The Sorrowful Mysteries - Meditations of St. Gemma Galgani

The Agony in the Garden

Jesus, You treat me just as Your Father treated You. Jesus, You allow me to drink from the chalice of the Passion down to the last drop; give it to me a little at a time each time. Thy will be done, not mine. Jesus, I place everything into Your hands. Thank You for this, O Lord, that this morning You gave me light so that I could know my iniquities. I promise You that I will renounce actions that do not have Your Heart at their center and whose goal is not Your Divine will.

The Scourging at the Pillar

My Lord, Jesus, grant that I may feel the gall of Your suffering when my lips draw near to kiss You. Grant that I may feel the blows of the whip when my shoulders lean against Yours. When Your body unites with mine, let me feel Your Passion. I am the fruit of Your Passion, a young shoot of Your wounds. How many blows, poor Jesus? You ask me only for love. Jesus, to learn to love, one must suffer.

The Crowning with Thorns

In fact, love killed You! Jesus, grant that I too may die of love. Without You, life would be a torture: besides You, there is no other person in the world who could comfort me. The thorns, the cross, the nails, everything is the work of love. How does one act in the name of love…? Jesus, I have learned. For You, I will sacrifice everything and I will be faithful to You.

The Carrying of the Cross

O Jesus, I know that the cross is dear to You and upon it You placed all Your tenderness, Your affections… I love the cross, only the cross; I love the cross because I always see it upon Your shoulders. O Holy Cross, I have embraced You!

The Crucifixion and Death of Jesus

Let us all go to Jesus on the cross… To God Crucified! Oh, God! Jesus is dying! Jesus, I want to die with You… O thorns, o cross, o nails, how many times must I repeat it to you? Take your revenge on me, not on Jesus. Jesus dies, but gives life to me.