Through the painful stretching of thy naked body on the cross as on a rack, and fastening thy hands and feet thereto with gross nails, _Have mercy upon us._ Through the compassion thou hadst for thy sorrowful Mother, and beloved disciple, standing at the foot of thy cross, _Have mercy upon us._ Through thy excessive charity in praying for thy persecutors, and murderers, and in promising Paradise to the penitent thief, _Have mercy upon us._ Through the seven last speeches thou didst utter on the cross whilst thou wast suspended thereon for the space of three hours, _Have mercy upon us._ Through the vehement thirst thou didst then suffer, and the gall and vinegar which was given thee to drink, _Have mercy upon us._ Through thy last agony, in which thou didst commend thy blessed soul into the hands of thy heavenly Father, _Have mercy upon us._ Through the piercing of thy side with a lance, and the water and blood which issued therefrom, _Have mercy upon us._ Through the descent of thy departed soul into Limbo, to conquer the devils, and set the ancient fathers at liberty, _Have mercy upon us._ Through the taking down of thy dead body from the cross by Joseph, of Arimathea, and Nicodemus, in order to its burial, _Have mercy upon us._ {246} Through thy glorious resurrection from death to life on the third day, _Have mercy upon us._ Through thy appearing to thy blessed Mother, to Mary Magdalen, to Peter and the other apostles, frequently comforting and confirming them during the space of forty days, _Have mercy upon us._ Through thine admirable ascension into heaven, in the sight of thy sacred Mother and thy disciples, _Have mercy upon us._ Through the miraculous descent of the Holy Ghost on thy apostles in the form of fiery tongues, _Have mercy upon us._ Through all thine actions and sufferings during thy thirty years sojourning amongst men, and by all that is pleasing to thy divine Majesty in heaven and on earth, _Have mercy upon us._ V, Graciously hear our prayers, O Lord. R. And let our cry come unto thee. Let Us Pray. Vouchsafe, O Almighty and most merciful Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier, to have compassion, not only on us, but also on all such as shall present the foregoing petitions to the throne of thy mercy, in commemoration of thy sacred life and most bitter passion. {247} We beseech thee also, for thine own dear sake, that thou wouldst grant to us, our friends and benefactors, and to all those for whom we intend or are bound to pray, the pardon of all past offences, and preservation from future failings; that loving thee, serving thee, and obeying thee, with the utmost fervour, fidelity and perseverance, during the remainder of our earthly pilgrimage, we may be at length admitted to the eternal enjoyment of thy beatific presence in thy heavenly paradise. Amen.