The Sorrowful Mysteries

1. The Agony in the Garden.

Ps 121:1 I lift my eyes to toward the mountains, whence shall help come to me?
My help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
Jb 40:8 …Would you condemn me that you may be justified?
Ps 31:6 Into your hands, I commend my spirit.
Ps 86:16 …give your strength to your servant, and save the son of your handmaid.
Mt 5:34 My command to you is: love your enemies, pray for your persecutors.
Ps 22:1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me, far from the words of my cry? O my God, I cry out by day, and you answer not; by night, and there is no relief for me.
Ps 13 How long, O Lord? Will you utterly forget me? How long will you hide your face from me? How long shall I harbor sorrow in my soul, grief in my heart day after day?
Gn 22:11 "Abraham, Abraham! …Do not lay your hand on the boy…I know how devoted you are to God, since you did not withhold from me your own beloved son." (8) "God himself will provide the sheep for the holocaust."
Jn 20:29 "…Blest are they who have not seen and have believed."
Lk 19:41 Coming in the sight of the city, he wept over it.
Lk 14:34 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you slay the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often have I wanted to gather your children together as a mother bird collects her young under her wings, and you refused me!"
Jn 11:33 When Jesus saw her weeping he was troubled in spirit, moved by the deepest emotions. (35) Jesus began to weep.
Jn 6:66 From that time on, many of his disciples broke away and would not remain in his company any longer. Jesus then said to the Twelve, "Do you want to leave me too?" Simon Peter answered him, "Lord to whom shall we go?"/(70) "Did I not chose the Twelve of you myself?"
Lk 12:25-26 "Which of you by worrying can add a moment to his life? If the smallest things are beyond your power, why be anxious about the rest?
Jn 18:1 …Jesus went out with his disciples across the Kidron Valley. There was a garden there, and he and his disciples entered it.
Mt 26:36 …He said to his disciples, "Stay here while I go over there and pray." He took along Peter and Zebedee's two sons, and began to experience sorrow and distress. Then he said to them, "My heart is nearly broken with sorrow. Remain here and stay awake with me." He advanced a little and fell prostrate in prayer. "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass me by. Still, let it be as you would have it, not as I."
Mt 26:43 Once more, on his return, he found them asleep: they could not keep their eyes open.
Mk 14:37 "…Asleep Simon? You could not stay awake for even an hour? Be on guard and pray that you may not be put to the test. The spirit is willing but nature is weak."
Lk 22:43 An angel then appeared from heaven to strengthen him. In his anguish he prayed with all the greater intensity, and his sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground. Then he rose from prayer and came to his disciples, only to find them asleep, exhausted with grief.
Mt 26:47 …Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived accompanied by a great crowd with swords and clubs. They had been sent by the chief priests and elders of the people. His betrayer had arranged to give them a signal, saying, "The man I shall embrace is the one; take hold of him." He immediately went over to Jesus, said to him, "Peace, Rabbi," and embraced him.
Lk 22:48 Jesus said to him, "Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?"
Mt 26:50 …At that moment they stepped forward to lay hands on Jesus, and arrest him.
Jn 18:10 Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the slave of the high priest, severing his right ear. (The slave's name was Malchus.)
Mt 26:52 Jesus said to him: "Put back your sword where it belongs. Those who use the sword are sooner or later destroyed by it. Do you not suppose I can call on my Father to provide at a moments notice more than twelve legions of angels? But then how would the scriptures be fulfilled which say it all must happen this way?"
Lk 22:51 …Then he touched the ear and healed the man.
Mk 14:48 … "You have come out to arrest me armed with swords and clubs as if against a brigand. I was within your reach daily, teaching in your temple precincts, yet you never arrested me. But now, so that the Scriptures may be fulfilled…" With that, all deserted him and fled. There was a young man following him who was covered by nothing but a linen cloth. As they seized him he left the cloth behind and ran off naked.

2. The Scourging at the Pillar.

Is 50:6 I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; my face I did not shield from buffets and spitting. The Lord God is my help, therefore I am not disgraced; I have set my face like flint, knowing I shall not be put to shame.
Mt 5:39 …When a person strikes you on the right cheek, turn and offer him the other. (46) If you love those who love you, what merit is there in that?
Rom 12:21 Do not be conquered by evil but conquer evil with good.
Jn 11:32 "Many good deeds have I shown you from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?"
Mk 14:60 The high priest rose to his feet before the court and began to interrogate Jesus: "Have you no answer to what these men testify against you? But Jesus remained silent; he made no reply. Once again the high priest interrogated him: "Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?" Then Jesus answered: "I am; and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming in the clouds of heaven." At this the high priest tore his robes and said: "What further need do we have of witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy. What is your verdict?" They concurred in the verdict "guilty," with sentence of death. Some of them then began to spit on him. They blindfolded him and hit him, saying, "Play the prophet!" while the officers manhandled him.
Lk 22:63…the men guarding Jesus amused themselves at his expense. They blindfolded him first, slapped him, and then taunted him: "Play the prophet; which one struck you?" And they directed many other insulting words at him.
Jn 18:33 Pilate went back into the praetorium and summoned Jesus. "Are you the King of the Jews?" he asked him. Jesus answered, "are you saying this on your own, or have others been telling you about me?" "I am no Jew!" Pilate retorted. "It is your own people and the chief priests who have handed you over to me. What have you done?" Jesus answered: "My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my subjects would be fighting to save me from being handed over to the Jews. As it is, my kingdom is not here." At this Pilate said to him, "So, then, you are a king?" Jesus replied: "It is you who say I am a king. The reason I was born, the reason why I came into the world, is to testify to the truth. Anyone committed to the truth hears my voice." "Truth!" said Pilate. "What does that mean?"
Jn 19:1 Pilate's next move was to take Jesus and have him scourged.
2Cor 4:8 We are afflicted in every way possible, but we are not crushed; full of doubts, we never despair. We are persecuted but never abandoned; we are struck down but never destroyed.

3. The Crowning of Thorns.

Ps 69:21 Insult has broken my heart, and I am weak, I looked for sympathy, but there was none; for comforters, and I found none.
Is 53:7 Though he was harshly treated, he submitted and opened not his mouth; Like a lamb led to the slaughter or a sheep before the shearers, he was silent and opened not his mouth.
Sg 8:7 Were one to offer all he owns to purchase love, he would be roundly mocked.
Jn 15:20 "…no slave is greater than his master. They will harry you as they harried me. They will respect your words as much as they respected mine."
Jn 16:33 "You will suffer in this world. But take courage! I have overcome the world!"
Mt 5:11 "Blest are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of slander against you because of me. Be glad and rejoice, for your reward is great in heaven; they persecuted the prophets before you in the very same way.
2Cor 5:21 For our sakes God made him who did not know sin, to be sin, so that in him we might become the very holiness of God.
Jn 1:10 He was in the world, and through him the world was made, yet his own did not accept him.
Lk 23:7 and when he learned that he was under Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who also happened to be in Jerusalem at the time. Herod was extremely pleased to see Jesus. From the reports about him he had wanted for a long time to see him, and he was hoping to see him work some miracle. He questioned Jesus at considerable length, but Jesus made no answer. The chief priests and scribes were at hand to accuse him vehemently. Herod and his guards then treated him with contempt and insult, after which they put a magnificent robe on him and sent him back to Pilate. Herod and Pilate, who had previously been set against each other, became friends from that day.
Mt 27:27 The procurator's soldiers took Jesus inside the praetorium and collected the whole cohort around him. They stripped off his clothes and wrapped him in a scarlet military cloak. Weaving a crown out of thorns they fixed it on his head, and stuck a reed in his right hand. Then they began to mock him, saying, "All hail, king of the Jews!" They also spat at him. Afterward they took hold of the reed and kept striking him on the head.
Jn 19: 4 Pilate went out a second time and said to the crowd: "Observe what I do. I am going to bring him out to you to make you realize that I find no case [against him]. When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple cloak, Pilate said to them, "Look at the man!"
Mt 27:24 Pilate finally realized that he was making no impression and that a riot was breaking out instead. He called for water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, declaring as he did so, "I am innocent of the blood of this just man. The responsibility is yours. The whole people said in reply, "Let his blood be on us and on our children."
Jn 19:14…He said to the Jews, "Look at your king!" At this they shouted, "Away with him! Crucify him!" "What!" Pilate exclaimed. "Shall I crucify your king?" The chief priests replied, "We have no king but Caesar." In the end, Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified.
Lk 23:25 He released the one they asked for, who had been thrown in prison for insurrection and murder, and delivered Jesus up to their wishes.

4. The Way of the Cross.

Is 53:1-6 Who would believe what we have heard? To whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? He grew up like a sapling before him, like a shoot from the parched earth; There was in him no stately bearing to make us look at him, nor appearance that would attract us to him. He was spurned and avoided by men, a man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity. One of those whom men hide their faces, spurned, and we held him in no esteem. Yet, it was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured, While we thought of him as stricken, as one smitten by God and afflicted. But he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins, Upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed. We had each gone astray like sheep, each following his own way; But the Lord laid upon him the guilt of us all.
Jer 14:17 Let my eyes stream with tears day and night without rest, over the great destruction which overwhelms the virgin daughter of my people, over her incurable wound.
Mt 5:41 Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him two miles.
Jn 19:16 …Jesus was led away, and carrying the cross by himself, went out to what is called the Place of the Skull (in Hebrew, Golgotha).
Lk 23:26 As they led him away, they laid hold of one Simone the Cyrenean who was coming in from the fields. They put a crossbeam on Simon's shoulder for him to carry behind Jesus. A great crowd of people followed him, including women who beat their breasts and lamented over him. Jesus turned to them and said: "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me. Weep for yourselves and for your children. The days are coming when they will say, 'Happy are the sterile, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed.' Then they will begin saying to the mountains, 'Fall on us,' and to the hills, 'Cover us.' If they do these things in green wood, what will happen in the dry?"
Mt 5:3 "How blest are the poor in spirit; the reign of God is theirs. Blest too are the sorrowing; they shall be consoled. [Blest are the lowly; they shall inherit the land.] Blest are they who hunger and thirst for holiness; they shall have their fill. Blest are they who show mercy; mercy shall be theirs. Blest are the single-hearted for they shall see God. Blest too the peacemakers; they shall be called sons of God. Blest are those persecuted for holiness' sake; the reign of God is theirs. Blest are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of slander against you because of me. Be glad and rejoice, for your reward is great in heaven; They persecuted the prophets before you in the very same way."

5. The Crucifixion and Death of our Lord.

Ps 22:1 My God, my God why have you forsaken me, far from my prayer, from the words of my cry? O my God, I cry out by day, and you answer not; by night, and there is no relief for me. (7) But I am a worm, not a man; the scorn of men, despised by all the people. (15) I am like water poured out; all my bones are racked. My heart has become like wax melting away within my bosom. My throat is dried up like baked clay, my tongue cleaves to my jaws;…(17)…they have pierced my hands and my feet;…
Lam 1:12 Come, all you who pass by the way, look and see whether there is any suffering like my suffering…
Ps 31:13 I am like the unremembered dead; I am like a dish that is broken.
Jn 15:13 "There is no greater love than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends. You are my friends…"
1Cor 13:7 There is no limit to love's forbearance, to its trust, its hope, its power to endure. Love never fails. (13) There are in the end three things that last: faith, hope, and love, and the greatest of these is love.
Jn 1:14 we have seen his glory. The glory of an only Son coming from the Father, filled with enduring love.
Ps 31:13 Into your hands I commend my spirit; you will redeem me, O Lord, O faithful God.
Lk 23:32 Two other who were criminals were led along to be crucified. When they came to Skull Place, as it was called, they crucified him there and the criminals as well, one on his right and the other on his left. [Jesus said, "Father forgive them; they do not know what they are doing."]
Jn 19:19 Pilate had an inscription placed on the cross which read,

JESUS THE NAZOREAN
THE KING OF THE JEWS

This inscription, in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek, was read by many of the Jews, since the place was near the city.
Jn 19:23 After the soldiers had crucified Jesus they took his garments and divided them four ways, one for each soldier. There was also a tunic, but this tunic was woven in one piece from top to bottom and had no seam. They said to each other, "We should not tear it. Let us throw dice to see who gets it. " (The purpose of this was to have the Scripture fulfilled: "They divided my garments among them; for my clothing they cast lots.") And this is what the soldiers did.
Lk 23:35 The people stood there watching and the leaders kept jeering at him… (39) One of the criminals hanging in crucifixion blasphemed him: "Aren't you the Messiah? Then save yourself and us." But the other one rebuked him: "Have you no fear of God, seeing you are under the same sentence? We deserve it, after all. We are only paying the price for what we've done, but this man has done nothing wrong." He then said, "Jesus, remember me when you enter upon your reign." And Jesus replied, "I assure you: this day you will be with me in paradise.
Jn 19:25 Near the cross of Jesus there stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. Seeing his mother there with the disciple whom he loved, Jesus said to his mother, "Woman, there is your son." In turn, he said to the disciple, "There is your mother." From that hour onward, the disciple took her into his care. After that, Jesus realizing that everything was now finished, said to fulfill the Scripture, "I am thirsty." There was a jar there, full of common wine. They stuck a sponge soaked in this wine on some hyssop and raised it to his lips. When Jesus took the wine, he said, "Now it is finished." Then he bowed his head, and delivered over his spirit.
Lk 23:46 Jesus uttered a loud cry and said, "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit." After he said this, he expired. The centurion, upon seeing this gave glory to God by saying, 'Surely this was an innocent man."
Mt 27:51 Suddenly the curtain of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked, boulders split, tombs opened. Many bodies of saints who had fallen asleep were raised. After Jesus' resurrection they came forth from their tombs and entered the holy city and appeared to many.
Lk 23:48 When the crowd which had assembled for this spectacle saw what had happened they went home beating their breasts. All his friends and the women who had accompanied him from Galilee were standing at a distance watching everything.
Jn 19:31 Since it was the Preparation Day the Jews did not want to have the bodies left on the cross during the Sabbath, for that Sabbath was a solemn feast day. They asked Pilate that the legs be broken and the bodies be taken away. Accordingly, the soldiers came and broke the legs of the men crucified with Jesus, first the one, then the other. When they came to Jesus and saw that he was dead, they did not break his legs. One of the soldiers thrust a lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out. (This testimony has been given by an eyewitness, and his testimony is true, so that you may believe.) These events took place for the fulfillment of Scripture: "Break none of his bones." There is still another Scripture passage which says: "They shall look on him whom they have pierced."
(38) Afterward, Joseph of Arimathea, a disciple of Jesus (although a secret one for fear of the Jews), asked Pilate's permission to remove Jesus' body. Pilate granted it, so they came and took the body away. Nicodemus (the man who had first come to Jesus at night) likewise came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes which weighed about a hundred pounds. They took Jesus' body, and in accordance with Jewish burial custom bound it up in wrappings of cloth with perfumed oils. In the place where he had been crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had ever been buried. Because of the Jewish Preparation Day they buried Jesus there, for the tomb was close at hand.
Mt 27:59 Taking the body, Joseph wrapped it in fresh linen and laid it in his own new tomb which had been hewn from a formation of rock. Then he rolled a huge stone across the entrance of the tomb and went away. But Mary Magdalene and the other Mary remained sitting there, facing the tomb.
Is 53:9 Oppressed and condemned, he was taken away, and who would have thought any more of his destiny? When he was cut off from the land of the living, and smitten for the sin of his people, A grave was assigned to him among the wicked and a burial place with evildoers. Though he had done no wrong nor spoken any falsehood. [But the Lord was pleased to crush him in infirmity.] If he gives his life as an offering for sin, he shall see his descendants in long life, and the will of the Lord shall be accomplished through him. Because of his affliction he shall see the light in fullness of days; Through his suffering, my servant shall justify many and their guilt he shall bear. Therefore I will give him his portion among the great, and he shall divide the spoils with the mighty, Because he surrendered himself to death and was counted among the wicked; And he shall take away the sins of many, and win pardon for their offenses.