The Hour of Great Mercy

A moment of prayer at the hour Christ died.

Our Lord asked St. Faustina to honour three o’clock in the afternoon — the hour of His death — as the Hour of Great Mercy. It need not be long. A moment at your desk, in the car, or wherever three o’clock finds you is what was asked for.

The Prayer

You expired, Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls,
and the ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world.
O Fount of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy,
envelop the whole world and empty Yourself out upon us.

O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus
as a fount of mercy for us, I trust in You.

How to Keep the Hour

• Pause at three o’clock, wherever you are.
• Recall the Passion — especially Christ’s abandonment at the moment of death.
• Pray the words above, or simply, Jesus, I trust in You.
• If you have time, pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet.
• Ask for mercy, above all for sinners and the dying.

About This Prayer

The devotion asks for very little and promises a great deal: that prayers offered in this hour, in virtue of Christ’s Passion, are heard with particular readiness. Many Catholics set a quiet alarm for three o’clock. It takes fifteen seconds, and it turns the dullest part of the afternoon into a hinge of the day.