The Sorrowful Mysteries are those prayers that remind us of the suffering, pain and passion of Christ, mainly those eighteen terrible hours endured by Jesus before his death, which reveal to us the depth of God’s love for us.
These mysteries reveal the love of God and the very meaning of man and lead the believer to relive the death of Jesus by standing at the foot of the cross. But do you know what the painful mysteries are? There are 5 painful mysteries of the holy rosary, here we will tell you each one of them and their meaning.
- The agony of Jesus: repentance for our sins. It is for the salvation of men and to redeem our sins that Jesus must offer himself
- Flagellation: mastery of the senses. We are invited to understand and master what can lead us to sin
- The crowning with thorns: humility and forgiveness of our sins of pride. Just as our senses can lead us to sin, so can our minds.
- Carrying the cross: Patience in trials. Jesus suffers, he goes through this trial completely, totally and so, in the depths of our sufferings, our trials, it is Jesus who we can find.
- The crucifixion: The thirst for salvation of souls. Thanks to Jesus, the cross is no longer a symbol of condemnation and suffering, but rather a symbol of salvation and the joy of being saved.
First Sorrowful Mystery: prayer in the Garden
“Then Jesus went with them to a garden called Gethsemane, and said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I go to pray.’ And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to feel sadness and anguish. Then he said to them: ‘My soul is sad to the point of death; stay here and watch with me.’ And coming forward a little, he fell face down and begged thus: ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me, but not as I will, but as You will’” (Mt 26, 36-39) .
Prayer: “Jesus, who was dying in the garden of Gethsemane, completely subject to the will of the Father, we praise you, we bless you and we adore you”
Second Sorrowful Mystery: The Flagellation of the Lord
«Pilate, to please the crowd, released Barabbas to them; “And Jesus, after having him scourged, handed him over to be crucified.” (Mark 15:15)
Prayer: “Jesus, cruelly scourged for our sins of sensuality and impurity, we praise you, bless you and adore you.”
Third Sorrowful Mystery: The Crowning with Thorns
“Then the procurator’s soldiers took Jesus with them to the praetorium and gathered the entire cohort around Him. They stripped him naked and threw a purple cloak over him and, braiding a crown of thorns, put it on his head, and in his right hand a reed, and bending their knee before him, they mocked him saying: ‘Hail, King. of the Jews’.” (Mt 27, 27-29)
Prayer: “Jesus crowned with thorns and outraged, we praise you, we bless you and we adore you.”
Fourth Sorrowful Mystery: Jesus with the Cross on his back, on the way to Calvary
“Then Pilate handed him over to be crucified, and they took him away. Jesus, carrying the cross, left the city to go to the place called “the Skull”, in Hebrew ‘Golgotha’”. (Jn 19, 16-17).
Prayer: “Jesus, with the cross on his back, walking towards Golgotha, we praise you, we bless you and we adore you.”
Fifth Sorrowful Mystery: The crucifixion and death of Jesus
“Arrived at the place called ‘The Skull’, they crucified Him and the two criminals there, one on the right and the other on the left. Jesus said: ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do’… It was already around noon when, when the sun eclipsed, there was darkness over the entire earth until mid-afternoon. The veil of the Sanctuary was torn in the middle and Jesus, giving a loud cry, said: ‘Father, I put my spirit in your hands’ and, having said this, he expired” (Lk 23, 33-46).
Prayer: «Jesus is nailed and died on the cross; “Jesus with a pierced heart, we praise you, bless you and adore you.”
Sorrowful mysteries of the Holy Rosary
The Holy Rosary of Sorrowful Mysteries is performed on Tuesdays and Fridays (and during Lent, on Sunday). Friday is traditionally associated with the Passion of Christ in memory of Good Friday.
However, there is no impediment for you to do it whenever you want or when you have the need to communicate with God. To carry out the meditated painful mysteries, you can follow the following steps:
- Read the Gospel passage associated with each mystery
- We recite each mystery
- We pray an Our Father, ten Hail Marys and a Glory to the Father after each mystery
- We end with the litanies of the Virgin
By praying the complete Sorrowful Mysteries rosary, you ask God for the grace to transform suffering into sanctification for yourself and others. We can also uplift the soul of our dead loved ones through the Sorrowful Mysteries for the Dead.