The Sorrowful Mysteries

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In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. 

The American Bach Soloists sing a setting of the Creed by Haydn. 

The First Sorrowful Mystery.  The Agony in the Garden 

From the Last Supper, Jesus leads his disciples to the Mount of Olives and Gethsemane, the Garden of the Oil.  He now divides the group into two.  To the main group he says, “Sit here while I go over there to pray.”  And then to the chosen three, “stay there and stay awake with me, I am deeply grieved”. Would you prefer to be with the main group at a distance, or with the three close up to see Jesus’ grief as death comes near? 

Go a little further with Jesus to hear his prayer? Can you identify with Jesus in his strong surrender to the Father’s will? 

The Second Sorrowful Mystery.  The Scourging of Jesus 

The scourging is a proven form of torture to crush any resistance that a person may have. It makes the rest easier. And since the person at the end of the flogging no longer resembles a human being, all other forms of inhumanity are licensed.  In the face of this brutalising inhumanity, do you recognise that you too have lacked real humanity in your dealings with others? 

We have no access to Jesus’ thoughts. We know that he asked the question in Gethsemane ‘does it have to be me?’ If he is thinking that this has happened to others before him, he may feel like asking ‘why do you want me dead?’   The violence he experiences may make it impossible to think at all.  Where do such thoughts take you in identifying with Jesus here? 

The Third Sorrowful Mystery.  The Crowning with Thorns 

The question keeps coming up. Is Jesus a King? Does he have a Kingdom? The soldiers have no doubt.  So this loser fancies himself a King, well let’s give him a bit of respect. This crown will do just fine.  As the soldiers try to draw you into their vision of Jesus, can you see the alternative vision to which Jesus himself invites you? 

Those soldiers may mock, but somehow Jesus is beginning to ascend to the throne of his Kingdom. Is his Kingship becoming clear to your eyes of faith? 

The Fourth Sorrowful Mystery.  Jesus Carries the Cross 

The way to Calvary is not without incident. And the one whose humanity they are trying to crush, speaks not of himself but of others. Jesus warns the women of Jerusalem about a future that will challenge their own identity as women.  How does his prediction make you feel about your own identity? 

The future may be a contrast to the past, but we should not assume that the future will be better.  Do you contribute to a future in such a way that goodness can take root? 

The Fifth Sorrowful Mystery. The Crucifixion 

As Jesus dies on the cross, as it seems that his life and influence is coming to an end, something else happens.  He recognises the bereft figures of his mother and the beloved disciple.  And now he creates something new, he gives them a new sense of belonging to one another, and that new belonging together is the Church. Do you see the birth of the community in Christ as Jesus hands over his Spirit? 

In his own isolation on the Cross, Jesus reaches out to create new relationships.  Do you feel that Jesus’ death breathes new life into your own relationships and into your relationship with him? 

O God whose only Son has purchased for us the rewards of eternal life, Grant that having meditated on these mysteries, we may both imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise, through Christ our Lord Amen. 

O God, your only Son, bought for us the rewards of eternal life.  Now, as we have meditated on these mysteries, may we imitate what they contain, and obtain what they promise, through Christ our Lord. Amen.