Society for Reparation to the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary

(Content compiled from various sources)

Introduction

At this present time in the history of mankind, nothing is more necessary than to discover the means to turn the world back to the God they have forsaken and the Church they have all but forgotten as it once existed on this earth. Renewed calls for the Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary brought the following comment from one young woman: “Russia must be converted? But no, we ALL must convert!” And no truer words were ever spoken. The time for the prayer and penance needed to convert Russia has long since passed. Had the conditions Our Lady laid down for that consecration been met, Russia would not now be a threat and the Church would not lie in ruins. Catholics long ago failed in their duty and it is left to those of us who remain to at least try to do what we can to comply with what our Lord Himself told one victim soul over 100 years ago would be “…the last help I shall give before the end of time.” That help was universal consecration to the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary.

The name of the victim soul was Berthe Petit, a Belgian Franciscan tertiary born in 1870. She began receiving messages from Our Lord and Our Lady even as a young child and in 1911 one of these messages, received on September 12, 1912, foretold the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand. This took place on June 28, 1914, igniting World War I. Already in February of 1910, before the war began, Berthe was told by our Lord that her mission would be the consecration of the world to the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary. As early as 1911, Cardinal Mercier, impressed with Mlle. Petit, contacted Pope St. Pius X regarding her revelations. The Pope approved Cardinal Mercier’s initial 100 days indulgence to the ejaculation “O Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us who have recourse to thee,” telling him that Mlle. Petit would have to content herself with that for the present. In 1951, Cardinal Van Rooey increased the indulgence to 200 days. After Abbe Decorsant, a priest Mlle. Petit met at Lourdes sent her revelation from our Lord requesting the recitation of the ejaculation to Pope Benedict XV, “O Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us,” the pope granted it an indulgence of 100 days. (The indulgence was later increased to 300 days by Cardinal Griffin in 1947.)

Through Cardinal Vanutelli, Pope Benedict XV issued the following recommendation to bishops worldwide: “Let us raise our prayers now more ardently and frequently than ever towards Him who holds in His hands the fate of the nations; and let us all confidently implore the Sorrowful and Immaculate heart of Mary, sweet mother of Jesus and our Mother, that by her powerful intercession she may obtain from her divine Son the rapid cessation of the war and the return of peace and tranquility.” During World War I, Cardinal Bourne took up the devotion in earnest and consecrated England to the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1916. “Each time these public devotions were performed in England, the British armies swept forward to unexpected victories” (all from Fr. Duffner’s biography of Berthe Petit).

Later during the war, the prayer written by Mlle. Petit (see below) would be recommended by Cardinal Bourne for public recitation to bring about the end of the war. But as the children learned at Fatima, that war would not bring peace. The second Fatima secret predicting World War II remained unknown to the world until 1941, when Sr. Lucia’s bishop permitted her to release it. Berthe was told in 1919 that the peace of 1918 would not last and another war would occur because her requests were not heard. Attempts to make the Vatican aware of her revelations so they might be examined were met by silence according to Fr. Duffner. As we know today, the heavily politicized coverage of the Fatima apparitions as a weapon against Communism, detracting from the spiritual content of Our Lady’s message, was widespread. Sr. Lucia’s unreported death in 1949 resulting in the substitution of an imposter Sr. Lucia speaks of a conspiracy to forever bury the third secret of Fatima. But we know it today, if we read between the lines of the two secrets already revealed; and we definitely know that it was meant to be revealed before 1960.

During World War II, following the consecration of the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary by Pope Pius XII in 1942, the Allies experienced several successes that would mark the turning point of the war. Victories in Great Britain, the Solomon Islands in the Pacific, and the fall of Stalingrad followed. But was Pope Pius XII’s consecration the only one that prompted these victories? Fr. Duffner reports that already in 1940, Great Britain saw a totally unexpected aerial victory that saved the country from invasion by sea, Hitler’s proposed Operation Sea Lion. The battle took place on Sunday September 15, 1940, feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. According to one report, a total of 1,100 Luftwaffe and 600 British warplanes battled in the skies over London, in the German attempt to ultimately destroy the Royal Air Force. This date is still celebrated in Britain as the Battle of Britain Day. While Britain suffered from night raids during the war after this battle, her mainland was never breached. Clearly Our Lady manifested her power that day, since already that country had been consecrated to her Sorrowful Heart.

There have been other consecrations since Pope Pius XII’s consecration of the world to the Immaculate Heart that mention Our Lady’s Sorrowful Heart — of the United States, and different countries, as late as 2006 — but this cannot and does not constitute a universal consecration. And in these consecrations, at least as reported online, no mention is made of our Lord’s apparitions to Berthe Petit. Where the Fatima consecration focused specifically on the pope consecrating Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, our Lord specified to Mme. Petit in 1922 that it would not be time yet for the consecration of the world to her Sorrowful Heart, telling her: “My apostle will arise at the appointed hour when the horrible cataclysm which is coming will have overthrown the machinations of men and their deplorable statecraft. It is not at the present time that my wish concerning the glory of My Mother will be accomplished. A period of waiting is still necessary for the work to grow in greatness.”

Our Lord made other references to the political forces who believe they alone control world events, telling her at different times: “I curse the arrogant people who slight me and who persecute the true faith using the while My name and authority. Any nation that prepares its military forces in advance to hurl them unjustly upon the choicest portion of God’s flock… I shall break and chastise…” (1914).

“Time will prove that peace established without Me and without [the Holy Father] who speaks in my name has no stability. The nation which is considered to be vanquished [Germany] but whose forces are only momentarily diminished will remain a menace for your country and likewise for France. Confusion and terror will steadily spread through every nation. Because this peace is not Mine, wars will be rekindled on every side, civil war and racial war. What would have been so noble, so true, so beautiful, so lasting in its fulfillment is consequently delayed… Humanity is advancing towards a frightful scourge which will divide the nations more and more. It will reduce human schemes to nothingness; it will break the pride of the powers that be; it will show that nothing subsists without Me and that I remain the only master of the destinies of nations” (1919). “The spirit of evil does not cease to incite and to goad the pride of any nation which lives only on the thought of revenge and domination” (1934).

All can see the truth of everything Christ confided to his chosen soul Berthe Petit. It has all culminated today in everything we see around us and will continue to escalate until men finally turn to God once more. Or, if this is not His plan, then that at least certain souls prepare themselves for what may well be His Second Coming.

Our Lord Asks for Universal Consecration

Both before and after the beginning of the two wars, Our Lord left no doubt what he wished Berthe Petit to accomplish for His mother in His name. Our Lord told Mlle. Petit in 1910: “The world must be consecrated to the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of my Mother as it is to Mine. Fear nothing, no matter what obstacle or suffering you may encounter. Your only object must be the accomplishment of my will.”

And on September 8, 1911: “The heart of my Mother has the right to be called sorrowful and I wish this title placed before that of Immaculate because she has won it herself. The Church has defined in the case of My Mother what I Myself had ordained — her Immaculate Conception. This right which my mother has to a title of justice is now according to My express wish to be known and universally accepted. She has earned it by her identification with My sorrows, by her sufferings, by her sacrifices and her immolation on Calvary endured in perfect correspondence with my grace for the salvation of mankind. In her co-redemption lies the nobility of My mother, and for this reason I asked that the invocation which I’ve demanded be approved and spread throughout the whole Church.”

“This devotion to the Sorrowful and Immaculate heart of My Mother will restore faith and hope to broken hearts and to ruined families: it will help to repair the destruction: it will sweeten sorrow. It will be a new strength for My Church bringing souls not only to confidence in My heart but also to abandonment to the sorrowful heart of My Mother…”

“To adopt this devotion and to spread it is to accomplish My will and to respond to the wishes of My Heart because by prayer and by the consecration made to this Heart graces of light will be obtained. They will gradually bring souls to the full knowledge of our united Hearts which have been wounded by the same wound, the inexhaustible source of all good for humanity and the glory of which is now and ever will be the happiness of the elect for eternity… Let this prayer be uttered by every soul: Sorrowful and Immaculate heart of Mary, pray for us… May [it] spread as a refreshing and purifying balm of reparation that will appease My anger.”

Our Lady’s Messages to Mlle. Petit

The majority of the messages received by Mlle. Petit came from our Lord, but she also received several messages from Our Lady. The most significant of these are recorded below.

“I have called myself the Immaculate Conception. To you I call myself Mother of the Sorrowful Heart. This title willed by my Son is dear to me above all others. According as it is spread everywhere, there will be granted graces of mercy, spiritual renewal and salvation” (1912).

“It is with an unshakable resolve that my Son wills souls to have recourse to my sorrowful heart. With my heart overflowing with tenderness, I am awaiting this gesture on the part of souls, that I may reiterate to the heart of my Son whatever shall be confided to my own heart and thus obtain graces of salvation for all” (1914).

“My daughter, let your soul bless my Son for the choice He has made of you in the accomplishment of His express wish. Events have occurred, preparations are made which are the assailable foundations for the cause which you serve. The work will attain its end and this with the amplitude willed by God. The way which leads to this result is arid, devoid of repose, at times even painful as you labor to comply with my requests. But have confidence; strife will come to an end and my Son will triumph. See how humanity is crushed by sorrow while evil is diabolically making progress. There have been catastrophes; there will be more. But what are they? Merely a beginning — a feeble image of the dreadful calamities predicted to you by my Son” (1922).

The Final Hour

“My wishes for the heart of My mother will be accomplished… It will come to pass when the hour of despair will strike; an hour towards which everything is moving in response to the supplication which will ascend to the Sorrowful and Immaculate heart of My Mother. I will manifest My power by a miraculous intervention which will impress everyone. The whole of Christendom will bow before this triumph which I, as Son, have determined for My Mother” (1924). “It is hearts that must be changed. This will be accomplished only by the devotion proclaimed, explained, preached and recommended everywhere.
Recourse to my Mother under this tile I wish for her universally is the last help I shall give before the end of time.”

Finally, Our Lord told Mlle. Petit in 1941: “By confident consecration to My mother the devotion to My heart will be strengthened and, as it were, completed. This devotion, this consecration will be, according to My promise, a renovation for my Church; a renewed strength for Christianity which is too often wavering; a source of signal graces for souls who thereby will be more deeply penetrated with love and confidence. The clear light to be granted through recourse to My mother will bring about above all the conversion of a multitude of straying and simple souls. The pity of the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of My mother will implore mercy from them from My heart.” His last message to His chosen soul is thought to have been given the year of her death, 1943: “In the hour of triumph it will be seen that I alone have inspired in My chosen instruments a devotion similar to that with which My Heart is honored. It is as a Son that I have conceived this devotion in honor of My Mother. IT IS AS GOD THAT I IMPOSE IT.”

The Need to Comply with Our Lord’s Command

We see in the messages above to Berthe Petit several recurring themes that need to be expanded upon here. While this is said to be the last devotion given to the world before the end of time, today it is a devotion that has no society dedicated it to it that can be readily discovered and few advocating on its behalf. Once Fatima dominated the world’s imagination with its miracle and secrets — its many controversies, political and otherwise — Mlle. Petit’s revelations seemed to sink into the background, there to be forgotten. True, her messages were never approved by Rome. But a thorough examination of the many wartime related events foretold to Berthe by our Lord is striking enough to prove their authenticity. As Rev. R. Gerald Culleton notes in his The Prophets and Our Times, “All true prophecy is from God, for His glory and the sake of the ‘elect.’ As it becomes fulfilled it establishes its own divine origin and the reliability of the documents which convey it.”

And it seems this can be said of those revelations received by Berthe Petit.

It is pointless to contest anything conveyed to this victim soul because everything that is said above has either taken place or can be seen as looming in the very near future. The one thing missing is the universal consecration to the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary. Yet how is it now possible that this could happen? Our Lord mentions an apostle who “will rise at the appointed hour.” The apostle Jesus mentions cannot be Cardinal Bourne, for it is used in future tense in 1922 and Cardinal Bourne had already fulfilled his role as apostle in Great Britain during World War I. Our Lord never makes reference in His messages that this consecration will be made by His Vicar, something that is very telling. He and His Mother refer to certain “souls” and “chosen instruments.” Our Lord makes it very clear that this devotion, if carried out by these certain souls will bring about the desired result and promises to allow a miraculous intervention on behalf of His Mother. The victory will be hers.

We have seen that not enough souls fulfilled the Fatima requests and that not all the bishops of the world could be bothered to join Pope Pius XII in consecrating Russia to Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart as she requested. We also see the tragic results. It is time, then, to make reparation to Our Lady’s Sorrowful Heart by doing all we can to participate in this Society and promote this devotion, begging her to intercede for us and avert the world cataclysm that surely is approaching. And we also must beg our Lord to send us the apostle who will finally accomplish the universal consecration, announcing it ourselves as a group in the meantime, on behalf of this sin-laden world. For if we do not do this, we must ask ourselves at this late date, who will? This is the command of Christ, as He indicates more than once in these messages. Even if there were doubts about the messages received by Mlle. Petit, would it not be better to fulfill this request than to ignore it? Haven’t our Lord and His Blessed Mother been neglected and ignored enough?

It should be mentioned here that there are other messages attributed to Our Lord and Our Lady, also not approved by Rome, that seem to convey the same message, and both of them were received either shortly before or after Berthe Petit passed away. They are considered here only because as with Mlle. Petit’s messages, they seem to speak to us in a way that was not appreciated before. However, they should be taken with caution and need not be credited as worthy of belief.

Twentieth Century Marian Prophecies

Heede, November 1937-1945
“Men do not listen to My voice. They harden their hearts; they resist My grace. They do not wish to have anything to do with My Mercy, My Love, My merits. Mankind is worse than before the deluge. Mankind is suffocating in sin. Hatred and greed rule their hearts. This is the work of the devil. They live in great darkness. Through the wounds that bled, Mercy will again gain victory over justice. My faithful souls should not be asleep now like the disciples on Mt. Olivet. They should pray without ceasing and gain all they can for themselves and for others.

“This generation deserves to be annihilated but I desire to show myself as merciful. Tremendous things are in preparation; it will be terrible as never before since the foundation of the world. All those, who in these grave times have suffered so much, are martyrs and form the seed for the renovation of the Church. They were privileged to participate in My captivity, in My scourging, in My crown of thorns, and My Way of the Cross.

“With a few faithful I will build up My kingdom. As a flash of lightning this Kingdom will come … much faster than mankind will realize. I will give them a special light. For some this light will be a blessing; for others, darkness. The light will come like the Star that showed the way to the wise men. Mankind will experience My love and My power. My beloved, the hour comes closer. Pray without ceasing!

(Another version of this last paragraph):
“I am coming! I am at the door! My love has planned this action before the creation of the world… The world lies in dense darkness. This generation would deserve to be wiped out; but I wish to show Myself merciful… I am coming Myself and I will manifest My will… The things that will come shall surpass by far what happened. The Mother of God, My mother, and the Angels will take part in it. Hell by now believes itself certain of victory, but I will take it away… I am coming, and with Me, peace shall come. I will build My Kingdom with a small number of elect. This Kingdom will come suddenly, sooner than what one thinks. I will make My light shine, which to some will be blessing and to others darkness. Humanity will recognize My love and My power.”

Marienfried, Germany, 1946
“I am the powerful Mediatrix of Graces. As the world can find mercy only through the sacrifice of the Son with the Father, so can you only find favor with the Son through my intercession. Christ is so unknown because I am not known. Because the nations rejected His Son, the Father poured out His cup of wrath upon them. It is true that the world was consecrated to my Immaculate Heart, but this consecration has become a fearful responsibility for many men. I demand that the world live this consecration.

“I am the sign of the Living God. I place my Sign on the foreheads of my children (those who consecrate themselves to my Immaculate Heart). The star (Lucifer) will persecute the Sign. But my Sign will conquer the star. Have unreserved confidence in my Immaculate Heart! Believe that I am able to do everything with my Son. Substitute my Immaculate Heart in place of your sinful hearts. Then it will be I who will draw the power of God, and the love of the Father will renew the fullness of Christ in you. Fulfill my request so that Christ may reign as the King of Peace.

“The world will have to drain the cup of wrath to the dregs because of the countless sins through which His Heart is offended. The Star of the infernal regions will rage more violently than ever and will cause frightful destruction, because he knows that his time is short, and because he sees that already many have gathered around my sign. Over these he has no spiritual power, although he will kill the bodies of many; but through these sacrifices, my power to lead the remnant host to victory will increase.

“Pray, make sacrifices for sinners. Offer yourselves and your works to the Father through me, and put yourselves at my disposal without reserve. Pray the Rosary. Pray not so much for external things — weightier things are at stake in these times. EXPECT NO SIGNS OR WONDERS; I shall be active as the powerful Mediatrix in secret. … The devil has power over all people who do not trust in my Heart. Wherever people substitute my Immaculate Heart for their sinful hearts, the devil has no power. But he will persecute my children. They will be despised, but he can do them no harm.

“I have already given many signs and spoken often to the world, but people have not taken them seriously… I urge my people to fulfill my wishes quickly, because today more than ever such fulfillment of my will is necessary for God’s greater honor and glory. The Father pronounces a dreadful woe upon all who refuse to obey His Will.”

Our Lady of Syracuse

There were no messages involved in this 1953 event, where an image of the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary shed tears for three days in Syracuse, Italy. The tears were determined by a commission of scientists to be genuine human tears. Miracles were later attributed to the intercession of the Weeping Madonna. Was this not a manifestation of Our Lady’s power and the compassion of her Sorrowful Heart? Pope Pius XII commented during a radio address in 1954, on learning the tears were human: “We acknowledge the unanimous declaration of the Episcopal Conference held in Sicily on the reality of that event. Will men understand the mysterious language of those tears?” Characteristic of the Church’s practice to treat private revelations with reticence, the popes were slow to fully endorse our Lord’s urgent request to consecrate the world to His Mother’s Sorrowful Heart. However, Pope Benedict XV did make mention of it to the bishops. And as will be seen below, Pope Pius XII at least does include her in his prayer of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart.

Will You Watch One Hour?

These messages all indicate that the powers of darkness will be at their highest point and that therefore the recourse to Our Lady, particularly under the title of her Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart, will be of the utmost importance. It also warns us that disobedience to the will of God will be severely punished but obedience will be rewarded with the triumph of His Mother. It is impossible to deny that as stated above, things are worse today than they were at the time of the Flood in Noe’s day. By sheer numbers, given the world’s population, this can be seen to be true. Will you watch one hour with our Lord and His Mother each day? Will you join in this last attempt to appease the Divine wrath, already so much inflamed against man? We ask only three commitments from members:

1) Reparation to the Sacred Heart and to Mary’s Sorrowful Heart for our sins;
2) The daily intention to promote this devotion and accomplish the universal consecration; and
3) Prayers for the sending of the special apostle to lead us, mentioned by our Lord.

Below, the purpose and goals of Our Sorrowful Mother’s Society will be explained.

Purpose of this Society

(Adapted from the Manual of the Apostleship of Prayer, 1864)

The Society for Reparation to the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary is founded on this fundamental truth — but one that is too often forgotten by Christians — that, besides the apostleship of preaching which formed the occupation of our Divine Lord the last three years of his public life, which his ministers later exercised in His name, there is another apostleship far more meritorious in itself, and from which the apostleship of the Word draws all its efficacy. Our Divine Savior consecrated the first thirty years of His mortal life exclusively to this apostleship of prayer. He continues it in his glorified life in Heaven, and in his life of sacrifice in the heavenly Tabernacle. This was the apostleship of the Blessed Virgin, St. Joseph, and all that innumerable multitude of souls hidden indeed from the eyes of men, but powerful with God, who have not done less for the defense of the Church or the salvation of souls, than all the doctors have by their writings, or all preachers by their eloquence.

The work of the Society for Reparation to the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, therefore, calls on all Christians to unite together in this hidden life, in this Divine apostleship of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary. It invites them to appropriate to themselves the intentions of these two hearts, transfixed in sorrow, and to pray with them for all the objects of their prayers; for the greater glory of God, for the conversion of sinners, for the advancement of the just, and the triumph of the Church. It invites them to lift themselves above those material interests, those passing events, which absorb and consume all the activity of their immortal souls, to take an active part in the struggles of the Church, in the labors of Her ministers, and in the great work of our Lord, the salvation of souls. It will induce them to devote themselves, from other motives than those of mere politicians to the regeneration of the entire world, which has fallen into utter ruin since the death of Pope Pius XII. Finally, it will direct their thoughts to far-off lands, and will show them that it depends upon them for light and grace to fall on many nations now sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death.

For it is impossible for us to doubt but that the promises of Jesus Christ Himself to prayers offered in His name to God the Father, will be fully realized when and where we ask for what he Himself commands us to ask; that is, the sanctification of his Father’s name, the consecration of the world to His Sorrowful Mother, the entire spread of his reign on Earth, the perfect fulfilment of His will, the bread of truth and of grace for so many souls who are expiring of hunger, and the deliverance from evil of all our brethren as well as of ourselves. Though we cannot be certain of obtaining what we ask, when we forget ourselves in order to plead
for others, since we cannot compel them to receive the proffered grace, yet we may be sure the grace will be offered to them in proportion to the fervor, confidence, and perseverance of our prayers, This consoling certainty is still greater when we unite our prayers with those of our brethren. Then we have in some sort a right to call on our Divine Lord to fulfil his promise of listening to two or three gathered together in his name. We will point out below the conditions, the accomplishment of which insures to us the advantages offered by this Society. These conditions are very simple, and that there is no state of life in which they may not be practiced without difficulty.

But if the Society of Reparation does not of itself impose any particular practice, there is no practice whatever that it does not seek to animate with its spirit, and which in that way will not greatly increase in merit. If it does not impose any obligation, it proposes a great perfection, and renders the means of acquiring it easier. There is no good work, whether of piety or of mortification, nor of charity, either spiritual or corporal; there is no duty of our state of life, or even lawful recreation, which, animated by the intentions of the Society, is not of the Sacred Heart itself and the Sorrowful Heart of Mary, and does not become in itself an apostolic work, and thus acquire the power of saving souls; no exercise of piety performed, thus will not increase in merit and in efficacy, if it is united with the noble and touching motives that this Society offers to us.

To glorify God, to render the precious blood of Jesus Christ and the sorrows of His Blessed Mother fruitful, to assuage the Agony of his Heart, and crown His most ardent desires; to defend the Church, our Mother, against Her enemies; to save souls, to close Hell, and open Heaven and most especially, to fulfill the requests of Our Lord that His Sorrowful Mother be universally recognized. There is no fault that we shall not avoid more easily, and no defect that we may not sooner overcome, if we allow this Society to remind us habitually that we are depriving ourselves of great merit, and that these faults and defects are the cause of many unhappy souls losing those graces which perhaps may save them, and without which they may be lost.

If, then, we would gather to their full extent the advantages of this Society of Reparation to the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, we must make it the work of our whole lives, we must clothe ourselves in it as in a garment which we shall never change, we must make it our daily bread, and we must inhale and respire it as we do the air itself. Since the intentions of the Society are no other than those of the Sacred Heart and the Sorrowful Heart of His Mother, to practice them in this way would be to fulfil in its perfection the great precept of the apostle — “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” — and the Mother of Sorrows.

Prayers to be Practiced in Common

The first devotion is the recitation of the spiritual Mass in union with all of the Sacrifices of the Mass ever offered throughout the world, preceded by the Perfect Act of Contrition and followed by Spiritual Communion. We thereby offer ourselves as a living sacrifice in union with and commemoration of Christ’s sufferings and death on the Cross as shared by His Blessed Mother at the foot of the Cross.

The second devotion which we earnestly recommend to the Society for Reparation is devotion to the Agonizing Heart of Jesus, in favor of the many thousands of persons who die every day. Of all the souls to whose salvation this Society devotes itself, none certainly ought to interest us more dearly than those whose eternal destiny will be fixed irrevocably in a few moments. By adopting this devotion to the agonizing Heart and the Sorrowful Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we are only exercising our apostleship in the most efficacious way. A wonderful help to prayer and understanding state of the dying and their need for our prayers, Mother Mary Potter’s Devotion to the Dying, is available online.

A third devotion that ought to be equally dear to us is devotion to the souls in Purgatory. It is true that these souls, being no longer in danger of losing Heaven, cannot be, strictly speaking, the object of this Society. But how can we be indifferent to their sufferings? Besides, if they no longer afford employment for our zeal, they may become our most powerful assistants. Already in Purgatory, they can unite their prayers to ours, and such prayers cannot fail to be pleasing to God. But it is especially after they have entered heaven by our suffrages, that they feel themselves, as it were, obliged by gratitude to use all their influence in favor of our society of reparation. The associates will, therefore, apply to the souls in Purgatory all the indulgences they are able to gain; but they must make it a condition with those souls whose torments they thus abridge, that they will hereafter unite with them to obtain the conversion of sinners and the triumph of the Church.

1. For each day, Society members are to: a) make their Morning Offering beginning with: “O Jesus through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary…” including in their intentions reparation to the Sacred Heart and Mary’s Sorrowful Heart for our sins, the intent to accomplish the universal consecration, and the sending of the apostle mentioned by our Lord; b) recite the Consecration formula provided below by Pope Pius XII; c) make any devotion of choice to the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary from the Devotion to the Sorrowful Mother booklet; d) pray the Rosary.

2. For each week. They will offer their spiritual Mass on Friday especially for the intentions of the Society mentioned in (1) and may impose on themselves this day some mortification with the same intention. On Saturday, they also are encouraged to recite Berthe Petit’s Consecration to the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary.

3. For each month. They will observe the First Friday Devotions in a particular manner to renew in themselves the spirit of the Society, to examine and correct in themselves all that may place any obstacle in the way of the union of their heart with the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary. On this day they will fix on the works that they intend to do in the course of the month for the different intentions of the Society, unless they prefer giving all their works to the Heart of our Lord, leaving to Him the application of them as He pleases. The same applies to the First Saturday Devotions in honor of Our Lady.

4. For each year. They will celebrate with special devotion the Feasts of the Sacred Heart, and the two feasts of Our Lady’s Dolors (on the Friday in Passion Week and September 15). On these days they may renew either in private or in common their consecrations of this Divine Heart, and of the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin, with an earnest resolution to labor as much as possible to promote their interests and intentions. (End of Apostleship of Prayer Manual adaptation)

Acts of Consecration

Solemn Act of Consecration to the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary

(Written at the request of Francis Cardinal Bourne by Berthe Petit)

O Lord Jesus, Who on Calvary and in the Holy Eucharist has shown Thyself to us as the God of Love and Mercy; kneeling humbly at Thy feet we adore Thee and beg once more for Thy forgiveness and Thy divine pity.

And remembering that by Thine own act on Calvary, the human race, represented by Thy beloved disciple John, gained a Mother in the Virgin of Sorrows, we desire to honor the sufferings and woes of our Mother’s Heart by devoting ourselves to it in solemn Consecration.

It is but just O Mary, that our souls should strive henceforth to venerate thee with special homage under the title of thy Sorrowful Heart, a title won by sharing in the whole Passion of thy Son and thus co-operating in the work of our redemption – a title due to thee in justice, and dear, we believe, to Jesus and to thine own Heart, torn by the wound in His.

We consecrate therefore, O Mary, to thy Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart ourselves, our families, our country and those who are fighting for its honor. Have pity on us; see our tribulations, and the anguish of our hearts in the midst of the mourning and calamities that lay waste the world. Deign, O Mother of God, to obtain mercy for us that, being converted and purified by sorrow, and made strong in faith, we may henceforth be devoted servants of Jesus Christ and His Church, for whose triumph we pray.

O Mary Immaculate, we promise to be faithful clients of thy Sorrowful Heart. Intercede for us, we beseech thee, with thy Son that, at the cry of thy Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart, His divine Power may speedily bring to pass the triumph of right and justice. Amen.

Sacred Heart of Jesus, have pity on us.
Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us and save us.

Pope Pius XII’s Solemn Act of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Most Holy Virgin Mary, tender Mother of men, to fulfill the desires of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the request of the Vicar of thy Son on earth, we consecrate ourselves and our families to thy Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart, O Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, and we recommend to thee, all the people of our country and all the world.

Please accept our consecration, dearest Mother, and use us as thou dost wish to accomplish thy designs in the world.

O Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, and Queen of the World, rule over us, together with the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ, Our King. Save us from the spreading flood of modern paganism; kindle in our hearts and homes the love of purity, the practice of a virtuous life, an ardent zeal for souls, and a desire to pray the Rosary more faithfully.

We come with confidence to thee, O Throne of Grace and Mother of Fair Love. Inflame us with the same Divine Fire which has inflamed thine own Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart. Make our hearts and homes thy shrine, and through us, make the Heart of Jesus, together with thy rule, triumph in every heart and home. Amen.

Various Prayers for These Times

To Avert the Anger of God
O Mother of Sorrows, who from thy very infancy didst most ardently wish that the time of the redemption of mankind might be hastened, and who, when become the Mother of God, didst with admirable heroism offer for death thine only Son and thyself with Him, that the reign of sin might be destroyed; look down, we entreat thee, on this miserable world, and see how prevalent iniquity is everywhere, and how many unfortunate souls are bound with the chains of sin. The flood of infidelity, blasphemy, and immorality is rising daily, and seems as if it would submerge the whole world. How dreadful are the chastisements we may fear! How terrible the divine vengeance will be! How awful to bear the wrath with which thy Jesus will be moved against those who insult and reject Him!

O most blessed Virgin, have compassion on us, intercede for us; do not forsake thy mission of reconciliation, but show that thou art still most anxious to save sinners. Stand in the sight of thy divine Son to speak good for them, and to turn away His indignation from them. Remind Him that for them He Himself shed His most precious Blood to the last drop, and ended His life in the most excruciating torments; remind Him of the anguish, the desolation, the agony of thine Immaculate Heart.

Will He resist thy prayers, thy supplications, thy sighs? No! He will be moved to mercy, and in the excess of His love will pour down the abundance of His graces to soften the hearts of hardened sinners. Then, filled with sorrow, will thy shed tears of compunction and return to their Lord; then iniquity will cease, faith, and religion, and purity will flourish again, and a canticle of praise to the God of mercies, and of gratitude to thee, our most loving Mother, will be raised from all parts of the earth. Amen.

For the Conversion of Sinners
O most afflicted Mother, how much thou didst suffer at the foot of the cross, what burning tears thou didst shed for the salvation of mankind and the conversion of sinners! For them thou didst offer thyself to torments and to death in union with our loving Redeemer. We then, with unbounded confidence, call upon thee in behalf of poor sinners. By the most precious Blood of Jesus shed to the last drop, by thine own bitter tears, by the sword which pierced thy soul, implore for them grace that may touch their hearts and bring them to true repentance.

Remember, O sorrowful Virgin, that the first words of Jesus on the cross were to implore forgiveness for His executioners – that is, all sinners – and to promise Paradise to the penitent Thief. Pray, then, the Eternal father to forgive them, and to move their hearts to compunction. Remember that with His dying voice Jesus gave us to thee to be thy sons, and thee to us to be our Mother; and that he cried out, “I thirst,” to manifest how much He was consumed with the thirst of souls. Listen, O sorrowful Mother, listen to the voice of thy dying Son: show thyself a mother to poor sinners though they have been ungrateful sons: do not permit them to perish forever, but quench the thirst of Jesus, by bringing them back to Him.

Pray for sinners, O Mary, offer for them thy tears and sorrows, and lead them all to the loving Heart of thy dying Son. Amen.

Prayers for the Dying
I. O most holy Virgin, by the sorrow which transfixed thy heart, when holy Simeon foretold the affliction thou wast to endure at the death of thy Divine Son, intercede for this person, now at the point of death, that his (her) heart may be pierced with true contrition.
Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be to the Father.
II. O most gracious Virgin, by the sorrow thou didst endure, when, to save thy Son Jesus from the persecution of Herod, thou wast forced to fly with Him into Egypt, deliver this soul from the snares of the infernal foe.
Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be to the Father.
III. O most afflicted Virgin, by the sorrow thou didst feel at losing thy son Jesus, beg that this soul may not be lost, but may dwell forever with Him in heaven.
Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be to the Father.
IV. O most distressed Virgin, by the sorrow thou didst feel at seeing thy Son Jesus carrying on His bruised shoulders His heavy cross, obtain for this departing soul grace to bear patiently, for the love of thy dear Son, the cross of his (her) sufferings.
Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be to the Father.
V. O inconsolable Virgin, by the unspeakable sorrow thou didst experience at seeing thy Son Jesus crucified between two thieves, pray for this soul, that sorrow for his (her) sins may pierce his (her) heart, as the nails pierced the hands and feet of our divine Lord, and the spear His sacred side.
Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be to the Father.
VI. O most desolate Virgin, by the sorrow thou didst feel in receiving into thine arms the dead body of thy Son Jesus, pray that this departing soul may be received into eternal glory of heaven.
Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be to the Father.
VII. O Virgin most sorrowful, by the desolation thou didst feel, when, having accompanied thy son to the sepulchre, thou hadst to part with Him, have pity of this soul, and accompany it in the great journey to eternity.
Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be to the Father.
V. Pray for him (her), most sorrowful Virgin.
R. That he (she) may be worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray
Grant, we beseech thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, that the most blessed Virgin Mary thy Mother, whose most holy soul was pierced with the sword of sorrow in the hour of Thy Passion, may intercede before the throne of Thy mercy for this Thy servant, now and at the hour of his(her) death. Who livest and reignest, world without end. Amen.
V. May the sorrowful Virgin Mary.
R. Bless us with her loving Child.

For the Faithful in their Last Agony
O most holy Mary, by that fear and trembling which overwhelmed thine heart, when thou didst hear that thy beloved Son and our Lord Jesus Christ had been taken by His enemies, abandoned by His disciples, and led to Caiphas and Pilate, help, we implore thee, the soul of this person in its last struggle, that he (she) may have a true sorrow and contrition for his (her) past sins. Comfort and strengthen him (her), that he (she) may not fear at the coming of the common enemy, nor tremble at the sight of his (her) severe Judge, angry for his (her) sins, but may rather see Him, appeased
by thy powerful prayers, show him(her) a merciful countenance. Amen. Hail Mary.

For the Faithful Departed
O most Blessed Virgin Mary, my Mother, I turn to thee in supplication, and by the sword which pierced thy sorrowful heart, when thou didst behold thy beloved Son Jesus Christ bow down His head and give up the ghost, I pray and beseech thee to succor the holy souls in Purgatory, and particularly those for whom I now pray, N. N. Mother of Sorrows, Queen of Martyrs, for the love of thy divine Son, whose precious Blood was shed for us, help us with thy powerful intercession, who are danger not only of falling into Purgatory, but of losing our souls forever in hell. O Mary, Mother of grace, Mother of mercy, pray for us now and at the hour of our death. Eternal Father, through the most precious Blood of Jesus and the Sorrows of Mary, have pity upon the holy souls in Purgatory. Amen.

Dear Lord Jesus, grant them eternal rest.

Eternal rest give unto them, O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.

We beseech Thee, therefore, assist the souls still suffering in purgatory, whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy Precious Blood.

(These various prayers were taken from Behold Thy Mother, the manual of the Servite Order. The full set of these prayers and a history of the Servites is available at the following link: http://www.staugustinechapel.org/Library/books_pdf/Behold_Thy_Mother_Servite_Manual.pdf)

About the Origins of this Society

On September 15, 2006, a chapel constructed by Larry and Teresa Benns and their family members in La Garita, Colorado was dedicated to the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary using the consecration formula written by Berthe Petit above. The Benns family used this for their private devotions for the next 14 years. Larry Benns constructed the altar and canopy for the chapel, also the lighted frames for the pictures on the left below.

In September of 2020 the Benns family relocated to South Dakota and reconstructed the chapel in their new residence. It was once again consecrated to the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary on September 15, 2021 using Berthe Petit’s consecration prayer.

Larry Benns passed away on March 1, 2021. Please pray for the repose of his soul.

May all of us become true apostles in these trying times!

Society for Reparation to the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary