The Sorrowful Mysteries - Meditations by Bl. Card. Wyszyński - Version 2

The Agony in the Garden

We will kneel around the Lord Jesus, we will gather together around Him. We will do this quietly, so as not to wake the Apostles who are sleeping. We will move very close, so that Jesus may know that He is not alone in the hour of His agony. And together with Him, we will look at the cup that the Angel of God brought Him from the Father.
“Shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me? Shall I not take part in the work of the Father, who desires all His children to believe that they have a Father in heaven?”
The Son of God desires at this moment to show His full submission to the Father. We look at the cup He holds, and we wish to learn from Christ submission to our Best Father.

The Scourging at the Pillar

Christ is bound to a high pillar. His Body is stretched out so that it almost hangs, not touching the ground, subjected to heavy blows. A circle of flagellators surrounds Him, trying to draw as much Blood from Him as possible. This Blood has already stained the pillar of scourging, the pavement, and the garments of the executioners. It splatters all around. Christ does not spare His Blood. He took it from His Mother for the salvation of the world.
We will surround the pillar of scourging with a circle of our hearts. We will kneel and gather this precious, Most Holy Blood, which gives us salvation. Through the Blood of Christ, we become, as it were, even more closely related to Mary, because Her blood flows in the veins of Jesus and pours down upon us.
The Mother of Sorrows takes part in our life.

The Crowning with Thorns

The soldiers had probably heard that Christ was called a king, and therefore they wove a crown of thorns, placed it on His head, and beat it down with reeds. According to the traces on the Shroud of Turin, there were over seventy wounds from thorns on Christ's head.
We will stand by the holy Head and bow our heads with reverence. Legend says that birds plucked the thorns from the crown of thorns to relieve Christ's suffering. And it is up to us to bring relief to the suffering Christ, who continues to live in His Church, being its invisible Head.
It is up to us to bring relief to the visible head of the Church-the Holy Father and all the bishops and priests who, drawing from the Head, are also responsible for the Church of God. Each of them is crowned with thorns in his own way. It is up to us to bring relief to all those who have responsibility for families, who are the heads of families. They too, in fulfilling their task, are crowned with thorns. Every work of God, after the pattern of Christ, is painfully crowned. It is up to us to loosen these tangles, to bring relief.
We do not know who removed the crown from Christ's head after His Body was taken down from the cross. Perhaps it was done by the women who took care of washing Christ's Body. This is a beautiful task for us as well, when we know that there are so many suffering people. Christ suffers in the Head and in the members. We can help them, and in this way we will help the Head crowned with thorns.

The Carrying of the Cross

The procession of those executing the sentence surrounds the Lord Christ. Everyone is in a great hurry, everyone would like to leave for their own affairs as soon as possible. None of them thinks about how to help Christ carry the cross. Everyone pushes Him, everyone reviles Him.
Thus Christ walks through the streets of Jerusalem to Calvary; similarly, He walks through the history of His Church.
In the Calvary procession, there is no shortage of people who would like to take Christ's cross upon their own shoulders. Mary and the women accompanying Her would probably have gladly done so. John would take the cross, even other, less courageous disciples would take it.
And in the history of the Church, there is no shortage of people who want to help the Church. Christ calls to this work those who themselves offer their shoulders under the cross of the Church. To them we also belong. How grateful we are for this invitation.

The Crucifixion and Death of Jesus

We lift our eyes to the eyes of Christ, which are slowly closing. We would wish to hold back those falling eyelids, but we know that when they close, the human eyes of the Incarnate God will behold the Father. The Son of Man, carrying within Himself the Eternal Word, will present Himself to the Father, leading behind Him His prize-all the souls brought out of the netherworld. This is the first victorious procession of Christ the King.
We lift our hearts to the Heart of Jesus and count its beats... We would wish that this Heart would never stop, but it must stand still for a moment, so that it may be opened and can give us all its love, down to the last drop of Blood.
We lift all our finest feelings toward the Cross, which is changing its form. It is no longer an instrument of shame; it becomes the Cross of hope. We surround the tree of our sole, exclusive Hope, the new tree of paradise. Most magnificent upon it is the Fruit, which does not take away life, but restores it. It is truly “the tree of the knowledge of all good.”
We throng to the Cross. We come as close as possible. We stand in Christ's common family: Mary, the women, John, the soldiers, the centurion. The disciples slowly draw near. The enemies depart. Only friends remain at the Cross, the holy family of Christ. They are the ones who continually fulfill the exaltation of the Cross upon their shoulders.