“We make our way by foot on earth without stumbling if we love God and our neighbor with our whole heart. We cannot truly love God without loving our neighbor, nor can we truly love our neighbor without loving God. This is why we read that the Holy Spirit was given a second time to the disciples. First it was given by the Lord while he was still dwelling on earth, and later while he is watching over us in heaven: on earth that we may love our neighbors, from heaven that we may love God.” –Saint Gregory the Great (+ 604)
Intention: Please bless us with a society that seeks Your face and prays to You earnestly. I thank You God ahead of time for this.
Tuesday: Drowsy Disciple
1st Sorrowful Mystery: The Agony in the Garden
Scripture:
He took with him Peter, James, and John, and began to be
troubled and distressed. Then he said to them, “My soul is
sorrowful even to death. Remain here and keep watch.”
—Mark 14:33–34
Reflection:
Jesus called His disciples to be vigilant in the face of the evil
coming on the evening of Holy Thursday. But instead, they
succumbed to their drowsiness. Down through the centuries, it
has been the drowsiness of man that has allowed evil to thrive,
while man sleeps unaware.
Prayer:
Human beings would rather tell themselves that some things
cannot be as evil as they appear to be, which is one way of
remaining drowsy. Jesus, please prevent me from becoming a
drowsy disciple. Amen.
Tuesday: Barbaric Punishment
2nd Sorrowful Mystery: The Scourging at the Pillar
Scripture:
Then Pilate took Jesus and had him scourged.
—John 19:1
Reflection:
Scourging was a penalty that usually accompanied a death
sentence, but could also be a tool for law enforcement, as was
Jesus’s case. It was a barbaric punishment, allowing the ones who
did the scourging to continue until they grew tired themselves,
and the victim’s flesh was hanging down in shreds.
Prayer:
Dearest Lord Jesus, the fact that Simon of Cyrene had to help
You carry Your Cross, and the fact that You died so quickly on
the Cross, may be indications of how extreme the torture of the
scourging was for You. Send Your holy angels to watch over all
the soldiers in the world and keep them safe. Amen.
Tuesday: Son of Man
3rd Sorrowful Mystery: The Crowning With Thorns
Scripture:
Jesus said to him in reply, “You have said so. But I tell you: From
now on you will see ‘the Son of Man/ seated at the right hand
of the Power’/ and ‘coming on the clouds of heaven.’”
—Matthew 26:64
Reflection:
Those who mocked and beat Jesus felt invincible, because they
had Him in their power. It did not occur to them that with every
blow and every hateful derision, they were actually helping to
fulfill Isaiah’s prophecy of the Suffering Servant and Daniel’s
prophecy of the Kingdom of the Son of Man.
Prayer:
My precious Jesus, there is a striking juxtaposition between
Your suffering when You were crowned with thorns, and the
Kingdom of God You were creating simultaneously for our
benefit. Help me to understand the mystery of this. Amen.
Tuesday: Take Up the Cross
4th Sorrowful Mystery: The Carrying of the Cross
Scripture:
My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I
give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can
take them out of my hand.
—John 10:27–28
Reflection:
Mary gave her fiat to God to do what He willed. Likewise, we
must recognize that God has mysteriously linked the Way of
the Cross to our salvation, and give Him our fiat as well. If and
when the cross comes our way, we strive to accept it as best we
can, knowing that no one can take us out of Jesus’s hand.
Prayer:
Dear Mary, Virgin Gentle in Mercy, please pray for me to take
up my cross daily and follow Jesus, with obedience and with
love. Amen.
Tuesday: Psalm 22
5th Sorrowful Mystery: The Crucifixion
Scripture:
Then I will proclaim your name to the assembly;/ in the
community I will praise you:/ “You who fear the Lord, give
praise!/ All descendants of Jacob, give honor;/ show reverence,
all descendants of Israel!/ For God has not spurned or disdained/
the misery of this poor wretch,/ Did not turn away from me,/
but heard me when I cried out./ I will offer praise in the great
assembly;/ my vows I will fulfill before those who fear him.
The poor will eat their fill;/ those who seek the Lord will offer
praise./ May your hearts enjoy life forever!”/ All the ends of the
earth/ will worship and turn to the Lord;/ All the families of
nations/ will bow low before you.
—Psalm 22:23–28
Reflection:
Psalm 22, written long before Jesus’s passion, prophesied so much
of what happened to Jesus: the scorn and mockery, the piercing
of His hands and feet, the thirst, the dividing up of His garments.
Yet when He quoted the first verse of Psalm 22, He was actually
referring to the entire psalm including the ending, where the
prayer would be answered, the great assembly would be restored
and all the ends of the earth would worship and turn to the Lord.
Prayer:
Jesus, please bless all those who practice Judaism, as people of
the covenant. Amen.
