Meditations on the Sorrowful Mysteries

Beginning Prayer:

Let us unite with Jesus and Mary, accompanied by St. Joseph, as we participate in the Glorious Mysteries. In this Rosary let us pray, love, give thanks, and make reparation to God on behalf of ourselves and all souls, from Adam to the last man.

1. The Agony in the Garden

"And His sweat became as drops of blood running down upon the ground. And rising from prayer He came to the disciples, and found them sleeping." Luke 22:44-45

Holy Scripture refers to the soul in the imagery of bride. In the Garden of Gethsemane our Lord beheld all the sins, all the adulterations and lusts of us His unfaithful brides. In the still and heavy darkness of that night, our Lord wept with the bitter pains of being betrayed and cheated on by the sins of mankind. In Mary His faithful Bride, let us console our Lord with the many hours of intimacy spent by souls in Adoration.

And with the voice of Mary let us pray: "Together with You my Love, let me weep in sorrow."

2. The Scourging at the Pillar

"Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas; and having scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified." Mark 15:15

The soldiers drunk with wine tore ferociously at Jesus' exposed flesh. Drunk with lust and blinded by love for sin, souls incessantly scourge our Lord's Flesh; leaving behind deep wounds and painful incisions. Yet just as a sweet fragrance exudes from the myrrh tree when it is bruised and cut, so too the Flesh of our Lord permeates the Myrrh of His love. Let us sooth our Beloved's Flesh with the balm of His Love; and let us hide the stench of the world's lusts, by perfuming each soul with the Myrrh of Christ's Love.

And with the voice of Mary let us pray: "Together with You my Love, let me be scourged."

3. The Crowning with Thorns

"And they stripped Him and put on Him a scarlet cloak; and plaiting a crown of thorns they put it on His head, and a reed into His right hand." Matthew 27: 28-29

In our pride we steal the gold of glory owed to our God; and with it we make for ourselves crowns, which Satan uses to coronate us as kings of our own will. However our Lord the King of the Universe, in all humility, accepted the crown of thorns as the rite of His coronation. Casting our stolen crowns of pride into the Furnace of God's Love, let us fall prostrate before our King: paying Him homage in reparation for all the blasphemies; and sending Him kisses of Adoration, in reparation for all the spittle that humanity smears upon the Face of our King.

And with the voice of Mary let us pray: "Together with You my Love, let me be crowned with thorns."

4. The Carrying of the Cross

"They took Jesus, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place of the skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha." John 19:17

Yearning to win us over by His Unfathomable Love, our Lord embraced with bitter joy that Cross which we fashioned by our sins. As He climbed the slope of Calvary, each step became as a death to His poor Heart. With each fall that He made, sending forth a light of strength to all poor sinners, that they might arise out of sin and continue along the way. Now let us console our Sorrowful Jesus by allowing Him to meet His Mother in our heart. With them we say yes to the cross ordained for us, out of love for God and our neighbour. Only give us Your very own strength and joy, Jesus, in carrying our cross.

And with the voice of Mary let us pray: "Together with You my Love, I carry my cross."

5. The Crucifixion of our Lord

"Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, 'Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit!' And having said this He breathed His Last." Luke 23:46

It was you who crucified our Lord. It was you who nailed Him to the tree. It was all of us who worked together in our sin, to kill our Beloved King. O let us climb that Cross with great haste, so as to join our lonely Lord in His final moments. It is then that our Lord speaks with a love to melt the hardest of hearts: "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do." Even whilst dying Jesus thinks of no one but us. And then speaking again our Lord pants: "I thirst". Here we are then Lord, drink of our love to your heart’s content. And finally, after He commends His spirit to the Father, He looks towards His Mother and silently cries out: "Imma!", "Mamma!” and dying, His Sacred Head drops to the side, as the sun withdraws behind the clouds.

Meanwhile Your Mother faints O Lord in the anguish of Her sorrow. And it is then that in the cruelty of our sins, we take the lance and crudely pierce Your most Sacred Heart. Then as water and blood gush forth from the wound of our making, we are healed of the blindness of sin. We thank You Lord, for allowing us to pierce Your Sweet Heart! Now let us make amends for our horrendous crimes, by joining our Mother in Her sorrows. So together with our Mother, let us hold the dead Body of Jesus in our arms; venerating His wounds and bathing Him clean with the water of our tears. Now let us join John the Beloved, and rest our heads upon that Heart, the Pillow of our Salvation. And as we lay lovingly upon that Heart, let us whisper with the lips of our Holy Mother into the ears of Jesus' corpse: "Rise my Glory, Rise my Love."

And with the voice of Mary let us pray: "Together with You my Love, let me be crucified."