Meditations for the Rosary ( continued).

The Sorrowful Mysteries

1- First mystery : Jesus, filled with anxiety, prays to His Celestial Father.

Fruit of the mystery: Perfect sorrow for our sins

Night has fallen. It is dark. Jesus is lonely and deeply sad. He is tormented by the thought of our sins. The Apostles have fallen asleep. But Jesus continues to pray for us.

 O Mary, the Apostles did not even have the courage to stay awake for an hour with Jesus. We also often abandon our prayers because we do not believe that they are very powerful. We do not realize that Jesus is praying with us and carries our prayers to God, His Father.

 “O Jesus, agonizing in the Olive Garden, help us to overcome our desolation and misery and make us sorry for having offended God” Saint Padre Pio.

 Our Lady, pray for us, for the people of Belgium and for all the people of the World. Teach us how to pray and persevere in our prayer, like Jesus did, and entrust us to the care of God the Father.

2- Second mystery : Jesus is scourged

Fruit of the mystery: the mortification of the senses

 Pilate orders his soldiers to scourge Jesus. The lashes tear His flesh. It is impossible to describe the pain He undergoes. And still the scourging continues. It seems as it is never going to end. Then Jesus falls down, nearly dead.

 O Mary, the prophecy is fulfilled : Your heart is pierced by every lash. Nobody has felt Our Lord’s pain as You did. And now, as our Mother, You experience the sufferings of all human beings who undergo the hardships of war, violence, abuse and persecution.

 “May the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God, always be with us in our words and in our hearts … God asks us not to stop when we are tired of struggling, not to despair or to say: “It is not worth fighting any more, let us give up”. This is cowardice. We must do our duty till the end.” Saint Theresa of the Infant Jesus

Our Lady, pray for us, for the people of Belgium and for all the people of the World. Teach us truly to persevere in all our efforts, in our sufferings, in our tears, in union with all those who suffer, so that we may offer our own   contribution to the peace of the World.