“Continue, my truly dear child, to walk in the presence of God, to do your actions solely to please him, and to bear courageously all the trials which he may permit you to have. Let the evil one make all the noise he wishes around you. Do not mind him, but put yourself entirely beyond the reach of his malice by keeping close to our Lord.” –Saint Theodora Guerin (+ 1856)
Intention: Lord, I call in healing and righteousness for America. Thank You, Jesus!
Tuesday: Devil’s Trap of Suffering
1st Sorrowful Mystery: The Agony in the Garden
Scripture:
Day after day I was with you in the temple area, and you did
not seize me; but this is your hour, the time for the power of
darkness.
—Luke 22:53
Reflection:
When we contemplate the mystery of Jesus’s agony in
Gethsemane, we enter into meditation on the very center of darkness. Jesus agonized there because He was in the grip of
the devil’s trap of suffering.
Prayer:
I have seen all too well the devil’s snare of suffering, Lord,
as I watch what persecuted Christians in the world are going
through: verbal attacks, discrimination and even downright
physical attacks. Please free the world from these evils. Amen.
Tuesday: Prisoners
2nd Sorrowful Mystery: The Scourging at the Pillar
Scripture:
They led Jesus away to the high priest, and all the chief priests
and the elders and the scribes came together. Peter followed him
at a distance into the high priest’s courtyard and was seated with
the guards, warming himself at the fire. The chief priests and
the entire Sanhedrin kept trying to obtain testimony against
Jesus in order to put him to death, but they found none.
—Mark 14:53–55
Reflection:
Jesus endured gruesome torture when He was flogged by the
soldiers, and then was crucified. But He did this so that He
could descend into the realm of the dead and save those brothers
and sisters who lived there.
Prayer:
Dear Father, I bring to mind all prisoners, and I ask You to
bless them with repentance, consolation and humane treatment.
Please release them from prison, also, if they are there for an
unjust reason. Amen.
Tuesday: Reputation Destroyed
3rd Sorrowful Mystery: The Crowning With Thorns
Scripture:
Pilate asked [Jesus], “Are you the king of the Jews?” He said
to him in reply, “You say so.” Pilate then addressed the chief
priests and the crowds, “I find this man not guilty.” But they
were adamant and said, “He is inciting the people with his
teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee where he began
even to here.”
—Luke 23:3–5
Reflection:
Jesus’s respectable reputation and distinction as a holy man
were ripped away from Him as He was ridiculed, beaten and
humiliated, during the crowning with thorns.
Prayer:
Heart of Jesus, Most Worthy of all Praise, Your blameless name,
reputation and dignity were all destroyed so that ours could
be renewed. I pray for all those who have been the victims of
slander. Amen.
Tuesday: Simon
4th Sorrowful Mystery: The Carrying of the Cross
Scripture:
As they were going out, they met a Cyrenian named Simon;
this man they pressed into service to carry his cross.
—Matthew 27:32
Reflection:
Jesus had to slowly drag His Cross through the streets of
Jerusalem, bruised and wounded, with the angry and cruel
mob of people on both sides of Him, taunting Him and jeering
at Him. He accepted all this suffering. And then came Simon
of Cyrene, who assisted Him in carrying His Cross.
Prayer:
I imagine myself as Simon of Cyrene, helping Jesus to carry
His Cross, when I look at my own cross in life. I realize that I
am doing it for the sake of all sinners – including myself—and
for the sake of peace in the world. Give me the strength, Holy
Spirit, to keep carrying my cross until I come home to the
Lord. Amen.
Tuesday: Bravest Warrior
5th Sorrowful Mystery: The Crucifixion
Scripture:
So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and
put it up to his mouth. When Jesus had taken the wine, he said,
“It is finished.” And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.
—John 19:29–30
Reflection:
Jesus endured not only physical torment on the Cross, but also
the spiritual torment of feeling cut off from the Father. But after
He had breathed His last, He went down into the realm of death
to battle the forces of destruction and darkness who lived there,
and to liberate the righteous souls there.
Prayer:
Dearest Jesus, You are the bravest warrior who ever lived,
because You battled and defeated Satan himself. Deliver us from
any demonic influences that may be responsible for instigating
violence, hatred or envy in our world. Amen.
