Natural Family Planning International

The fourth mystery of the Passion and Death of Our Lord:  Jesus carries his cross to Calvary.

   How honored must have been Simon of Cyrene after the Resurrection.  Yet on Good Friday, it was not a pleasant task that this man was forced to accept; it was carrying or helping to carry a cross.  He did not know that it was the cross on which the Savior of the world would be crucified. In his humanity, Jesus needed help to carry his cross, and so do we.  Helping to carry the cross of Christ was undoubtedly a cause of salvation for Simon of Cyrene and his family, and it will be the same for us.
   We pray for the gift of perseverance.  Our Father
   1. And when they had mocked Him, they took off the cloak and put his own garments on Him.  Hail Mary
   2. As they led Him away, they laid hold of a certain Simon of Cyrene who was coming in from the country;  Hail Mary
   3. And upon him they laid the cross to carry it after Jesus.  Hail Mary
   4. There was following Him a great crowd of the people and of women who were bewailing and lamenting Him.  Hail Mary
   5. But Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me but weep for yourselves and for your children.  Hail Mary
   6. “The days are coming . . . when men will say to the mountains, “Fall on us,” and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’  Hail Mary
   7. “If they do these things to the green wood, what will happen to the dry?”  Hail Mary
   8. And they brought Him to the place called Golgotha, which means the place of the skull.  Hail Mary
   9. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.  Hail Mary
 10. Surely, He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.  Hail Mary
Glory be

References: Matthew 27:31; Luke 23:26-31; Mark 15:22; Isaiah 53:3-4

John F. Kippley
Seven Day Bible Rosary

The third mystery of the Passion and Death of Our Lord: Jesus is mocked and scourged and crowned with thorns.

   In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught that “if someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also,” and in his passion He shows us his teaching in action.  Ridicule may be one of the most painful experiences we will have to endure.  In word and in deed Our Lord teaches us that we are not to respond to insults with vengeance. Many of us find it difficult to deny ourselves any available pleasure.  The scourging of the flesh of Jesus is a never-ending statement about the need for self-sacrifice in the life of Christian discipleship.
 We pray for the gifts of humility and voluntary self-denial.  Our Father
   1. Pilate saw that he was doing no good so he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd;  Hail Mary
   2. Saying: “I am innocent of the blood of this just man; see to it yourselves.”  Hail Mary
   3. And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!”  Hail Mary
   4. Then he released Barabbas, but Jesus he scourged and delivered to them to be crucified.  Hail Mary
   5. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the praetorium and gathered the whole cohort around Him.  Hail Mary
   6. They stripped Him and put a scarlet cloak on Him, and they wove a crown of thorns and placed it on his head.  Hail Mary
   7. They put a reed into his right hand, and bending the knee before Him they mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews.”  Hail Mary
   8. And they spat on Him, and they took the reed and kept striking Him on the head.  Hail Mary
   9. He was wounded for our iniquities; He was bruised for our sins.  Hail Mary
 10. Upon Him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed.  Hail Mary
Glory be

References: Matthew 27:24-30, Isaiah 53:5

John f. Kippley
Seven Day Bible Rosary

The second mystery of the Passion and Death of Our Lord:  Jesus bears witness and is condemned to die.

   On trial for his life, Jesus proclaimed that He is the Messiah, and He also referred to Himself as the Son of Man coming upon the clouds of heaven.  The Jewish leadership recognized this as a claim to equality with God, and for this witness they condemned Him to death. The Christian is called to bear witness to the person and the teachings of Christ by word and by example.  This witness, no matter how tactful, may bring exclusion from some groups, rejection by some individuals, or even physical suffering.  If so, rejoice to be treated as Jesus was.
   We pray for the courage always to bear witness to the truth of God’s revelation.  Our Father
   1. The high priest said to Jesus: “I order you by the living God: tell us whether you are the Christ, the Son of God.”  Hail Mary
   2. Jesus said to him, “You have said it.  Hail Mary
   3. “I say to you, hereafter you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the power and coming upon the clouds of heaven.”  Hail Mary
   4. Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has blasphemed . . . What do you think?”  Hail Mary
   5. They answered and said, “He is liable to death,” and they spat in his face and struck Him.  Hail Mary
   6. [Then Jesus stood before Pilate who asked Him,] “Art Thou the king of the Jews?”  Jesus said to him, “You are saying it.”  Hail Mary
   7. “My kingdom is not of this world.  If it were, my followers would have fought, but my kingship is not from here.”  Hail Mary
   8. Pilate said to Him, “Thou art then a king?” Jesus answered, “You are saying it.  I am a king.”  Hail Mary
   9. “That is why I was born and why I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth.”  Hail Mary
 10. “Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice.”  Hail Mary
Glory be

References: Matthew 26:63-67, 27:11; John 18:33-37

John F. Kippley
Seven Day Bible Rosary