Thou, who for me didst feel such pain,
Whose precious blood the cross did stain,
Let not those agonies be vain.
Thou whom avenging powers obey,
Cancel my debt (too great to pay)
Before the said accounting day.
Surrounded with amazing fears,
Whose load my soul with anguish hears,
I sigh, I weep, accept my tears.
Thou, who wast mov'd with Mary's grief,
And by absolving of the thief,
Hast given me hope, now give relief.
Reject not my unworthy prayer,
Preserve me from the dangerous snare,
Which death and gaping hell prepare.
Give my exalted soul a place
Among the chosen right hand race,
The sons of God, and heirs of grace.
From that insatiate abyss,
Where flames devour and serpents hiss,
Promote me to Thy seat of bliss.
Prostrate, my contrite heart I rend,
My God, my Father, and my Friend:
Do not forsake me in my end.
Well may they curse their second birth,
Who rise to a surviving death.
Thou great Creator of mankind,
Let guilty man compassion find.—Amen.