Tuesday, October 20, 2020 –
The Fifth Sorrowful Mystery: The Crucifixion and Death of Our Lord
Christ is put to death for our sins on the Cross
OUR LORD spent 30 years of His life obeying, three years teaching, three hours redeeming! But how did He redeem? Suppose a golden chalice is stolen from an altar and beaten into a large ash tray. Before that gold can be returned to the altar, it must be thrown into a fire, where the dross is burned away; then the chalice must be recast, and finally blessed and restored to its holy use.
Sinful man is like that chalice which was delivered over to profane uses. He lost his Godlike resemblance and his high destiny as a child of God. So our blessed Lord took unto Himself a human nature, making it stand for all of us, plunged it into the fires of Calvary to have the dross of sin burned and purged away. Then, by rising from the dead, He became the new head of the new humanity, according to which we are all to be patterned.
The cross reveals that unless there is a Good Friday in our lives, there will never be an Easter Sunday. Unless there is a crown of thorns, there will never be the halo of light. Unless there is the scourged body, there will never be a glorified one. Death to the lower self is the condition of resurrection to the higher self. The world says to us, as it said to Him on the cross: “Come down, and we will believe!” But if He had come down, He never would have saved us. It is human to come down; it is divine to hang there. A broken heart, O Savior of the world, is love’s best cradle! Smite my own, as Moses did the rock, that Thy love may enter in!
For each bead (1-10) in the decade, meditate (think) on the list below:
- The hands and feet of Jesus are nailed to the cross in the presence of His afflicted Mother.
- “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”
- “This day you will be with Me in paradise.”
- “Woman, behold your son. Son, behold your Mother.”
- “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
- “I thirst.”
- “It is finished.”
- “Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit.”
- The side of Jesus is pierced with a lance. His body is taken down and placed in the arms of His Mother.
- Father, by the merits of the crucifixion and death of Jesus, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
Spiritual Fruit of the Mystery: Perseverance and Pardoning of Injuries
Queen of apostles, pray for us!
NOTE: These meditations are a compilation of several different sources that I have found helpful over the years:
- Meditations on the Fifteen Mysteries of the Rosary by Fulton Sheen
- Praying the Rosary without Distractions from The Rosary Center and Confraternity
- Pray the Rosary Daily from Marian Press
- Quick Meditations on Every Mystery of the Rosary by Ascension Press
