The Sorrowful Mysteries - Meditations of Pope Benedict XVI

The Agony in the Garden

Even in the ”dark valley” of which the Psalmist speaks, when the tempter pushes us toward desperation or urges us to place illusory hopes in the works of our own hands, God watches over us and strengthens us. Even in the great pain brought by misery, loneliness, violence, and hunger, which oppress the old, adults, and children alike, God does not allow darkness and fear to prevail.

The Scourging at the Pillar

Behold the new way in which God conquers – He does not counter violence with greater violence. To violence, He responds with its opposite – love to the end, the cross. Behold the simple way in which God wins the victory: with His love – only in this way is it possible – He sets a limit to violence.

The Crowning with Thorns

We humans live alienated in the salty water of suffering and death; in a sea of darkness devoid of light. The net of the Gospel draws us out of the depths of death and brings us closer to the splendor of God's light, to true life.

The Carrying of the Cross

God, who became a Lamb, tells us that the world is saved by the Crucified One, and not by those who crucify. The patience of God redeems the world, and the impatience of men destroys it.

The Crucifixion and Death of Jesus

In the mystery of the Crucified One, that turning of God against Himself takes place, through which He offers Himself in order to raise man up and save him – this is love in its most radical form.