The 24 Hours of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Luisa Piccarreta

"The Little Daughter of the Divine Will"

"…The satisfaction that blessed Jesus receives from the meditation of these Hours is so great, that He would want at least one copy of these meditations to be present and practiced in each city or town. In fact, it would happen, then, as if Jesus heard His own voice and His prayers being reproduced in those reparations, just as the ones He raised to His Father during the 24 hours of His sorrowful Passion. And if this were done in each town or city at least, by as many souls, Jesus seems to make me understand that Divine Justice would be placated in part, and in these sad times of torments and bloodshed, Its scourges would be stopped, in part, and as though dampened. I let you, reverend Father, make appeal to all; may you complete, in this way, the little work that my lovable Jesus had me do…"

(from a letter of Luisa to her extraordinary Confessor, Blessed Annibale M. di Francia)

At the age of 17, the Servant of God (SOG) Luisa Piccarreta wrote her first novena of preparation for Christmas with 9 hours of meditation. After finishing it, Our Lord invited her to meditate continuously on the last 24 hours that He suffered during the course of His Passion, beginning with the moment when He said good-bye to His Mother (that is, before instituting the Eucharist) and ending with the moment when Jesus was buried.

In every hour of His Passion, Our Lord invites us to accompany Him and bring him consolation with our love; this way, little by little as we enter into every scene, every word, every truth and every suffering, we will begin to understand just how great the Love of God has been for us and it will be impossible for us not to desire to love Him as much He deserves to be loved by us. This way, we will deepen our understanding not only of the External Passion that Jesus endured, also all his intimate sufferings, hidden to the eyes of the creatures, which are His Internal Passion.

Therefore, meditating on one Hours of the Passion means to be united to Jesus and to do everything that He did during every one of the scenes of His Passion. Means to be united to the prayers and reparations that Jesus offered interiorly to the Father while He was being scourging, crowned with thorns, crucified, etc., and for this purpose, we follow the book, “The 24 Hours of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ.” In such a way that every time we read, meditate, and penetrate into every hour of the Passion, we must try to make Jesus’ prayers, intentions and reparations our own so that together with Him we can offer them to the Father for the salvation of souls and the benefit of all humankind.

Preparation Prayer Before Each Hour

From 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Jesus takes leave of His Most Holy Mother.

From 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Jesus departs from His Most Holy Mother and sets out for the Cenacle (Supper room).

From 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The Legal Supper.

From 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.
The Eucharistic Supper.

The three hours of agony in the Garden of Gethsemane the Garden of Gethsemane
Introductory Prayer

From 9 p.m. to 10 p.m.
First Hour of Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane.

From 10 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Second Hour of Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane.

From 11 p.m. to Midnight
Third Hour of Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Thanksgiving Prayer after each hour of Agony in the Garden

From Midnight to 1 a.m.
Jesus is arrested.

From 1 a.m. to 2 a.m.
Pushed from a rock, Jesus falls into the Cedron Stream.

From 2 a.m. to 3 a.m.
Jesus is presented to Annas.

From 3 a.m. to 4 a.m.
Jesus in the house of Caiaphas.

From 4 a.m. to 5 a.m.
Jesus in the midst of the soldiers.

From 5 a.m. to 6 a.m.
Jesus in prison.

From 6 a.m. to 7 a.m.
Jesus is brought before Caiaphas again, and then sent to Pilate.

From 7 a.m. to 8 a.m.
Jesus is brought before Pilate, who then sends him to Herod.


From 8 a.m. to 9 a.m.
Jesus is brought before Pilate again. Barabbas is preferred to Jesus. Jesus is scourged.

From 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.
Jesus is crowned with thorns.


From 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Jesus takes up the Cross and walks toward Calvary,
where He is stripped.


From 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.
The Crucifixion.


From 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.
The first hour of agony and the first word.


From 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Second Hour of Agony on the Cross.Second, third and fourth word.

From 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Third Hour of Agony on the Cross. Fifth, sixth and seventh word.


From 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Dead Jesus is transfixed by the lance and taken down from the cross.

From 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.
The Burial of Jesus. Most Holy and Desolate Mary.

Thanksgiving prayer after each hour.