Transverberation is a mystical heart pang that many saints have experienced and written about over the centuries. The mystical phenomena called transverberation has varying levels of intensity and can feel like sharp mystical heart pangs as well as milder chest burns. Transverberation literally means ‘to pierce through.’
Saint Teresa de Avila is the author of a book on prayer called The Interior Castle, and she is also one of several renowned saints known for teaching us the art of mental prayer. During her life, St. Teresa of Avila reported being ‘pierced in the heart’ by an angel of God. These mystical heart pangs are felt by various saints. They are both physical and mystical heart pangs.
About Mystical Heart Pangs
Have you felt heart pangs while in prayer or as a prompting to pray? You are not alone. This phenomena, traditionally known as transverberation, has been experienced by many saints and this Litany of Transverberation includes many of them.
Mystical heart pangs are a manifestation of the Holy Spirit and this metaphysical experience shows the power of God in a very intimate way. Transverberation is not a biological heart pang. It is not a medical experience. This is a mystical gift from the Holy Spirit given to the faithful.
About Transverberation of the Heart
Saint Teresa of Avila wrote about her experience of being physically stabbed in the heart by an angel of God. Her heart pangs were quite powerful and she wrote a beautiful account of the experience. When her body was exhumed and examined it was found uncorrupt and her heart was also found to be physically wounded as if she had been stabbed. Imagine being stabbed by an angel of God! The Church celebrates the Feast of the Transverberation annually on August 26.
On May 24, 1868, Mariam Baouardy, known also as Blessed Mariam of Jesus Crucified, experienced the Transverberation of the Heart. From then on her heart would bleed often, staining her clothing. After her death, when her heart was removed, surgeons and witnesses attested to the scar of an old wound that should have caused death. She received a metaphysical gift of the Holy Spirit, the ability to read the hearts’ of others, also known as the gift of prophecy.
The following prayer, the Litany of Transverberation, is a prayer invoking all the saints who have been recorded as having been ‘pierced in the heart by the arrow of God’s love’ over the past 2000 years. This prayer invokes their intercession and is also a meditation of the love of Christ.
The Litany of Transverberation
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven,
have mercy on us.
God the Son,
Redeemer of the world,
have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit,
have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God,
Have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, pray for us.
Holy Mother of God, pray for us.
Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.
St. Joseph, pray for us.
St. Michael the Archangel, pray for us.
St. Gabriel the Archangel, pray for us.
St. Raphael the Archangel, pray for us.
O Holy Guardian Angel, pray for us.
All you Nine Choirs of Angels, pray for us.
St. John the evangelist, pray for us.
St. Magdalen, pray for us.
St. Therese of Lisieux, pray for us.
St. Padre Pio, pray for us.
St. Gertrude the Great, pray for us.
St. Mechtilde of Hackeborn, pray for us.
St. Augustine, pray for us.
St. Teresa of Avila, pray for us.
St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi, pray for us.
St. John of the Cross, pray for us.
St. Juana de la Cruz, pray for us.
St. Gemma Galgani, pray for us.
St. Philip Neri, pray for us.
St. Veronica Giuliani, pray for us.
St. Catherine of Siena, pray for us.
St. Catherine of Genoa, pray for us.
St. Margaret Mary Alaquoque, pray for us.
St. Jeanne de Chantal, pray for us.
St. Francis of Sales, pray for us.
St. Camilla Battista da Varano, pray for us.
St. Charles of Sezze, pray for us.
Bl. Gabrielle Bossis, pray for us.
Bl. Elizabeth Canori-Mora, pray for us.
Bl. Edvige Cardoni, pray for us.
Ven. Maria de Jesus de Agreda, pray for us.
Bl. Maria Valtorta, pray for us.
Bl. Angela Foligno, pray for us.
Bl. Maria Angela Astorch, pray for us.
Bl. Madre Magdalena de Jesus, pray for us.
Ven. Madre María Angélica Álvarez Icaza, pray for us.
Bl. Padre Johann Batista Reus, pray for us.
Bl. Bernardo de Hoyos, pray for us.
Bl. Elizabeth Kindelman, pray for us.
Bl. Mother Catherina Aurelia of the Precious Blood, pray for us.
Bl. Sister Josefa Menendez, pray for us.
Bl. Lucia, Mangano, pray for us.
All you Holy Saints and Mystics who have been wounded by the flame of Love, pray for us.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, I offer you all the pain of not loving you enough in union with the sufferings of Your Sacred Heart.
Heal my poor heart.
Mary, Mother of Love, give me love.
With St. Charles Sezze I pray: Lord, give me Your most divine love, through the intercession of the glorious St. Joseph.
With St. Augustine, I pray: “By the saving wounds which you suffered on the cross for our salvation and from which flowed the precious blood of our redemption, wound this sinful soul of mine for which you were willing even to die; wound it with the fiery and powerful dart of your charity that is beyond compare.”
With St. Gertrude I pray: “Lord, I am not worthy to receive the least of Thy gifts; but I beseech Thee, by the merits and prayers of all Your saints, to pierce my heart with the arrow of Thy love.”
With Bl. Dina Belanger I pray: “Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, burning with love for us, inflame our hearts with love for You.”
With Bl. Gabrielle Bossis I pray: Lord, may I not die before You pierce my heart with the fire of Your love.
Eternal Father, in Your Divine Will, I offer you all the love of the Most Holy Trinity, all the love contained in the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, all the love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and all the love, the prayers and holy longings of all the saints and faithful that have ever live and will ever live until the end of time, as my own and in reparation for those who do not love you. I ask this in the name of Jesus.
Amen.
Learn about mystical saints who experienced transverberation.
"The pain was so great, that it made me moan; and yet so surpassing was the sweetness of this excessive pain, that I could not wish to be rid of it. The soul is satisfied now with nothing less than God. The pain is not bodily, but spiritual; though the body has its share in it, even a large one."
Saints on Love for Christ
“O Sacred Heart of Jesus, fountain of eternal life, Your Heart is a glowing furnace of Love. You are my refuge and my sanctuary. O my adorable and loving Savior, consume my heart with the burning fire with which Yours is aflamed. Pour down on my soul those graces which flow from Your love. Let my heart be united with Yours. Let my will be conformed to Yours in all things. May Your Will be the rule of all my desires and actions. Amen.”
“Suffering opened its arms to me wide and I threw myself into them with love. I had declared at the feet of Jesus that I came to save souls and especially to pray for priests. And when one wishes to attain a goal one must use the means, and Jesus made me understand that it was through suffering that he wanted to give me souls.” – St. Thérèse of Lisieux
Read the Biographies of the Saints
St. Thérèse of Lisieux, the Little Flower
St. Thérèse of Lisieux was a beautiful soul who longed to do great things for God but soon learned that the “little way” was most efficacious and pleasing to Him. She is a doctor of the Church.
St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi, the Passion Flower of the Eucharist
St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi experienced many ecstasies while suffering a grave illness. Throughout her suffering she drew close to the Divine Heart of Christ.
St. John of the Cross, Doctor of Divine Love
Read the biography of St. John of the Cross, a mystical saint from Spain who was a friend of St. Theresa of Avila.