Compassionate Heart of Mary, pray 
 for the dying and afflicted. 
 
 Prayer to Mary at the Foot of the Cross. 
 
 0 Mary, glorious and blessed Virgin, 
 who didst die consumed by the fire of 
 
— 106 — 
 
 divine love, pray for us, poor sinners, 
 now and at the hour of our death. Do 
 not forsake us unfortunate children at 
 the last moment. Thou, who wast stand¬ 
 ing at the foot of the cross of thy dying 
 Son, accept now the last sighs of those 
 that invoke thee with full confidence.. 
 Remember that death, which was a tri¬ 
 umph for thee, is a chastisement for us. 
 Have pity on so many unfortunate chil¬ 
 dren who call thee their mother and 
 their hope. Pray for us all, assist us all. 
 Obtain for us the grace that we bear our 
 sufferings with patience, and generously 
 make to God the sacrifice of our life. 
 Amen. 
 
 Prayer to Oiir Lady of Sorrows. 
 
 O, most merciful Virgin Mary, help 
 of Christians, and consolation of af¬ 
 flicted souls, I entreat thee, through thy 
 most compassionate heart, and by the 
 agony of Jesus, thy beloved Son, to ob¬ 
 tain for me and for all those whom it 
 shall please our Lord to try by affliction, 
 sufferings, or temptation, especially at 
 
— 107 — 
 
 their last hour, the grace to support 
 them with perfect resignation, to accept 
 them with cordial submission, to unite 
 them to the holy dispositions of thy most 
 afflicted heart, and of the Agonizing 
 Heart of thy Divine Son. Sanctify 
 them, that they may merit for heaven 
 and serve as an expiation for my faults, 
 and for the salvation of sinners, particu¬ 
 larly for those who are in their agony. 
 
 Obtain for us, 0 Queen of Martyrs, at 
 each new trial, the strength and courage 
 to say with the great Model of the af¬ 
 flicted, ‘‘My Father, if this chalice can¬ 
 not pass unless I drink it, not my will, 
 but Thine, be done.” Amen. 
 
 4 
 
— 108 — 
 
 V. Devotion to St. Michael, the Holy 
 Angels, and Our Patron Saints. 
 
 St. Michael led the battle of God in i 
 heaven against the had angels. He will 
 therefore gladly assist ns with his good. 
 angels, especially the Guardian-Angels, 
 to obtain another victory over satan by 
 the Salvation of the Dying Sinners. 
 Also our good Patron-Saints will help us 
 by their intercession at the throne of 
 mercy and thus become powerful allies. 
 
 Recommendation to St. Michael, Protec¬ 
 tor of Souls. 
 
 0 glorious Archangel, St. Michael, j 
 who didst fight with so great courage ^ 
 against the rebellious angels, come to the 
 assistance of the Dying. Behold with 
 what fury the demons surround their- 
 death-beds to devour them! See with- ‘ 
 what perfidy Satan strives to keep them 
 in the chains of sins, to make their ^ 
 hearts obdurate, and finally to cast them ^ 
 into hell! 0 loving protector of souls, 
 
 hasten to assist the Dying. Excite in ; 
 them the sentiments of a lively faith and i a 
 
i 
 
 — 109 — 
 
 sincere contrition, reanimate their confi- 
 ► dence, enkindle in their hearts the fire 
 of divine love, alleviate their sufferings, 
 obtain for them the grace of resignation, 
 defend them in their agony, and after 
 having assisted them to gain the victory, 
 conduct them to the abode of the elect. 
 Amen. 
 
 Prayer to the Guardian Angels of the 
 i Dying. 
 
 0 Blessed Guardian Angels, I pray 
 j you by the Agonizing Heart of Jesus 
 ‘ and the Compassionate Heart of Mary, 
 your immaculate Queen, intercede for 
 the Dying entrusted to your care. Pre¬ 
 serve them from evil, confirm them in 
 j all virtue, deliver them from the snares 
 of Satan, that by your assistance they 
 1 may obtain the grace of a happy death 
 and after death be admitted to the com¬ 
 pany of the Saints. Amen. 
 
 ! Prayer to the Angel that Comforted Je- 
 1 sus Agonizing in the Garden of Olives. 
 
 0 holy Angel who didst comfort Jesus 
 ; agonizing in the garden of Olives, deign 
 
110 
 
 to strengthen those who are now strug¬ 
 gling with death. Intercede for them! 
 Secure to them strength and courage to 
 resist the assaults of the demon, to bear 
 their sufferings with patience, and to 
 make willingly to God the sacrifice of 
 their life. Ask their Guardian Angels, 
 their Patron Saints, and the whole celes¬ 
 tial court to obtain for them all the 
 graces and to come to their assistance. 
 Ask above all the Queen of Angels, the 
 august Mother of God, to protect the 
 Dying by her powerful assistance and to 
 be their advocate with her Divine Son 
 Jesus that He may show mercy and give 
 them the grace of a happy death. Amen. 
 
 Prayer to Our Holy Father St. Francis. 
 
 0 holy Father, St. Francis, thou per¬ 
 fect image of our Crucified Savior, who 
 by thy meditation on the sufferings of 
 Jesus, thy singular devotion to the 
 Blessed Sacrament, and thy love for 
 Mary, the Queen of Angels, didst fill thy 
 Seraphic heart not only with most ar¬ 
 dent love for God, but also with the 
 
— Ill — 
 
 greatest desire to convert and save the 
 poor sinners, help us by thy powerful 
 intercession to imitate thy holy example, 
 often to meditate on the bitter Passion 
 of Christ, to foster a special love for Je¬ 
 sus in the Blessed Sacrament, and His 
 dear mother, Mary Immaculate, and 
 thus to be able with thy fatherly help to 
 save many a poor Dying Sinner for all 
 eternity. Amen, 
 
 Invocation of the Patron Saints of the 
 Confraternity. 
 
 Agonizing Heart of Jesus, have mercy 
 on the Dying. 
 
 Compassionate Heart of Mary, pray 
 for the Dying and the afflicted. 
 
 St. Joseph, Patron of a happy death, 
 pray for the Dying. 
 
 St. Michael, the Archangel, protector 
 of souls, pray for the Dying. 
 
 Holy Guardian Angels, and Patron 
 Saints of the Dying, pray for the Dying. 
 
 Holy Angel who didst comfort Jesus 
 in His Agony, pray for the Dying. 
 
112 — 
 
 St. John and St. Magdalene, who as¬ 
 sisted at the Agony and Death of Jesus 
 on the cross, pray for the Dying. 
 
 Seraphic St. Francis, perfect image of 
 our crucified Savior, pray for the Dying. 
 
 St. Camillus of Lellis, and St. John of 
 God, favored with the gift of assisting 
 souls in the last struggle of death, pray 
 for the Dying. 
 
 Holy Penitent Thief, who at the last 
 moment didst hear from the mouth of 
 Jesus the consoling words: ‘‘This day 
 thou shalt be with me in paradise, ’ ’ pray 
 for the Dying Sinners. 
 
 < 
 
— 113 
 
 VL The Prayers of the Church for the 
 
 Dying. 
 
 Litany for the Dying. 
 
 Lord, have mercy on him (or her). 
 Christ, have mercy on him. 
 
 Lord, have mercy on him. 
 
 Holy Mary, pray for him (or her). 
 All ye holy Angels and Archangels, 
 pray for him (or her). 
 
 Holy Abel, * ) 
 
 All ye choirs of the Just, 
 
 Holy Abraham, 
 
 St. John Baptist, 
 
 St. Joseph, 
 
 All ye holy Patriarchs and Prophets, 
 St. Peter, 
 
 St. Paul, 
 
 St. Andrew, 
 
 St. John, 
 
 All ye holy Apostles and Evangelists, 
 All ye holy disciples of our Lord, 
 
 All ye holy Innocents, 
 
 St. Stephen, 
 
 *) Pray for him (her) 
 
114 — 
 
 St. Lawrence, *) 
 
 All ye holy Martyrs, 
 
 St. Sylvester, 
 
 St. Gregory, 
 
 St. Augustine, 
 
 All ye holy Bishops and Confessors, 
 
 St. Benedict, 
 
 St. Francis, 
 
 St. Camillus of Lellis and St. John of 
 God, 
 
 All ye holy Monks and Hermits, 
 
 St. Mary Magdalene. 
 
 St. Lucy. 
 
 All ye holy Virgins and Widows. 
 
 All ye men and women. Saints of God, 
 intercede for him (or her). 
 
 Be merciful unto him, 0 God. Spare 
 him (or her), 0 Lord. 
 
 Be merciful unto him. Deliver him 
 (or her), 0 Lord. 
 
 Be merciful unto him. Deliver him 
 (or her), 0 Lord. 
 
 Prom Thy wrath, **) 
 
 *) Pray for him (or her) 
 
 **) Deliver him (or her) O Lord. 
 
115 
 
 From the danger of eternal death, *) 
 From an evil death, 
 
 From the pains of hell, 
 
 From all evil. 
 
 From the power of the devil. 
 
 By Thy Nativity, 
 
 By Thy Cross and Passion, 
 
 By Thy Death and Burial, 
 
 By Thy glorious Resurrection, 
 
 By Thy Wonderful Ascension, 
 
 By the grace of the Holy Ghost, the 
 Comforter, 
 
 In the day of Judgment, 
 
 We sinners beseech Thee to hear us. 
 That Thou spare him, we beseech 
 Thee to hear us. 
 
 Lord, have mercy on him. 
 
 Christ, have mercy on him. 
 
 Lord, have mercy on him. 
 
 Recommendation of a Departing Soul. 
 
 Go forth, O Christian soul, out of this 
 world, in the name of God, the Father 
 Almighty, Who created thee; in the 
 
 *) Deliver him (or her) O Lord, 
 
— 116 — 
 
 name of Jesus Christ, the Son of the liv¬ 
 ing God, Who suffered for thee; in the 
 name of the Holy Ghost, Who sanctified 
 thee; in the name of the Angels, Archan¬ 
 gels, Thrones, and Dominations, Cheru¬ 
 bim and Seraphim; in the name of the 
 Patriarchs and Prophets, of the holy 
 Apostles and Evangelists, of the holy 
 Martyrs, Confessors, Monks and Her¬ 
 mits, of the holy Virgins, and of all the 
 Saints of God. May thy place be this 
 day in peace, and thy abode in holy 
 Sion. Through Christ, our Lord. Amen. 
 
 0 merciful and gracious God! 0 God, 
 Who according to the multitude of Thy 
 mercies blottest out the sins of such as' 
 repent, and graciously remittest the 
 guilt of their past offences, mercifully 
 regard this Thy servant, N., and grant 
 him (or her) a full discharge from all 
 his sins, who with a contrite heart most 
 earnestly begs it of Thee. Renew, 0 
 -merciful Father, whatever has been 
 vitiated in him, by human frailty or by 
 the frauds and deceits of the enemy; 
 and associate him as a member of re- 
 
— 117 
 
 demption to the unity of the body of the 
 Church. Have compassion, 0 Lord, on 
 his sighs, have compassion on his tears, 
 and admit him, who has no hope but in 
 Thy mercy, to the sacrament, of Thy 
 reconciliation. Through Christ, our 
 Lord. Amen. 
 
 I commend thee, dear brother, to the 
 Almighty God, and consign thee to the 
 care of Him, whose creature thou art, 
 that, when thou shalt have paid the debt 
 of all mankind by death, thou mayest re¬ 
 turn to Thy Maker, Who formed thee 
 from the dust of the earth. When, there¬ 
 fore, thy soul shall depart from thy 
 body, may the resplendent multitude of 
 the Angels meet thee; may the court of 
 the Apostles receive thee; may the tri¬ 
 umphant army of glorious Martyrs come 
 out to welcome thee; may the splendid 
 company of Confessors, clad in their 
 white robes, encompass thee; may the 
 choir of joyful Virgins receive thee; and 
 mayest thou meet with a blessed repose 
 in the bosom of the Patriarchs. May 
 Jesus Christ appear to thee with a mild 
 
— 118 — 
 
 and joyful countenance, and appoint 
 thee a place amongst those who are to 
 stand before Him forever. Mayest thou 
 be a stranger to all that is punished 
 with darkness, chastised with flames, 
 and condemned to torments. May the 
 most wicked enemy, with all his evil 
 spirits, be forced to give way; may he 
 tremble at thy approach in the company 
 of Angels, and with confusion fly away 
 into the vast chaos of eternal night. Let 
 God arise and His enemies be dispersed, 
 and let them that hato Him fly before 
 His face, let them vanish like smoke; 
 and as wax that melts before the fire, so 
 let sinners perish in the sight of God; 
 but may the just rejoice and be happy 
 in His presence. 
 
 May then all the legions of hell be 
 confounded and put to shame; and may 
 none of the ministers of Satan dare stop 
 thee in thy way. May Christ deliver 
 thee from torments. Who was crucified 
 for thee. May He deliver thee from eter¬ 
 nal death. Who vouchsafed to die for 
 thee. May Jesus Christ, the Son of the 
 
 V 
 
119 
 
 living God, place thee in the ever-ver- 
 dant lawns of His Paradise, and may 
 He, the true Shepherd, acknowledge thee 
 as one of His flock. May He absolve 
 thee from all thy sins, and place thee at 
 His right hand in the midst of His Elect. 
 Mayest thou see thy Redeemer face to 
 face, and, standing always in His pres¬ 
 ence, behold with happy eyes the most 
 clear truth. And mayest thou be placed 
 among the companies of the Blessed, 
 and enjoy the sweetness of the contem¬ 
 plation of thy God forever. Amen. 
 
— 120 — 
 
 YII. Litany for a Happy Death. 
 
 To Our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 0 Lord Jesus, God of goodness, the 
 Father of mercies, I approach, to Thee 
 with a humble and contrite heart; to 
 Thee I recommend the last hour of my 
 life, and the decisions of my eternal 
 doom. 
 
 When my feet, benumbed with death, 
 shall admonish me that my mortal 
 course is drawing to an end. Merciful 
 Jesus, have mercy on me. 
 
 When my eyes, dim and troubled at 
 the approach of death, shall fix them¬ 
 selves on Thee, my last and only sup¬ 
 port, Merciful Jesus, have mercy on me. 
 
 When my face, pale and livid, shall 
 inspire the beholders with pity and dis¬ 
 may, Merciful Jesus, have mercy on me. 
 
 When my hair is bathed with the 
 sweat of death, and stiffening on my 
 head shall forebode my approaching end. 
 Merciful Jesus, have mercy on me. 
 
 When my ears, soon forever to be shut 
 to the discourse of men, shall be open to 
 
— 121 — 
 
 r 
 
 I 
 
 J . 
 
 f. the irrevocable decree which is to cut me 
 ' off from the number of the living, Mer- 
 ciful Jesus, have mercy on me. 
 
 ^ When my imagination, agitated by 
 f dreadful spectres, shall be sunk in an 
 j, abyss of anguish. Merciful Jesus, have 
 mercy on me. 
 
 When my soul, affrighted with the 
 > sight of my iniquities, and the terrors 
 
 ( of Thy judgments, shall have to fight 
 against the angel of darkness, who will 
 t endeavor to conceal Thy mercies from 
 ) my eyes, and to plunge me into despair, 
 I Merciful Jesus, have mercy on me. 
 
 I When my poor heart, yielding to the 
 ‘ pressure and exhausted by its frequent 
 struggles against the enemies of its sal- 
 i vation, shall feel the pangs of death, 
 
 ' Merciful Jesus, have mercy on me. 
 
 J When the last tear, the forerunner of 
 ■ my dissolution, shall drop from my eyes, 
 receive it as a sacrifice of expiation for 
 my sins, grant that I may expire the 
 victim of penance, and in that dreadful 
 ; moment. Merciful Jesus, have mercy on 
 me. 
 
— 122 
 
 When my friends and relations en¬ 
 circling my bed, shall shed tears of pity 
 over me, and invoke Thy clemency in 
 my behalf. Merciful Jesus, have mercy 
 on me. 
 
 When I have lost the use of my senses, 
 when the world shall have vanished from 
 my sight, when my agonizing soul shall 
 feel the sorrow of death. Merciful Jesus, 
 have mercy on me. 
 
 When my last sigh shall summon my 
 soul to burst from the embraces of the 
 body, and to spring to Thee on the wings 
 of impatience and desire. Merciful Je¬ 
 sus, have mercy on me. 
 
 When my soul, trembling on my lips, 
 shall bid adieu to the world, and leave 
 my body lifeless, pale, and cold, receive 
 the separation as a homage, which I 
 willingly pay to Thy Divine Majesty, 
 and in that last moment of my mortal 
 life. Merciful Jesus, have mercy on me. 
 
 When at length, my soul admitted to 
 Thy presence, shall first behold the 
 splendors of Thy Majesty, reject me not, 
 but receive me into Thy bosom; where I 
 
123 — 
 
 may forever sing Thy praises, and in 
 that moment when eternity shall .begin 
 to me, Merciful Jesus, have mercy on 
 me. Amen. 
 
 To THE Eternal Father. 0 God, 
 Who hast condemned us to die, but con¬ 
 cealed the hour and moment of death 
 from us, grant that I may spend all the 
 days of my life in justice and holiness 
 and thereby merit to depart from this 
 world in Thy holy love through the mer¬ 
 its of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who with 
 Thee liveth and reigneth in unity of the 
 Holy Ghost. Amen. 
 
 (100 days, once a day.) 
 
— 124 — 
 
 YIII. Stations of the Cross for the 
 Dying. 
 
 N. B. First reflect a little on the 
 mystery represented by the station, then 
 applying it to the Dying, say the prayer 
 at each station, after which add the fol¬ 
 lowing ejaculations for the Dying and, 
 as it were, in their stead: 
 
 ‘ ‘ My Jesus mercy. ’ ’ 
 
 (300 days.) 
 
 ‘‘Sweetest Jesus, be not to me a Judge, 
 but a Savior.’^ 
 
 (50 days.) 
 
 “Sweet Heart of Mary, be my salva¬ 
 tion. ’ ’ 
 
 (300 days.) 
 
 “Jesus, Mary, Joseph, assist me in my 
 
 last agony. ’ ’ 
 
 (100 days.) 
 
 Or “0 most Merciful Jesus, lover of 
 souls.” . . . the daily prayer for the 
 Dying, page 61. 
 
 Preparatory Prayer. 
 
 0 Agonizing Heart of Jesus! to as¬ 
 sist the Dying in their greatest struggle, 
 1 now desire to follow Thee with Mary, 
 Thy compassionate Mother, on the holy 
 
way of the Cross. Cleanse my heart 
 ^ from all sins, and uniting my prayers 
 with the merits of Thy bitter Passion 
 : and Death, do Thou offer them to Thy 
 Heavenly Father, to obtain a happy 
 death for all the agonizing. I also in¬ 
 tend to gain all the Indulgences, 
 
 1 granted to this devotion, for the poor 
 I souls in purgatory. Have, then, mercy, 
 
 ' 0 sweetest Jesus, on all our suffering 
 brethren, both the Dying and the dead. 
 Amen. 
 
 ; I. Station. {Jesiis condemned to death.) 
 
 0 Jesus, Who wast innocently con¬ 
 demned to death, be now a merciful 
 \ Judge to the Dying. Grant them the 
 efficacious grace of conversion, that 
 Thou mayest not condemn them to the 
 eternal death of hell. Amen. (‘‘My 
 Jesus mercy,” “Sweetest Jesus, etc.” 
 ... as above.) 
 
 II. Station. (Jesus taking the Cross.) 
 
 0 Jesus, Who didst willingly take up 
 . Thy Cross for our salvation, bestow now 
 , upon all Dying Sinners the grace to 
 
— 126 — 
 
 bear their sufferings with patience, and 
 to accept death with resignation as an 
 atonement for their many sins. Amen. 
 (‘‘My Jesus, mercy.” . . .) 
 
 III. Station. {Jesus falling the first 
 
 time.) 
 
 0 Jesus, by the sufferings Thou didst 
 endure, and by the Blood Thou didst 
 shed in Thy first fall under the Cross, 
 deign to raise the Dying from their fall 
 into sin and vice, and graciously pre¬ 
 serve them from being plunged into the 
 abyss of hell. Amen. 
 
 IV. Station. {Jesus met hy Mary.) 
 
 0 Jesus and Mary, by the pain you 
 did feel at seeing each other so much 
 afflicted, hasten to the assistance of the 
 Dying, that so many and so great suffer¬ 
 ings may not be rendered fruitless in 
 their souls by the assaults of Satan. 
 Amen. 
 
 V. Station. {Jesus assisted hy Simon 
 
 of Gyrene.) 
 
 0 Jesus, as Simon assisted Thee in 
 
r 
 
 I. 
 
 I — 127 — 
 
 ; carrying the Cross, do Thou, by offering 
 i all Thy sufferings to Thy Heavenly 
 t Father, effectually help the Dying to 
 • free themselves from the heavy weight 
 I of their sins. Amen. 
 
 j VI. station. {Veronica wiping the face 
 ■5 of Jesus.) 
 
 0 Jesus, by the love Thou didst show 
 . to Veronica for her kindness, favorably 
 ; accept our prayers and offerings in be- 
 , half of the Dying, and show them now 
 Thy holy Face, by imprinting in their 
 souls Thy holy image, the gift of sancti¬ 
 fying grace. Amen. 
 
 VII. Station. {Jesus falling the second 
 
 time.) 
 
 0 Jesus, by Thy increased sufferings, 
 
 . and by the holy Blood shed in Thy sec¬ 
 ond fall, I pray Thee' to forgive the Dy¬ 
 ing their repeated relapses into sin, that 
 their faithlessness and ingratitude may 
 not impede the grace of true conversion. 
 Amen. 
 
 i- 
 
— 128 — 
 
 VIII. Station. {Jesns consoling the pious 
 
 women.) 
 
 0 Jesus, as Thou didst console the 
 pious women who accompanied Thee to 
 Mount Calvary, grant us, who follow 
 Thee on the Way of the Cross, that the 
 Dying may sincerely weep over their 
 sins, to be also comforted by Thee. 
 Amen. 
 
 IX. Station. {Jesus falling the third 
 
 time.) 
 
 0 Jesus, by Thy unspeakable pain, 
 and by Thy holy Blood that flowed to 
 the ground in Thy third fall, remove 
 from the souls of the Dying all obsta¬ 
 cles to their conversion, and give them 
 the grace not to yield in their last strug¬ 
 gle to their vicious habits and predom¬ 
 inant passions. Amen. 
 
 X. Station. {Jesus stripped of His 
 garments.) 
 
 0 Jesus, by the terrible suffering Thou 
 didst encjure when being stripped of 
 Thy garments, forgive the Dying' all 
 
— 129 
 
 their sins of impurity, and let them ex¬ 
 pire clothed with the garment of sancti¬ 
 fying grace. Amen. 
 
 ■ XI. Station. (Jesus nailed to the Cross.) 
 
 O Jesus, by the inexpressible torture 
 Thou didst suffer when being nailed to 
 the Cross, and by Thy holy Blood which 
 flowed from the wounds of Thy hands 
 and feet, deliver the Dying from the 
 chains of their sins, and from the cap¬ 
 tivity of Satan and hell. Amen. 
 
 XII. Station. (Jesus Dying on the 
 Cross.) -r 
 
 0 Jesus, by the infinite merits of Thy 
 Agony and Death on the Cross, assist 
 the Dying in their agony that they may 
 expire in Thy holy grace, and that Thou 
 ! mayest not have suffered and died in 
 vain for them. Amen. 
 
 XIII. Station. (Jesus placed in the 
 arms of Mary.) 
 
 0 dolorous Mother of God, so much 
 afflicted at the loss of thy dearest Son, 
 
 . obtain now by thy intercession and as- 
 
130 — 
 
 sistance for all the Dying, the grace not 
 to lose their Savior for all eternity, but 
 to depart in thy arms and united with 
 Jesus in holy love. Amen. 
 
 XIV. Station. {Jesus laid into the 
 Sepulchre.) 
 
 0 Jesus, as Thou didst rest from Thy 
 sufferings and after three days glo¬ 
 riously rise from the grave, grant that 
 the Dying may be delivered from their 
 pains and, triumphing over sin, satan, 
 and hell, rise to the eternal life of 
 heaven. Amen. 
 
 Prayer After the Stations. 
 
 0 Agonizing Heart of Jesus! I thank 
 Thee for all the graces bestowed upon 
 the Dying and upon me during this de¬ 
 votion. In atonement for my many de¬ 
 fects do Thou now offer to the Divine 
 Majesty all the holy Masses in which 
 the fruits of Thy bitter Passion and 
 Death are continually renewed, that the 
 Dying may not be lost, and the poor 
 souls be now admitted to the eternal 
 joys of heaven. Amen. 
 
131 
 
 ) 
 
 I 
 
 ; Three Our Fathers and Hail Mary’s 
 ^ in honor of the Agony of Jesus and the 
 J Dolors of Mary for the Dying, ‘ ‘ 0 most 
 ‘ Merciful Jesus,” etc. 
 
 r. 
 
 ! 
 
 f 
 
 4 
 
 r 
 
 
— 132 — 
 
 IX. Acts to he Made for the Moment of 
 
 Death. 
 
 I. Act of Resignation. 
 
 My Lord and my God! J now already 
 accept death in whatever manner it may 
 come to me according to Thy pleasure. 
 With a resigned and willing heart, I ac¬ 
 cept death and all its accompanying 
 anxieties, pains, and sufferings as com¬ 
 ing from Thy hands. (A Plenary In¬ 
 dulgence for the hour of death to all 
 those who after Confession and Com¬ 
 munion will make this Act of Resigna¬ 
 tion with true love of God.) 
 
 II. Act of Offering of One^s Death for 
 the Dying. 
 
 0 my God, accepting my future death 
 from Thy hands with full resignation to 
 Thy holy will, 1 wish to unite it with the 
 Most Bitter Death of Jesus, my Savior, 
 and to offer it up with His great Sacri¬ 
 fice on the Cross in atonement for my 
 many sins, and for the Salvation of 
 those who will die at the same time and 
 appear with me before the Judgment- 
 
133 — 
 
 seat of Thy Son, our Lord and Savior, 
 Jesus Christ, that we all may find 
 mercy and salvation. Amen. 
 
 O sweetest Jesus, be not to me a 
 Judge, but a Savior. 
 
 My Jesus, Mercy.. Sweet Heart of 
 Mary, be my Salvation. St. Joseph, Pa¬ 
 tron of a Happy Death, Pray for us and 
 the Poor Dying Sinners. Amen. 
 
— 134 — 
 
 Conclusion. 
 
 Let us, then, be fervent in this devo¬ 
 tion for the Dying and endeavor to 
 propagate it everywhere. Recommend 
 the souls of your Dying parents, rela¬ 
 tions, friends, and particularly of obsti¬ 
 nate sinners to the prayers of the Con¬ 
 fraternity. We shall not repent of it at 
 the hour of our own death. Who knows 
 how soon, perhaps, we ourselves shall 
 need this very same assistance ? 
 
 Applications for admission to the 
 ' Union and the Confraternity may be 
 directed to 
 
 Rev. P. Hugolinus Storff, O. F. M., 
 Franciscan Monastery, 
 
 3140 Meramec Street, St. Louis, Mo. 
 
— 135 —• 
 INDEX. 
 
 Introductory. 
 
 1. Purpose of the Pious Union and Condi¬ 
 tion for Membership. 5 
 
 2. Act of Consecration for the Dying. 7 
 
 PART FIRST. 
 
 ■ The Salvation of the. Dying and a Happy 
 Hour of Death . 8 
 
 I. Object of the Work . 8 
 
 II . Number of the Dying . 10 
 
 HI. The Religious Condition of the Dying 13 
 
 IV. About the Act of Consecration for the 
 
 Dying. 15 
 
 V. St. Joseph, the Patron of the Dying.. 26 
 
 VI. Devotions and Prayers to St. Joseph 
 
 for the Dying . 36 
 
 1. The Seven Dolors and Joys of St. 
 
 Joseph for the Dying . 37 
 
 2. Litany of St. Joseph. 42 
 
 3. Act of Consecration .to St. Joseph, 
 
 Patron of the Dying. 45 
 
 4. The “Memorore’ ’in Honor of St., 
 
 Joseph . 46 
 
 5. Prayer to St. Joseph for a Happy 
 
 Death . 46 
 
 6. Prayer to St. Joseph for the Dying 
 
 Sinners . 47 
 
136 — 
 
 /. Prayer in Honor of St. Joseph for 
 the Agonizing. 48 
 
 8. Prayer to St. Joseph, Patron of the 
 
 Dying, for Perseverance. 49 
 
 9. Novena in Honor of St. Joseph, 
 
 Spouse of Mary, Most Holy. 49 
 
 10. Indulgenced Prayers to St. Joseph... 50 
 
 11. Prayer to St. Joseph for the Month 
 
 of October . 51 
 
 12. Prayer to St. Joseph for Grace to 
 
 Communicate Devoutly . 52 
 
 VH. To the Lovers of St. Joseph and the 
 
 Zealous Workers for the Dying. 54 
 
 PART SECOND. 
 
 Other Devotions and Prayers for the 
 Dying. 
 
 I. The Agony of Jesus. 60 
 
 1. The Daily Prayer for the Dying. 61 
 
 2. The Morning and Evening-Offering 
 
 for the Dying. 61 
 
 3. Pious Practice for the Faithful in their 
 
 Agony . 62 
 
 4. Meditation on the Agony. 63 
 
 5. Litany of Jesus in the Garden of Olives 68 
 
 6. Prayers for the Dying. 71 
 
 H. The Precious Blood of Jesus Christ... 76 
 
 Nine Offerings of the Precious Blood 
 for the Dying .. 77 
 
— 187 — 
 
 III. The Sacrifice of Holy Mass and Holy 
 
 Communion for the Dying. 84 
 
 1. Prayers at Mass for the Dying. 85 
 
 2. The Visit and Adoration of the Blessed 
 
 Sacrament . 90 
 
 IV. The Immaculate Conception of the 
 
 Blessed Virgin Mary . 94 
 
 1. The Franciscan Rosary of the Seven 
 
 Joys of Mary Immaculate . 95 
 
 2. The Little Rosary of the Immaculate 
 
 Conception . 97 
 
 3. The Three Hail Mary’s in Honor of 
 
 Mary Immaculate . 98 
 
 4. The “Memorare” (Remember) . 99 
 
 5. Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary.. 99 
 
 6. “Tota Pulchra” .103 
 
 7. Devotions to the Sorrowful Mother 
 
 of God .104 
 
 8. Prayer to the Compassionate Heart 
 
 of Mary .105 
 
 9. Prayer to Mary at the Foot of the 
 
 Cross .105 
 
 10. Prayer to our Lady of Sorrows.106 
 
 V. Devotion to St. Michael, the Holy 
 
 Angels, and the Patron Saints.108 
 
 1. Recommendation to St. Michael, Pro¬ 
 tector of Souls.108 
 
 2. Prayer to the Guardian Angels of the 
 
 Dying .109 
 
— 138 
 
 3- Prayer to the Angel that Comforted 
 Jesus in the Garden of Olives..'.109 
 
 4. Prayer to our Holy Father St. Francis.no 
 
 4. Invocation of the Patron Saints of the 
 Confraternity.in 
 
 VI. The Prayers of the Church for the 
 
 Dying .113 
 
 2. Recommendation of a Departing Soul. 115 
 
 VII. Litany for a Happy Death.120 
 
 VHI. Stations of the Cross for the Dying. 113 
 
 IX. Acts to be made for the Moment of 
 
 Death .132 
 
 1. Act of Resignation .132 
 
 2, Act of Offering of One’s Death for 
 
 the Dying.132 
 
 X. Conclusion . 134 
 
 
I 
 
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