The Five Sorrowful Mysteries

First Sorrowful Mystery:
The Agony in the Garden
(Intention: For the ability to do God's Will and to accept the cross)

[ Recite 1 Our Father - 10 Hail Marys - 1 Glory be to the Father ]

My Jesus, You told Your Apostles many times that You looked forward to the final hour of Redemption, and yet as you foresaw the sufferings to come you shuddered with fear and anguish of soul.

You asked the Father to let this chalice pass and you received a refusal. My future looms before me at times, dear Jesus, and I tremble with fear and trepidation. I have implored the Father many times to grant me a favor or release me from a cross and His answer has often been "No."

Why should I question His Wisdom in my regard when He refused His Own Son because the good of mankind was at stake? Help me to do the Father's Will with Your generosity and to accept a negative reply with Your love.

It is the mental anguish and uncertainty that tears my soul apart and I often question His love for me.

Your example of resignation, acceptance and love makes me realize that the Father has my life in His hands and nothing happens to me that is not for my good.

Give me the confidence to ask for what I think I need, the humility to wait for His Will, and the faith to accept a refusal. Let my suffering be Redemptive, let my will be one with God's and my life a sacrifice of love.

Second Sorrowful Mystery:
The Scourging at the Pillar
(Intention: To overcome the weaknesses that strip us of grace and lead us to unfaithfulness)

[ Recite 1 Our Father - 10 Hail Marys - 1 Glory be to the Father ]

The pain of this suffering often escapes me, dear Jesus, I forget that this incident was not only painful but humiliating. Each stroke of the whip made you wince with pain and the gaze of the onlookers made You feel like "a worm and no man."

Were You thinking of us today as we travel the road of immorality, dope, alcohol and unfaithfulness? Did Your divine eyes see the immodesty, perversion, and fornication through the centuries?

Did the thought of how easily men strip themselves of grace for gross pleasure give You the courage to receive one more blow of the lash, one more wound and one more sneer?

Did the the tears of unrequited love stream down Your cheeks as You saw so many laughingly going to perdition?

Surely, my Jesus, this scourging made reparation for more than the sins of the flesh. Were the welts that began to bleed suffered for
those who tear off the garments of love and clothe themselves in the rags of dissension and disobedience?

Was not one lash marked, "Rudeness" and another "Hate"? And when the scourging finally ended, did Your eyes see some Blood trickling
down and stepped upon as if in derision?

We are sorry, dear Jesus. Cover us all with this Precious Blood and heal our many wounds. Let modesty and purity be our goal and harmony our motto.

Third Sorrowful Mystery:
The Crowning with Thorns
(Intention: To overcome pride, worry and resentments, and for an increase in faith)

[ Recite 1 Our Father - 10 Hail Marys - 1 Glory be to the Father ]

My Jesus, I often think my portion of the cross is more than I can bear. It seems to me that I am the recipient of superfluous suffering. My thoughts are empty of reasoning and my heart is cold. If I remembered that You were crowned with thorns after You were scourged, I would be silent in the Presence of Divine Wisdom.

My pride, stubbornness and lack of faith tagged each thorn as it pierced Your Sacred Head. My desire for the glory of this world to the exclusion of spiritual realities tightened the branches around Your Head.

My lack of confidence in Your Mercy and the lukewarmness of my love braided this instrument of torture into a wreath of unspeakable pain.

Were the tiny thorns that pricked Your Head the worries I permit to choke Your Word from my mind? Were the resentments I cherish in my
memory the reed that struck Your Head? And when the spittle randown Your Face, did my arrogance make You cry?

Oh, Jesus, let me never forget Your love for me and the reparation You offered the Father for my sake. Let my soul magnify the Lord by humility of heart, purity of mind, and a gentle spirit.

Fourth Sorrowful Mystery:
The Carrying of the Cross
(Intention: To obtain courage in sickness and sorrow)

[ Recite 1 Our Father - 10 Hail Marys - 1 Glory be to the Father ]

You loved me enough, dear Jesus, to take upon Your bleeding shoulders the wood of Your Cross. My love for You is wanting for I find physical pain difficult to bear, sorrow oppressive and tragedies cruel.

You have asked that I take whatever the Father permits in my life and follow in Your footsteps, and yet I often think the Cross was meant only for You and not for me.

I thought Redemption meant freedom from pain, but I know now, as I see this heavy beam on Your back, that Your Redeeming Cross gave value to my pain. Your footsteps in the coarse ground cushioned the path for my feet. Your Cross cut a ridge in the earth for my cross to rest in.Your Presence cleared the air of hopelessness and showed me the way. Your acceptance took away the curse and bestowed a blessing.

Help me, my Jesus, to carry my cross with joy, ever keeping my eyes on the Father's Will. Grant that I may not waste time deciding which cross comes from You and which comes from my neighbor. Let me accept all from You, realizing that some crosses correct me, some release me, some prevent me from a life of sin, others are redemptive, and still others lead to repentance.

May our cross be one cross, dear Jesus, that together we may glorify the Father and save souls.

Fifth Sorrowful Mystery:
The Crucifixion
(Intention: To forgive and love unselfishly)

[ Recite 1 Our Father - 10 Hail Marys - 1 Glory be to the Father ]

You gave Your life for me when I was a sinner. You loved me, dear Jesus, before I saw the light of day or felt the gentle breeze upon my cheek.

You have suffered and died for me, hounded and pursued me, inspired and drawn me. Your love is totally unselfish, and though I rejoice that I am the recipient of such love, I cannot love unselfishly in return.

You forgave Your enemies and looked away as Your friends deserted You. Is it not strange, dear Jesus, that I still find forgiveness hard and mercy impossible? What is lacking in my life that makes forgiving my neighbor difficult? Is the fact that I cannot forgive myself a factor in my lack of mercy towards others?

Help me, Jesus, to see Your loving gaze as it looked up to the Father with abandonment, at the thief with mercy, and at Your Mother with love.

Grant that I may forgive my enemies and abandon myself to the Father's Will. Let me commend my life and my eternity to His care. Let zeal for the salvation of souls make my soul thirst for sacrifice and let the thought of paradise enlighten my path.

Give me the grace to persevere to the end, and when the journey is over and I have fought the good fight, let the Angels sing the last verse of my earthly song: "It is finished."

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