The Sorrowful Mysteries

Suggested Meditation on
the Sorrowful Mysteries

Commonly said on Tuesday and Friday

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The First Sorrowful Mystery

The Agony in the Garden

In this mystery we contemplate Our Divine Redeemer praying in the
Garden of Olives and sweating blood as He foresees the Passion He is to suffer.
His apostles sleep! Let us ask our dauntless Mother to remove from our souls
all the cowardly optimism that invites us to sleep when we should be watching
and praying, and to give us the virtue of seriousness so that we will
courageously embrace suffering every time it comes our way.

OUR LADY’S SIXTH PROMISE
Whoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying himself to the
consideration of its sacred mysteries shall never be conquered
by misfortune: if he be a sinner, he shall not perish by an
unprovided death; if he be just, he shall remain in the grace of God.
He shall become worthy of Eternal Life.

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”. (Matt 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)

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The Second Sorrowful Mystery

The Scourging at the Pillar

In this mystery we contemplate Our Lord Jesus Christ bound to the pillar
and mercilessly flogged at the order of Pilate, who wanted to please the crowd.
Let us ask the Mother of Divine Grace to give us, whenever we are beset by tribulation,
the strength and perseverance shown by Her Son as the blows of the
lash tore into His undefiled flesh for our sins.

OUR LADY’S SEVENTH PROMISE
Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary
shall not die without the sacraments of the Church.

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!” (Matt 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)

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The Third Sorrowful Mystery

The Crowning with Thorns

In this mystery we contemplate the King of kings despoiled of His garments
and clothed in a scarlet cloak. He is crowned with thorns, crushed with blows,
overwhelmed with affronts and outrages by the procurator’s brutal soldiers.
Let us ask Mary Immaculate for an unshakable faith and at least a drop of
the infinite dignity of Jesus when the wicked, with their laughter,
mock our faithfulness to the morality of Holy Church.

OUR LADY’S EIGHTH PROMISE
Those who are faithful to the recitation of the Rosary
shall have during their life and at the hour of their death
the Light of God and the plenitude of His graces. At the moment of
death they shall participate in the merits of the saints in Paradise.

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. (Matt 27,27-31)

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The Fourth Sorrowful Mystery

The Carrying of the Cross

In this mystery we contemplate our Divine Master —“the reproach of men
and the Man of Sorrows” (Isaiah 53) — bearing the crushing burden of the Cross,
which tears His Flesh and lays bare His bones. By the shoulder wound of Christ,
let us ask the Mother of Sorrows for the grace to proceed with supernatural
determination in our spiritual lives and in our apostolate even when we
fall under the weight of the cross.

OUR LADY’S NINTH PROMISE
I shall deliver from purgatory
those who have been devoted to the Rosary.

As they were leading Him away they seized on a man, Simon from Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and made Him shoulder the cross and carry it behind Jesus. Large numbers of people followed Him, and women too, who mourned and lamented for Him. But Jesus turned to them and said, ‘Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep rather for yourselves and for your children. For look, the days are surely coming when people will say, “Blessed are those who are barren, the wombs that have never borne children, the breasts that have never suckled!” Then they will begin to say to the mountains, “Fall on us!”; to the hills, “Cover us!” For if this is what is done to green wood, what will be done when the wood is dry?’ Now they were also leading out two others, criminals, to be executed with Him. (Luke 23,26)

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The Fifth Sorrowful Mystery

The Crucifixion

In this mystery we contemplate our Divine Saviour nailed to the Cross
and raised aloft between two thieves. He is plunged into an ocean of bitterness;
He is abandoned by the Father Himself. Let us ask the Blessed Mother, who stands
at the foot of the Cross, to grant us the grace of taking our vocation to its last
consequences and of loving the sacrifices it entails.

OUR LADY’S TENTH PROMISE
The faithful children of the Rosary
shall merit a high degree of glory in Heaven.

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)