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OVERVIEW

In the Sorrowful Mysteries we stand beneath the Cross of Jesus, coming face to face with the truth of his insistence that the Christ must suffer and die. No matter that we long to cry out, if only we had been there; we still encounter the reality of our human position and the truth that is Our Lord’s. We sense the sword piercing the heart of his Mother, and pray that it may open our whole being to the agony and the power that the infinite love of Jesus in his Passion chose and endured for us.

Recited on Tuesdays and Fridays and may be said on Sundays during Lent

DECADE 1

The Agony of Jesus in the Garden

Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them: “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me”. And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying: “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt”. (Mat 26,36-39). And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
–Luke 22,44 In the forsaking prayer to the Father, Jesus found strength, trust, and an angel was sent to comfort Him. So Jesus will be our comforting angel. It’s as He said to us: ” Why do you worry in your difficulties? Be strong in me; look to your God in your most troubled hour, and you will be triumphant.” Let us ask to forsake ourselves to God, to always do His will.


Bead-by-Bead

  • Be with Jesus in the garden. Kneel beside Him and feel the pain in His Heart.
  • How tenderly He loves us, that God came to this earth and gave Himself for love of us.
  • Jesus is a Person. He loves each one of us with a most personal love.
  • He is a Divine Person. He loves us more than any human person could love us.
  • Jesus saw before Him all His suffering.
  • He knew the sins of all men from all time.
  • Because of His great love for us and for all men His Heart was in such pain.
  • He knows and loves us more than we know and love ourselves.
  • He is alive this day and He lives in our hearts.
  • He wants us to love Him at every moment and He is forgotten and ignored and He is God.

DECADE 2

The Scourging of Jesus at the Pillar

When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor. And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying: “Art thou the King of the Jews?” And Jesus said unto him: “Thou sayest”. And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. Then said Pilate unto him:” Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee?” And he answered him to never a word Pilate saith unto them: “What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ?” They all say unto him: “Let him be crucified!” And the governor said:” Why, what evil hath he done?” But they cried out the more, saying: “Let him be crucified!” (Mat 27). And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified.
–Mark 15,15 How many pains, how many torments, and how many wounds on the body of Jesus? How much blood falls to the ground, while His tormenters laugh, insult him, and gather their strength to hit the innocent body of Jesus again? Let us ask to accept every insult for the love of our Lord, and also a true regret for our sins.


Bead-by-Bead

  • Jesus saw in the garden all the events that would happen and He suffered so He sweat blood.
  • They led Jesus away as a criminal and they tied Him to a pillar.
  • At any moment Jesus could have stopped the men, but because of His great love for us, He allowed them to whip Him.
  • Jesus did this, allowed them to whip Him, for me.
  • Many times, when others are cruel to us, we feel alone and very hurt.
  • Many times, when we pray and talk about God in the world today, others treat us cruelly.
  • God is almighty, He controls everything.
  • Our every breath and heartbeat depend on God.
  • God first loved us and commands us to love Him.
  • The greatest commandment of all is to love God with our whole heart, our whole soul and our whole mind.

DECADE 3

The Crowning of Jesus With Thorns

Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers. And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe. And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying:” Hail, King of the Jews!” And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head. And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.

–Matthew 27:27-31

Think of the indignity, outrage, pain, and humiliation that Jesus suffered. They striped Him of every dignity, He was treated as the guilt of our worst sins. He seems to say to us: ” Why do you despair when you suffer? Is that the way you love me? Meditate about my passions and find in them great riches.” Let us ask the gift of patience to accept all humiliations, thinking of how Jesus suffered for us.


Bead-by-Bead

  • God commands us to love Him first and to love our neighbors.
  • He suffered for us and paid price for our sins with His blood.
  • Why are men so willful, so full of pride that they ignore the Almighty God who gives them their very breath?
  • Look at Jesus, crowned with thorns, His face covered with blood. He suffered because He loves me.
  • God is offended by the willfulness of men today.
  • Whether we go to heaven or hell depends on whether we love God and love one another.
  • Jesus shows us how to love by giving Himself for love of us.
  • Jesus was crowned with thorns. He was whipped, His body was torn. He suffered this that we would share in His life and go to heaven some day.
  • Our life here will end soon and we will be somewhere forever and ever. Let us love God and love one another that we will share in the great gift He gives us, the gift of eternal life in heaven.
  • Think of the men that whipped Jesus and crowned Him with thorns. Think how cold their hearts were.

DECADE 4

The Carrying of the Cross

And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus. And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him. But Jesus turning unto them said: “Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck”. And there were also two other, malefactors, led with him to be put to death.

–Luke 23:26-32

Even if He had suffered just for you, Jesus would have accepted such pains, great is His love for you. Along the road to Calvary Jesus sees Mary, His Mother. Can we imagine the moment when Their eyes met? Oh how Her Heart must have ached. Let us pray to Mary for the grace to always accept our cross, so that Her and Jesus may bear it.


Bead-by-Bead

  • They stood around Jesus and they hollered at Him, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”
  • They gave to Jesus a heavy cross laden with all the sins from all time and they put it on His shoulder and made Him carry the cross.
  • It was so heavy that Jesus could not carry it any longer. He collapsed and fell to the ground.
  • He got up and tried to move. He saw the tear covered face of His beloved mother.
  • She looked into His tender gentle eyes covered with blood.
  • This was the little baby that she carried and now she saw Him covered with blood and wounds.
  • Mary loves Jesus with the most tender love.
  • It is in going to the heart of Mary that we will learn to love our beloved Jesus.
  • The Holy Spirit is the spouse of Mary.
  • The Holy Spirit works within the heart of Mary to make us more holy, more like our beloved Jesus.

DECADE 5

The Crucifixion and Death of Jesus

Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother:” Woman, behold thy son!” Then saith he to the disciple: “Behold thy mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.

–John 19:25-27

Jesus wishes to see us close to His Mother; He wishes that, like children, we keep our hand in the hand of Mary. That is what He wants. He asks us to look to the heavenly Mother, that is depend on Her. He asks that we accept Our Lady as our true Mother, who will ignite in us a fervent love of Her Son. Mary, we trust in You, take us and put us in the refuge of Your Immaculate Heart, heal with Your humility our pride, that so often takes us far from God.


Bead-by-Bead

  • Jesus was nailed to the cross.
  • Jesus hung on the cross for three hours.
  • His mother, in excruciating pain, stood beneath the cross and watched, watched her Son die.
  • Before He died He gave His mother Mary to us as our mother.
  • Our mother, Mary, loves us.
  • She saw Jesus hang and die on the cross. She knows the great love that Jesus has for us.
  • She wants to mother us and help us to love Jesus so much more.
  • As her little children, it is important that we give ourselves to her and her motherly care.
  • If we want peace and joy in our life we must give ourselves to Mary and to her Son.
  • Mary said at Fatima that she wants us to give our hearts to her and to the Heart of her Son. She also said at Fatima that she wants us to pray the rosary every day. If we do this, we will have peace in the world.