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Sorrowful mysteries follow big, little sufferings life throws our way
Published: November 16, 2019
By Paula Standridge
St. John the Baptist Church, Hot Springs
The sorrowful mysteries of the rosary are a beautiful tool for personal and intercessory prayer. Human suffering is the great equalizer. All mankind is subject to suffering of some kind at some point.
When someone asks us to pray for them it is most often because of a trial or distress they are going through. We ourselves tend to turn to God instinctively when we are in sorrow or pain.
Jesus was like us in all things but sin. He understands human suffering like no human could ever understand and he has suffered more than is comprehendible. Jesus is simultaneously a partner in our prayer as well as the recipient of our prayer.
Jesus was like us in all things but sin. He understands human suffering like no human could ever understand and he has suffered more than is comprehendible. Jesus is simultaneously a partner in our prayer as well as the recipient of our prayer.
The first sorrowful mystery is the agony in the garden. Agony depicts physical, mental and emotional suffering. But agony also reflects the not knowing, the waiting, the wondering, the why me.
A young couple unable to conceive, a family member worried about a loved one who is deployed or away from the Church, the anguish of waiting for results from a test or the torment of endless days of loneliness. Reflecting on these and more human conditions bring to mind many individual people and also entire groups of society. We can also pray here for the souls in purgatory as they await their final reward.
The second sorrowful mystery is the scourging at the pillar. Scourging is intermittent, but the pain and scars never go away — addiction, abuse, bullying, domestic violence. Searching for a job, a single mother hoping to pull herself out of poverty — all hopeful, but subject to repeated disappointment.
The third sorrowful mystery is the crowning with thorns. This crowning was both painful and humiliating. This mystery brings to mind those who suffer from diseases of the mind — anxiety, depression, mental illness; but also those who suffer from feelings of unworthiness, low self-esteem, scrupulosity — those who lack confidence or self-love.
The fourth sorrowful mystery is the carrying of the cross. We were told by our Savior that we, too, would have to take up our cross and follow him. We have our own individual crosses along with those we carry collectively as Christians and Catholics. Crosses come in all sizes.
We recognize the huge, heavy crosses but what about the smaller crosses? Annoyances and frustrations are part of everyday trials but can also be hard to bear being around negative or toxic people at work, dealing with other’s undesirable habits or traits; the list goes on forever.
The last mystery is the crucifixion. Here is where we say “It is finished” — I can’t do anymore, I’m done, I’m over it, I’m handing it over, I’m nailing it to the cross, I’m offering it to you; finally, it is yours. Jesus, take the wheel. This is not a loss of hope but a surrender to our Lord and a recognition and a comfort that he is in control.
In the Gospel of Mark, chapter 2, we hear about the healing of a paralytic. This man had been carried on his mat by his friends to see Jesus. Unable to get to Jesus the traditional way because of the crowd, the friends opened the roof to lower the paralytic to encounter Jesus.
This love, this persistence, this faith is so encouraging to think about when we pray for ourselves and others. I like to think that the others present at this miracle also had a part in the intercession.
They surely made room for the man on the mat, even as crowded as the situation was. Sometimes we are the paralytic on the mat, sometimes we are the friends carrying the mat, sometimes we are strangers to the people we pray for. The sorrowful mysteries are perfect meditations whatever role we play.
