The Fifth Sorrowful Mystery
The Crucifixion
1. At last Jesus reaches Calvary, breathless and reduced to utter
exhaustion. The instrument of torture is taken from Him and laid upon
the ground. Our divine Redeemer suffers acute pain as He is again
stripped of His garments, which have stuck to His wounds. Now he is
stretched, an innocent victim, on the altar of sacrifice, the Cross. One
of the executioners grasps His hand, pierces it with a large nail, and
attaches it to the wood. Then he does the same with the other hand and
with the two feet. His Mother is close at hand. She feels in her heart
the blows of the hammer which lacerate the living flesh of Jesus. Jesus
remains silent, “as a meek lamb that is carried to be a victim.” (Jer.
11:19)
Now the executioners raise up the Cross and fix it in
the hold already prepared for it. The shock of this impact sends a
shudder of pain through the Victim’s members and entire frame. Behold
Him now, suspended between Heaven and earth, the mediator between God
and humanity, the victim of expiation for the innumerable sins of men.
Come near to the Cross and kiss the bloodstained feet. While the Jews
are insulting Him and most of the Apostles have abandoned Him, let us
tell Him how we love Him. Let us tell Him of our sorrow for our sins and
of our determination to make amends for our faults and for our
ingratitude by living in accordance with His teachings and example.
2. Jesus had only one consolation in the midst of His terrible
sufferings. His mother Mary was beside the Cross along with His beloved
Apostle and the holy women who had always followed Him. Mary loved her
Son with a love greater than that of any mother, which is the greatest
love possible on earth. She loved Jesus with the heart of a Mother and
of a Virgin; He was her only treasure. Moreover, she loved Him not only
as her Son, but also as her God. Precisely because she loved Him as her
God, her love was in perfect harmony with the divine will.
She
understood the mystery which led Jesus to accept death on the Cross –
the mystery of the Redemption. “He was offered because it was his own
will.” (Is. 53:7) He was offered on our behalf as a voluntary victim to
His heavenly Father.
In the same way, Mary freely offered
herself to God as a victim of expiation along with her Son. She saw on
one hand the child of her womb dying in frightful agony, and on the
other sinful humanity in need of redemption from its iniquity. She did
not hesitate; even as she pronounced her Fiat when the Angel told her
that she was to be the instrument of the Incarnation, so now she
repeated her acceptance of her part in the Redemption. By her first Fiat
she became the Mother of God; by her second Fiat she became the loving
Mother of poor sinners and our co-redemptrix in Jesus and for Jesus.
“Woman, behold thy son,” (John 19:27) the Redeemer said, referring to
John and to the entire human race as represented by him.
3. Be
our Mother, O Mary, for you have borne us spiritually on Mount Calvary
at the foot of the Cross. Deign to obtain for us through your
intercession that we may love Jesus as you loved Him and follow Him
faithfully as you followed Him unto death.
Showing posts with label Sorrowful Mysteries. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sorrowful Mysteries. Show all posts
Monday, 13 October 2014
The Road to Calvary - Cardinal Bacci
The Fourth Sorrowful Mystery
The Road to Calvary
1. Scourged, crowned with thorns, and derided, Jesus is finally condemned to death. Burdened with the Cross, He sets out for the place of execution in the midst of a crowd of enemies, blasphemers, and idle speculators. Among them there is only a tiny group which sympathises with Jesus, namely, Mary His Mother, the devout women, and the beloved Apostle, St. John.
The divine Redeemer goes forward laboriously beneath the heavy weight of the Cross. He has already lost a large quantity of blood in Gethsemane and during the scourging and crowning with thorns. His strength seems to be failing, but love sustains Him. Looking feebly around Him, He sees the mocking Jews, the indifferent and disrespectful Roman soldiers, and a throng of curious spectators looking for something to amuse them. Is there nobody else? Where are those whom He cured miraculously, and those whom He comforted and forgave? Has nobody any pity for Him? Suddenly the crowd falls silent. A woman, pale and tearful, is approaching Him, supported by her friends. She defies the commands of the soldiers and the scowls of the executioners, and comes close to Him.
Here and there a murmur is heard: It must be his mother, poor woman! Jesus and Mary gaze at one another. It would be impossible for us to guess at the immense depths of love contained in that loving exchange of glances. Neither utters a word, for no words could express their anguish nor manifest their love. They look and understand one another, offering themselves as a holocaust for the redemption of wayward humanity.
Nevertheless, in this silent meeting there was great consolation for the Heart of Jesus, for He had found someone who loved and understood Him. Why do we not sympathise with Him, too, and love Him with all our heart?
2. The moment soon passes. The executioners urge Jesus forward once more towards the place of execution. His strength is exhausted and He stumbles several times beneath the weight of the Cross. Each time, however, He rises, covered with blood and dust, and again embraces the Cross.
How often we also fall! Sometimes, because of the weight of our cross, we fall in discouragement or in despair. On these occasions let us look towards the divine Sufferer and embrace our cross again, for it is the ladder by which we must ascend to Heaven.
Sometimes it is sin which causes us to fall. If we have yielded to the violence of temptation, let us look towards Jesus just the same. He who loved us so much on the way to Calvary and on the tree of the Cross is certainly ready to forgive and comfort us.
3. The executioners realised that Jesus had expended all His energy and became afraid that He would not be able to reach the place of execution. For this reason they compelled Simon of Cyrene, who was coming back from the country after his work, to carry the Cross instead of Jesus. At first he probably helped reluctantly, because he was tired and anxious to get home. When he recognised Jesus, however, he took the Cross willingly and carried it for Him.
What is our attitude to the cross which Jesus gives us? He Who was innocence itself carried His burden with perfect resignation and love. Why should not we who are so sinful carry ours with similar dispositions, since we need so much to expiate our sins and to show our love for Jesus?
The Road to Calvary
1. Scourged, crowned with thorns, and derided, Jesus is finally condemned to death. Burdened with the Cross, He sets out for the place of execution in the midst of a crowd of enemies, blasphemers, and idle speculators. Among them there is only a tiny group which sympathises with Jesus, namely, Mary His Mother, the devout women, and the beloved Apostle, St. John.
The divine Redeemer goes forward laboriously beneath the heavy weight of the Cross. He has already lost a large quantity of blood in Gethsemane and during the scourging and crowning with thorns. His strength seems to be failing, but love sustains Him. Looking feebly around Him, He sees the mocking Jews, the indifferent and disrespectful Roman soldiers, and a throng of curious spectators looking for something to amuse them. Is there nobody else? Where are those whom He cured miraculously, and those whom He comforted and forgave? Has nobody any pity for Him? Suddenly the crowd falls silent. A woman, pale and tearful, is approaching Him, supported by her friends. She defies the commands of the soldiers and the scowls of the executioners, and comes close to Him.
Here and there a murmur is heard: It must be his mother, poor woman! Jesus and Mary gaze at one another. It would be impossible for us to guess at the immense depths of love contained in that loving exchange of glances. Neither utters a word, for no words could express their anguish nor manifest their love. They look and understand one another, offering themselves as a holocaust for the redemption of wayward humanity.
Nevertheless, in this silent meeting there was great consolation for the Heart of Jesus, for He had found someone who loved and understood Him. Why do we not sympathise with Him, too, and love Him with all our heart?
2. The moment soon passes. The executioners urge Jesus forward once more towards the place of execution. His strength is exhausted and He stumbles several times beneath the weight of the Cross. Each time, however, He rises, covered with blood and dust, and again embraces the Cross.
How often we also fall! Sometimes, because of the weight of our cross, we fall in discouragement or in despair. On these occasions let us look towards the divine Sufferer and embrace our cross again, for it is the ladder by which we must ascend to Heaven.
Sometimes it is sin which causes us to fall. If we have yielded to the violence of temptation, let us look towards Jesus just the same. He who loved us so much on the way to Calvary and on the tree of the Cross is certainly ready to forgive and comfort us.
3. The executioners realised that Jesus had expended all His energy and became afraid that He would not be able to reach the place of execution. For this reason they compelled Simon of Cyrene, who was coming back from the country after his work, to carry the Cross instead of Jesus. At first he probably helped reluctantly, because he was tired and anxious to get home. When he recognised Jesus, however, he took the Cross willingly and carried it for Him.
What is our attitude to the cross which Jesus gives us? He Who was innocence itself carried His burden with perfect resignation and love. Why should not we who are so sinful carry ours with similar dispositions, since we need so much to expiate our sins and to show our love for Jesus?
The Crowning with Thorns - Cardinal Bacci
The Third Sorrowful Mystery
The Crowning with Thorns
1. Having had Jesus flogged in spite of the fact that he believed in His innocence, Pilate showed Him to the mob in the vain hope that, when they had seen His bleeding body, their hatred would be appeased. It was no use. The enraged crowd kept crying: “Crucify him!” (Luke 23:21) Then Pilate, with a shameful gesture of open injustice, abandoned Jesus to the will of the Jewish executioners. “Jesus he delivered to their will.” (Luke 23:25)
It was probably before Pilate showed Him to the mob for the second time (Cf. John 19:4) that the sad scene of the crowning with thorns took place. “The soldiers led him away into the courtyard of the praetorium, and they called together the whole cohort. And they clothed him in purple, and plaiting a crown of thorns, they put it upon him, and began to greet him, ‘Hail King of the Jews!’ And they kept striking him on the head with a reed, and spitting upon him; and bending their knees, they did homage to him.” (Mark 15:15-19)
This new torture was a diabolical invention decreed by no law or authority. Purely for their own savage entertainment, the soldiers procured a bundle of thorned reeds which they wound into the shape of a crown and pressed into Jesus’ head.
Mary knew what was going on. She was there with the holy women when Pilate brought her bloodstained Son before the people, and their blasphemous yells pierced her tender heart. Her mother’s heart felt the sharp thorns, too, but she accepted this affliction with resignation, silently protesting against the insults of the crowd by acts of adoration and of love. We should behave in this way also. We should participate in the passion of Jesus by offering our own sufferings and we should make acts of love and of self-surrender in reparation for these acts of blasphemy.
2. When we see Jesus scourged and crowned with thorns, how can we complain if our path in life is also strewn with thorns? Jesus was the embodiment of innocence; He was God, yet He willed to suffer in order to expiate our sins and to teach us that the surest road to Heaven is the way of the Cross. It was because the Saints understood this so clearly that they were so eager to participate in the passion of Jesus Christ and to offer Him not only the inevitable sorrows of life, but also voluntary sufferings of their own as a proof of their love. Anyone who does not desire mortification and suffering does not desire Heaven, because he is not a true follower of Jesus crucified. “They who belong to Christ,” says St. Paul, “have crucified their flesh with its passions and desires.” (Gal. 5:24) Let us meditate carefully on the significance of these stern words, so often forgotten today.
3. By the crowning with thorns Jesus wished to make special reparation for sins of thought, thoughts of impurity and of hatred, thoughts of ambition and of anger, and thoughts of despair. The evil thought is often the beginning of the greatest sins. It is essential to resist immediately and resolutely before the thought takes hold of us and arouses our evil instincts and desires. When we are tormented by bad thoughts let us look at Jesus crowned with thorns and ask Him for the grace to resist generously and successfully.
The Crowning with Thorns
1. Having had Jesus flogged in spite of the fact that he believed in His innocence, Pilate showed Him to the mob in the vain hope that, when they had seen His bleeding body, their hatred would be appeased. It was no use. The enraged crowd kept crying: “Crucify him!” (Luke 23:21) Then Pilate, with a shameful gesture of open injustice, abandoned Jesus to the will of the Jewish executioners. “Jesus he delivered to their will.” (Luke 23:25)
It was probably before Pilate showed Him to the mob for the second time (Cf. John 19:4) that the sad scene of the crowning with thorns took place. “The soldiers led him away into the courtyard of the praetorium, and they called together the whole cohort. And they clothed him in purple, and plaiting a crown of thorns, they put it upon him, and began to greet him, ‘Hail King of the Jews!’ And they kept striking him on the head with a reed, and spitting upon him; and bending their knees, they did homage to him.” (Mark 15:15-19)
This new torture was a diabolical invention decreed by no law or authority. Purely for their own savage entertainment, the soldiers procured a bundle of thorned reeds which they wound into the shape of a crown and pressed into Jesus’ head.
Mary knew what was going on. She was there with the holy women when Pilate brought her bloodstained Son before the people, and their blasphemous yells pierced her tender heart. Her mother’s heart felt the sharp thorns, too, but she accepted this affliction with resignation, silently protesting against the insults of the crowd by acts of adoration and of love. We should behave in this way also. We should participate in the passion of Jesus by offering our own sufferings and we should make acts of love and of self-surrender in reparation for these acts of blasphemy.
2. When we see Jesus scourged and crowned with thorns, how can we complain if our path in life is also strewn with thorns? Jesus was the embodiment of innocence; He was God, yet He willed to suffer in order to expiate our sins and to teach us that the surest road to Heaven is the way of the Cross. It was because the Saints understood this so clearly that they were so eager to participate in the passion of Jesus Christ and to offer Him not only the inevitable sorrows of life, but also voluntary sufferings of their own as a proof of their love. Anyone who does not desire mortification and suffering does not desire Heaven, because he is not a true follower of Jesus crucified. “They who belong to Christ,” says St. Paul, “have crucified their flesh with its passions and desires.” (Gal. 5:24) Let us meditate carefully on the significance of these stern words, so often forgotten today.
3. By the crowning with thorns Jesus wished to make special reparation for sins of thought, thoughts of impurity and of hatred, thoughts of ambition and of anger, and thoughts of despair. The evil thought is often the beginning of the greatest sins. It is essential to resist immediately and resolutely before the thought takes hold of us and arouses our evil instincts and desires. When we are tormented by bad thoughts let us look at Jesus crowned with thorns and ask Him for the grace to resist generously and successfully.
The Scourging - Cardinal Bacci
The Second Sorrowful Mystery
The Scourging
1. Think about the manner in which Jesus was scourged. His chaste body is stripped by the jeering soldiers, His hands are tied and He is bound to a pillar. The soldiers come forward with their whips and begin to beat Him mercilessly. As His blood flows freely to the ground, Jesus quivers with pain and emits a half-suppressed groan. But fresh blows continue to rain down on His bruised flesh. So the prophecy is fulfilled in which Isaias described the punishment of the chosen people, whose sins and whose chastisement the divine Redeemer has chosen to take on Himself. “For the sole of the foot unto the top of the head, there is no soundness therein: wounds and bruises and swelling sores…” (Isaias 1:6)
By means of this fearful torment Jesus willed to offer satisfaction in a special manner for the sins of the flesh. In ancient times sins of impurity provoked the anger of God so much that they were blotted out by the universal deluge. Now these sins are still numberless both in the pagan and, unfortunately, in the Christian world, but they are washed away by the saving blood of Jesus Christ, Who came on earth to make reparation for all the iniquities of men.
Kiss the wounds of Jesus, bleeding and suffering. Ask for pardon if you have on occasions failed to preserve the purity of your body, the dwelling of your immortal soul and the tabernacle of the Holy Spirit. Resolve to die rather than stain again with impurity the soul which was redeemed and sanctified by the precious blood of the Redeemer.
2. The Saints voluntarily imposed on themselves floggings and other severe penances, which would make us shudder in modern times, in order to control their bodily impulses and to expiate along with Jesus the sins of their fellow-men. Today the pleasure-loving world cries out against such barbaric folly and extravagance. But you who are a Christian, educated in the school of Christ crucified, know that suffering has a mission in your life, that mortification is necessary for the control of the body.
We must make sacrifices in order to combat our evil impulses. We should avoid weakness and self-indulgence. Let us always remember that we are followers of Christ crucified and should therefore be prepared to chastise our bodies, even to the point of undergoing martyrdom, if this is necessary in order to avoid sin and to preserve our chastity.
3. Tradition holds that Mary followed Jesus through the various stages of His passion. It is impossible to believe that she would have abandoned Him in these tragic hours. She must at least have known of the cruel flogging which He endured, and while His body was being torn by lashes she was, most probably, not far away, participating by her maternal sorrow in her Son’s torment. Here, then, was a double martyrdom – the martyrdom of blood and the martyrdom of tears. Life demands the shedding of blood and the shedding of tears.
What are the motives which cause you sorrow in life? Are yours the tears of unsated ambition, of frustrated caprice, or of discouragement in time of trouble? Such tears are not worthy of a Christian. His should be tears of repentance for his sins and tears of love for Jesus and Mary.
The Scourging
1. Think about the manner in which Jesus was scourged. His chaste body is stripped by the jeering soldiers, His hands are tied and He is bound to a pillar. The soldiers come forward with their whips and begin to beat Him mercilessly. As His blood flows freely to the ground, Jesus quivers with pain and emits a half-suppressed groan. But fresh blows continue to rain down on His bruised flesh. So the prophecy is fulfilled in which Isaias described the punishment of the chosen people, whose sins and whose chastisement the divine Redeemer has chosen to take on Himself. “For the sole of the foot unto the top of the head, there is no soundness therein: wounds and bruises and swelling sores…” (Isaias 1:6)
By means of this fearful torment Jesus willed to offer satisfaction in a special manner for the sins of the flesh. In ancient times sins of impurity provoked the anger of God so much that they were blotted out by the universal deluge. Now these sins are still numberless both in the pagan and, unfortunately, in the Christian world, but they are washed away by the saving blood of Jesus Christ, Who came on earth to make reparation for all the iniquities of men.
Kiss the wounds of Jesus, bleeding and suffering. Ask for pardon if you have on occasions failed to preserve the purity of your body, the dwelling of your immortal soul and the tabernacle of the Holy Spirit. Resolve to die rather than stain again with impurity the soul which was redeemed and sanctified by the precious blood of the Redeemer.
2. The Saints voluntarily imposed on themselves floggings and other severe penances, which would make us shudder in modern times, in order to control their bodily impulses and to expiate along with Jesus the sins of their fellow-men. Today the pleasure-loving world cries out against such barbaric folly and extravagance. But you who are a Christian, educated in the school of Christ crucified, know that suffering has a mission in your life, that mortification is necessary for the control of the body.
We must make sacrifices in order to combat our evil impulses. We should avoid weakness and self-indulgence. Let us always remember that we are followers of Christ crucified and should therefore be prepared to chastise our bodies, even to the point of undergoing martyrdom, if this is necessary in order to avoid sin and to preserve our chastity.
3. Tradition holds that Mary followed Jesus through the various stages of His passion. It is impossible to believe that she would have abandoned Him in these tragic hours. She must at least have known of the cruel flogging which He endured, and while His body was being torn by lashes she was, most probably, not far away, participating by her maternal sorrow in her Son’s torment. Here, then, was a double martyrdom – the martyrdom of blood and the martyrdom of tears. Life demands the shedding of blood and the shedding of tears.
What are the motives which cause you sorrow in life? Are yours the tears of unsated ambition, of frustrated caprice, or of discouragement in time of trouble? Such tears are not worthy of a Christian. His should be tears of repentance for his sins and tears of love for Jesus and Mary.
The Agony in the Garden - Cardinal Bacci
The First Sorrowful Mystery
The Agony of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane
1. The life of Mary, like that of her divine Son, was a life of suffering and of sacrifice.
When Simeon held the divine Child in his arms, he had prophesied: “This child is destined for the fall and for the rise of many in Israel, and for a sign that shall be contradicted. And thy own soul a sword shall pierce.” (Cf. Luke 2:35) There was suffering from the very beginning – in the arduous journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem to fulfil the obligation of the census; in the refusal of the people of Bethlehem to give shelter to the Holy Family; in the birth of Jesus in a cold cave; in the flight into Egypt to escape from the cruelty of Herod; in the loss of Jesus when He was twelve years old; in the hard life of a humble artisan in Nazareth; in the difficulties of the public life of Jesus; and in the final tragedy which brought Jesus from Gethsemane to Calvary, and from Calvary to the sepulchre.
When faced with this spectacle of the Man-God and of His Mother Mary suffering for love of us, how can we complain that our own cross is too heavy? How can we rebel against the merciful God Who afflicts us for our own good, purifies us with suffering, and demands that we should be detached from worldly things so that we may give more thought to Heaven, for which our souls are destined? To meditate on all that Jesus and Mary suffered for us should be enough to make us embrace our cross generously and resign ourselves to the physical or moral afflictions which God sends us.
2. Let us pay particular attention to the scene in Gethsemane. Jesus is lying prostrate on the ground. He has given everything for sinful humanity. He has given His heavenly teaching, His miracles, and His mercy. Even more, He has given Himself in the Blessed Eucharist, which He has instituted in the form of food and drink to sustain men on their earthly journey.
Now He lies prostrate in prayer. Near Him are His Apostles who, already forgetful of the immense favours which they have received, are asleep.
Not far away there is another Apostle, Judas, who has sold his Master for thirty pieces of silver as a slave would be sold, and is about to deliver Him to His executioners. But Jesus can see across the centuries many other Judases, so many traitors who will be indifferent and sleep, never thinking of Him, and neglecting to make any return for His infinite love. His passion is beginning now, and will be protracted throughout the centuries. Before His crucifixion, He drinks the bitter chalice of human ingratitude, and in His tremendous agony He perspires drops of blood.
3. To which group do you belong, you who claim to be a Christian? Are you among the traitors who by their sins crucify Jesus anew? Weep for your faults and ask your merciful Redeemer for forgiveness and for the strength never to fall again.
Perhaps you are ungrateful and asleep? Awake from your torpor. Pray to the Sorrowing Virgin to obtain for you the love of her divine Son and the ardent desire of following Him in the path of sacrifice and of virtue.
The Agony of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane
1. The life of Mary, like that of her divine Son, was a life of suffering and of sacrifice.
When Simeon held the divine Child in his arms, he had prophesied: “This child is destined for the fall and for the rise of many in Israel, and for a sign that shall be contradicted. And thy own soul a sword shall pierce.” (Cf. Luke 2:35) There was suffering from the very beginning – in the arduous journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem to fulfil the obligation of the census; in the refusal of the people of Bethlehem to give shelter to the Holy Family; in the birth of Jesus in a cold cave; in the flight into Egypt to escape from the cruelty of Herod; in the loss of Jesus when He was twelve years old; in the hard life of a humble artisan in Nazareth; in the difficulties of the public life of Jesus; and in the final tragedy which brought Jesus from Gethsemane to Calvary, and from Calvary to the sepulchre.
When faced with this spectacle of the Man-God and of His Mother Mary suffering for love of us, how can we complain that our own cross is too heavy? How can we rebel against the merciful God Who afflicts us for our own good, purifies us with suffering, and demands that we should be detached from worldly things so that we may give more thought to Heaven, for which our souls are destined? To meditate on all that Jesus and Mary suffered for us should be enough to make us embrace our cross generously and resign ourselves to the physical or moral afflictions which God sends us.
2. Let us pay particular attention to the scene in Gethsemane. Jesus is lying prostrate on the ground. He has given everything for sinful humanity. He has given His heavenly teaching, His miracles, and His mercy. Even more, He has given Himself in the Blessed Eucharist, which He has instituted in the form of food and drink to sustain men on their earthly journey.
Now He lies prostrate in prayer. Near Him are His Apostles who, already forgetful of the immense favours which they have received, are asleep.
Not far away there is another Apostle, Judas, who has sold his Master for thirty pieces of silver as a slave would be sold, and is about to deliver Him to His executioners. But Jesus can see across the centuries many other Judases, so many traitors who will be indifferent and sleep, never thinking of Him, and neglecting to make any return for His infinite love. His passion is beginning now, and will be protracted throughout the centuries. Before His crucifixion, He drinks the bitter chalice of human ingratitude, and in His tremendous agony He perspires drops of blood.
3. To which group do you belong, you who claim to be a Christian? Are you among the traitors who by their sins crucify Jesus anew? Weep for your faults and ask your merciful Redeemer for forgiveness and for the strength never to fall again.
Perhaps you are ungrateful and asleep? Awake from your torpor. Pray to the Sorrowing Virgin to obtain for you the love of her divine Son and the ardent desire of following Him in the path of sacrifice and of virtue.
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