The Hour of Grace

"My wish is that every year on the 8th of December at noon an 'Hour of Grace' will be installed."

~Our Lady to Sr. Pierina Gilli (Dec. 8, 1947)

How to Make the Hour of Grace

Begin by praying with outstretched arms Psalm 51 three times.

Put away all distractions and concentrate on God.

The rest of the hour may be spent in silent contemplation, prayer, reading, etc.

Psalm 51

1 Have mercy on me, O God,

according to your steadfast love;

according to your abundant mercy

blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,

and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions,

and my sin is ever before me.

4 Against you, you alone, have I sinned,

and done what is evil in your sight,

so that you are justified in your sentence

and blameless when you pass judgment.

5 Indeed, I was born guilty,

a sinner when my mother conceived me.

6 You desire truth in the inward being;

therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.

7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;

wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

8 Let me hear joy and gladness;

let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.

9 Hide your face from my sins,

and blot out all my iniquities.

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,

and put a new and right spirit within me.

11 Do not cast me away from your presence,

and do not take your holy spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,

and sustain in me a willing spirit.

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,

and sinners will return to you.

14 Deliver me from bloodshed, O God,

O God of my salvation,

and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.

15 O Lord, open my lips,

and my mouth will declare your praise.

16 For you have no delight in sacrifice;

if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased.

17 The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit;

a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

18 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;

rebuild the walls of Jerusalem,

19 then you will delight in right sacrifices,

in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;

then bulls will be offered on your altar.

HISTORY

From Nov. 24, 1946 to Dec. 8, 1947, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Pierina Gilli in a church in Montichiari, Italy, 11 times. Pierina (1911–1991) grew up in a modest peasant family, the first of nine children. Around age 30 she underwent intense spiritual experiences, and spent her life offering up her physical and spiritual sufferings for the world.

In the first apparition, Pierina writes, "Then I saw a beautiful Lady, nearly transparent, dressed in purple with  a white veil that came down from head to foot. She held Her arms outstretched and I saw three swords stuck in Her chest in correspondence  with the heart."

Our Lady requested prayers specifically for souls consecrated to God:

◆ In reparation for religious who betray their vocation
◆ in reparation for the mortal sins of religious
◆ in reparation for the betrayal of priests who make themselves unworthy of their sacred ministry 

In her final apparition, Our Lady said, "I am the Immaculate Conception, the Mother of all Graces and the Mother of my Beloved Son, Jesus. I wish to be known as the Mystical Rose. My wish is that every year on the 8th of December at noon an 'Hour of Grace' will be installed. Many spiritual Graces and physical blessings will be received by those who pray undisturbed during this hour."

The apparition is currently under review by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The local bishop has approved the shrine as a place of public worship, formally instituting it on Dec. 7, 2019: "It is a joy for me to inform you that at my explicit request, the Apostolic See itself, through the Congregation for Worship, has allowed the Diocesan Shrine Rosa Mystica — Mother of the Church to be instituted at this location and I willingly intend to establish it with a special decree, starting from 7 December 2019. On that occasion — the eve of the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception — I will personally visit these places to solemnly celebrate the Eucharist, thus inaugurating the spiritual path of the diocesan sanctuary."