Pope Pius VII, by a Rescript of August 26, 1814, issued through his Eminence the Cardinal-Prefect of the Sacred Congregation of Rites, gave his approbation to the following devotion in memory of the Agony of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; granting at the same time an indulgence of 300 days to all the faithful every time they devoutly say it.  This original Rescript is preserved amongst the acts of the Sacred Congregation of Rites, and an authentic copy of it is kept in the Segretaria of the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences.

V. O GOD, come to my assistance,
R. O LORD, make haste to help me.
V. Glory be to The Father and to The Son and to The Holy Spirit.
R. As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be world without end.  Amen.

†

First Word
FATHER, FORGIVE THEM; FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO

V. We Adore Thee O Christ and we Bless Thee,
R. Because by Thy Holy Cross Thou has redeemed the world.

Jesus, my Love! who for love of me didst hang in agony upon the cross, there by Thy pains to pay the penalty of my sins, and didst open Thy divine mouth to obtain for me the pardon of them from Eternal Justice; O Jesus, pity all the faithful who are now in their last agony, and pity me when I too shall be in mine.  By the merits of Thy most Precious Blood shed for our salvation, vouchsafe unto us all such lively sorrow for our sins, that when we have sent forth our last breath we may at once repose in the bosom of Thy infinite mercy.

Glory Be… 3 times
V. Have mercy on us, O Lord,
R. have mercy on us.
My God, in Thee I believe, in Thee I hope, Thou art my love.  I repent of my sins, because by them I have offended Thee.

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Second Word
THIS DAY THOU SHALT BE WITH ME IN PARADISE

V. We Adore Thee O Christ and we Bless Thee.
R. Because by Thy Holy Cross Thou has redeemed the world.

Jesus, my Love! who for love of me didst hang in agony upon the cross, and with such readiness and bounty didst meet the faith of the good thief, when in Thy humiliations he acknowledged Thee to be the Son of God, and didst make him sure of the paradise prepared for him; O, pity all the faithful who are in their last agony, and pity me when I too shall be in mine.  By the merit of Thy most Precious Blood, stir up in our souls such firm and steadfast faith as shall never waver under any suggestion of the evil one; that so we also may obtain the blessed prize of Paradise.

Glory Be… 3 times
V. Have mercy on us, O Lord,
R. have mercy on us.
My God, in Thee I believe, in Thee I hope, Thou art my love.  I repent of my sins, because by them I have offended Thee.

†

Third Word
BEHOLD THY MOTHER! MOTHER BEHOLD THY SON!

V. We Adore Thee O Christ and we Bless Thee.
R. Because by Thy Holy Cross Thou has redeemed the world.

Jesus, my Love! who for love of me didst hang in agony upon the cross, and unmindful of Thine own sorrows didst leave us Thy own most holy Mother as the pledge of Thy love, that through her intercession we might seek Thee with confidence in our greatest straits; have pity on all the faithful who are in their last agony, and pity me when I too shall be in mine.  By the inward martyrdom of Thy dear Mother, quicken in our hearts a firm hope in the infinite merits of Thine own most Precious Blood, that so we may escape the sentence of eternal death, which we know we well merit for our sins.

Glory Be… 3 times
V. Have mercy on us, O Lord,
R. have mercy on us.
My God, in Thee I believe, in Thee I hope, Thou art my love.  I repent of my sins, because by them I have offended Thee.

† 

Fourth Word
MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME?

V. We Adore Thee O Christ and we Bless Thee.
R. Because by Thy Holy Cross Thou has redeemed the world.

Jesus, my Love! who for love of me didst hang in agony upon the cross, and, whilst suffering after suffering was heaped upon Thee, didst bear with infinite patience the most afflicting desolation of spirit in addition to the pain of body, being forsaken by Thine Eternal Father; pity all the faithful who are in their last agony, and pity me when I too shall be in mine.  By the merits of Thy most Precious Blood, grant us all Thy grace that we may suffer with patience every pain and anguish of our agony, that so joining our pains with Thine, we too may be made partakers of Thy glory in Paradise.

Glory Be… 3 times
V. Have mercy on us, O Lord,
R. have mercy on us.
My God, in Thee I believe, in Thee I hope, Thou art my love.  I repent of my sins, because by them I have offended Thee.

†

Fifth Word
I THIRST!

V. We Adore Thee O Christ and we Bless Thee.
R. Because by Thy Holy Cross Thou has redeemed the world.

Jesus, my Love! who for love of me didst hang in agony upon the cross, and who, insatiable in Thy thirst for insults and sufferings, didst will yet more and more to suffer, that all men might be saved, showing thereby that all the torrent of Thy Passion was not enough to quench the thirst of Thy most loving Heart; pity all the faithful who are in their last agony, and pity me when I too shall be in mine.  By the merits of Thy most Precious Blood, so kindle in our hearts the fire of charity that they may desire exceedingly to be united with Thee for all eternity.

Glory Be… 3 times
V. Have mercy on us, O Lord,
R. have mercy on us.
My God, in Thee I believe, in Thee I hope, Thou art my love.  I repent of my sins, because by them I have offended Thee.

†

Sixth Word
IT IS FINISHED!

V. We Adore Thee O Christ and we Bless Thee.
R. Because by Thy Holy Cross Thou has redeemed the world.

Jesus, my Love! who for love of me didst hang in agony upon the cross, and from that pulpit of truth didst announce that the work of our redemption was finished, that work through which, from children of wrath and perdition we became God’s children and the heirs of heaven; pity all the faithful who are in their last agony, and pity me when I too shall be in mine.  By the merits of Thy most Precious Blood, detach us wholly from the world and from ourselves, and at the moment of our agony grant us grace to offer Thee with all our hearts the sacrifice of our life, in expiation for our sins.

Glory Be… 3 times
V. Have mercy on us, O Lord,
R. have mercy on us.
My God, in Thee I believe, in Thee I hope, Thou art my love.  I repent of my sins, because by them I have offended Thee.

†

Seventh Word
FATHER, INTO THY HANDS I COMMEND MY SPIRIT

V. We Adore Thee O Christ and we Bless Thee.
R. Because by Thy Holy Cross Thou has redeemed the world.

Jesus, my Love! who for love of me didst hang in agony upon the cross, and who in accomplishment of the great sacrifice didst accept the will of Thine Eternal Father, commending Thy spirit into His hands, and so didst bow Thy head and die; pity all the faithful who are in their agony, and pity me when I too shall be in mine.  By the merits of Thy most Precious Blood, give us in our agony an entire conformity to Thy divine will, that, ready to live or die as it please Thee, we may desire nothing but that Thine adorable will may ever find its full accomplishment in us.

Glory Be… 3 times
V. Have mercy on us, O Lord,
R. have mercy on us.
My God, in Thee I believe, in Thee I hope, Thou art my love.  I repent of my sins, because by them I have offended Thee.

†

PRAYER TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, MOTHER OF SORROWS

Most Holy Mother of sorrows, by that intense martyrdom which thou didst suffer at the foot of the cross during the three hours of the agony of Jesus; deign to aid us all, who are the children of thy sorrows, in our last agony, that by thy prayers we may pass from our bed of death to adorn thy crown in Paradise.

Ave Maria… 3 times

Mother of Mercy, Mother of Grace, Mary, help a fallen race.
Shield us when the foe is nigh, and receive us when we die.

From sudden and unprepared death, deliver us, O Lord.
From the snares of the devil, deliver us, O Lord.
From everlasting death, deliver us, O Lord.

Let us pray: God, who for the salvation of the human race hast, in the most bitter death of Thy Son, made for us both an example and a refuge; grant, we beseech Thee, that in the last peril, at the hour of our death, we may be made worthy to experience the effect of this great charity, and so to be associated in the glory of the Redeemer Himself. Through the same Jesus Christ Thy Son. Amen.

Jesus, Mary, Joseph, I offer you my heart and my soul.
Jesus, Mary, Joseph, assist me in my last agony.
Jesus, Mary, Joseph, may I breathe forth my soul with you in peace.