THE GOLDEN ARROW PRAYER
May the most holy, most sacred, most adorable, most mysterious and unutterable Name of God be always praised, blessed, loved, adored and glorified in heaven, on earth and under the earth, by all the creatures of God, and by the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the most Holy Sacrament of the altar.
This prayer was revealed by Our Lord to Sr. Mary of St. Peter in 1843 as a reparation for blasphemy.
THE GOLDEN ARROW
From “Life of Sister Mary St. Peter” (1884)
[August 26, 1843] A violent storm had suddenly burst forth from the fiery heavens and fell in torrents over the city of Tours. “Never,” said the Carmelite sister, “have I realised the justice of an irritated God as at that moment. Prostrate in an agony of fear before the Lord, I unceasingly offered Jesus Christ to his heavenly Father for the necessities of the Church: one of our sisters experienced the same emotions as I.”—According to the doctrine of the Apostles, the phenomena of nature are the visible signs of things invisible and supernatural. The terrible rolling of the thunder and the gleaming of the lightning seemed to be the menacing threats of the Most High. The flashes of lightning were as arrows, ready to destroy the enemies of the Lord. At five o'clock, she commenced her evening prayer; placing herself in spirit at the foot of the cross, (according to her custom), she lovingly asked of Our Lord the cause of his wrath. Her Divine Master, wishing to try her, changed his usual manner, and said: “I have lent ear to your sighs, and have seen your desire to glorify me; yet, all this proceeds not from you, it is I who am the Author of all holy desires.”
The sister continues: “Then he unfolded his Heart to me, concentrating therein the powers of my soul, and addressed me thus: ‘My Name is everywhere blasphemed, even little children blaspheme it.’ And he made me understand how that dreadful sin pierced and wounded his Heart, aye, more than all other crimes. By blasphemy, the sinner outrages him to his face, attacks him openly, and pronounces upon himself his own judgment and condemnation. Blasphemy is an empoisoned arrow, wounding his Divine Heart continually; he told me that he would give me a golden arrow with which to wound him delightfully, and heal the poisonous wounds caused by sin.”
“The following is the prayer which Our Lord dictated to me, notwithstanding my unworthiness, for the reparation of blasphemy against his Holy Name: he offered it to me as a golden arrow, assuring me that every time I said it, I would wound his Heart most lovingly.”
“May the most holy, the most sacred, the most adorable, the most unknown and the most inexpressible Name of God be adored, praised, blessed, loved and glorified, in heaven, on earth and in hell, by all creatures formed by his sacred hand, and by the loving Heart of our Lord Jesus Christ in the most Blessed Sacrament of the altar. Amen.”
The sister here suddenly interrupts her interesting narrative to explain an expression contained in this prayer.
“As I was not a little astonished when Our Lord said and in hell, he had the goodness to make me understand that his justice was there glorified. I beg to remark, that he did not only mean the place where the wicked are punished, but also purgatory, where he is loved and glorified by the suffering souls.”
She continues: “Our Lord, having given me this golden arrow, added: ‘Beware how you appreciate this favor, for I shall demand an account of it.’ At that moment, I seemed to behold flowing from the Sacred Heart of Jesus, wounded by this golden arrow, torrents of grace for the conversion of sinners.”
“This communication” said the sister, “has wrought a change in my soul, for I am constantly occupied in glorifying the most Holy Name of God. Our Lord inspired me to add to the golden arrow, some other prayer, to be repeated every hour of the day; he graciously accepted this exercise, desiring that it be promulgated. My Divine Saviour made me participate in his desire of beholding the name of his Father glorified; he exhorted me to praise and bless that adorable Name, in imitation of the angels who are perpetually singing, Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus; that thus I would accomplish his desire, that of honoring his Sacred Heart and the holy Heart of his Mother.”