As Mary and Joseph did at the Temple, may we also find Jesus when we are worried, frightened and have feelings of loss. May we also find him in Adoration, in our hearts in prayer, in our actions toward others, and IN others. And may He find us "going about our Fathers business on this Earth" .
It will, but it will be very,very beautiful as well. I mean things like the stars dancing and even the butterflies in the stomache. Being a little afraid is maybe not always a bad thing, the first time we took our first steps we were, I suppose a little afraid and all through our lives at the big things there was a little fear, a woman's baby, the first time driving, our first time diving... ..but it all worked out in the end. So....beautiful , scarey, some pain but in the end worth it if we do it right. I heard and saw piece of music performed that reminded me of the the Warning the other night because of the stars behind the two men and the music itself, 'Benedictus'.
Yes the finding in the Temple is very like the Warning, beauty, pain, grief, suffering loss, and then the Finding again. But not for all, no not everyone will find Him again. To find Him you really have to want to find Him. not everyone does. Revelation 18:4 Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues;
The First Sorrowful Mystery. The Agony in the Garden. View attachment 2095 Luke 22:43 42saying, "Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done." 43Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. 44And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground.…
I suppose we all have our favourite Mysteries for what ever reason . I would say my own personal favourite...I go back to it most nights when I wake in my sleep.....is the Agony in the Garden. I would say the worst agony of all is mental/spiritual. For instance worry. We surely suffer far more worrying about things , many of which are never going to happen , than we suffer from things when they actually occur. Not that Jesus was a worrier but there is no doubt He suffered mental agony in the Garden. But deeper than that is Spiritual suffering, the agony of feeling the absence of Light , of God Himself, that darkness which is simply atrocious. But coming like a smile of joy is the presence of the Angel of Comfort and we ourselves. We because we pray the rosary are really and truly Comforters...angels of Comfort to the Christ. So like life itself, sorrow mixed in with joy, joy mixed in with sorrow.
Oh I cannot even reply in words that convey what I feel for this mystery- this is THE mystery for me that scourges my soul, my heart, my life- I am drawn to this mystery like no other. I have had dreams linking me to this mystery that have not been explained or occurred yet- but I know it is coming. The love I feel for my Lord in this mystery takes my breath away. As you Lord endured this agony alone- as you saw that man who you died for would ignore you, disobey you, mock you, insult you, deny that you even existed- out of love for us you accepted what was to come. May we also accept the cup God gives us in this life for love of You, even though it be filled with pain, sadness and disappointment. I wish I could have been with You in your agony. Send us the strength of Gabriel please to help us to endure. I offer all for sins against your Sacred Heart and the Immaculate heart of Mary.
I really love this thread, had to say that. I had a dream two weeks ago on holidays in Donegal. In my dream I was untying knots on a large rope and I was getting a few of them untangled. Also on holidays after that I got the lines of a kite really knotted and after much frustration I had to resort to hail Marys to untangle which seemed to help a lot. Same happened then with fishing line... Quite a knotty holiday but a lovely one also. So I have been saying a few of my rosaries on the Our Lady untier of knots beads since then and keeping relatively knot free. http://www.divinemercy.org/new-books/our-lady-untier-of-knots-rosary-beads-detail.html
This first sorrowful mystery is perhaps the one that cause me the greatest moments of thought and reflection. I don't know if I will ever really comprehend it in my human nature. To me this mystery shows the full humanness and full divinity of Jesus. I ask myself, what was his agony at this moment in his human nature? He was sorrowful, even until death. But again, this is his human nature. And what about this death? In His divine nature, He knew that death -at least in physical sense- was not the end and I cannot see how this would cause Him the fear or agony? After lots of contemplation, I've come to this thought on Jesus' agony. His sorrow was about the real death he would take on for all mankind for all ages. He took our sins onto Himself and sin is the separation of ourselves from God. We at best might be able to "talk" about this separation and for some of us (the saints) we might even experience that pain of separation. But Jesus because of His Divine nature I think absolutely agonized in body, soul and spirit in knowing for a time he would have to take on ALL the sins of ALL people from ALL time and knew how much thus was an affront to His Father and to Himself since He too was God. I guess this is the mystery of it for me - He ALWAYS remained Divine but yet at thus moment because of our He suffered until death- not Physical - but a spiritual separation from God. He also knew that despite this suffering, despite His acceptance of our sins , despite his accepting of the cross and His shedding of Blood to forgive those sins and open the Gates of Heaven for us, mankind would continue to reject Him. We ( I am at the front of he list) continue to reject this gift of a Jesus and while I don't know if this is correct "theology" , in my feeble, human mindit's the only way I can understand His agony. Was His agony that He knew despite all of His Suffering, His Passion, His Death, His Resurrection, and His Love for EACH of us, he knew some would reject it all and would face everlasting death , and separation from Him? Thank you Jesus for your great gift to us - EACH of us.
No tongue can describe what anguish and what horror overwhelmed the soul of Jesus at the sight of so terrible an expiation — His sufferings were so great, indeed, that a bloody sweat issued forth from all the pores of His sacred body...http://www.michaeljournal.org/emmerich.htm
I suppose to some extent we all share in the Agony in the Garden through life when we regard our own sins and the sins of others. The child in its innocence does not regard this sin and so is happy. View attachment 2096 But when we reach puberty and adolscense we have to face the reality of sin and this can often bring on intense heart ache and pain and rebellion. I often feel sad looking a movies of teenagers who look so happy, for my own teenage years right up to about the age of 26 were terrible, terrible. Later we turn the laser eyes of our introspection on ourselves, when we see are own sinfulness and so become more merciful to the world around us. With myself this was certainly the case, I had to be broken before being rebuilt. But with Jesus this was not the case, because He was like us in all things but sin. Yet having regarded our own sins and in full knowledge of His own sinlessness took our sins upon Himself as the Lamb of God. This is pretty mind boggling.
When I was young , when we said the, 'Hail Holy Queen' , at the end of the rosary I used to wonder a bit at the phrase, 'Mourning and weeping in this valley of tears'. It seemed over the top to me. Was life so hard? It was not too many years later I found out different. I think the life of the Christian in this valley of tears is kind of like that, a dance of joy and sorrow as partners. Even in our greatest joys the tinge of sorrow , even in our greatest sorrows, streams of joy. Yet joy and glory are the victors. But I mistrust so called Christians , especially of the , 'Born again' variety who appear to place a premium on a kind of bouncy, hearty affability and cheer. Rather as if it were a guarantee of the presence of the Spirit. I think the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary give us True Grit, so to speak. If I were a Christian in the Middle East at the moment , for instance it would be the Sorrowful Mysteries that would be my great teacher. ..and consolation. To walk with bloody steps...but in the bloody foot prints of Christ.
Yes, it good to keep this in mind in our moments of suffering, it is is good to to know the we the "poor banished children of Eve" can turn to our Mother and ask her to ship unto us the Blessed Fruit of Her Womb when our exile is over. We are in exile now, but in the end , through the intercession of Mary, and The Lord's Divine Mercy we have the opportunity to be with Them forever. So we have the sorrowful now, but the Glorious is to come. Hope, Trust, Love.
I think sometimes because we suffer so constantly in this life we are no longer conscious of the pain. We become numb to it. For we have nothing better to compare it too.
The Second Sorrowful Mystery. The Scourging at the Pillar. "Then he released to them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him unto them to be crucified." -Matthew 27:26 For some reason I have always tied this Mystery to satisfaction for sins of impurity. I am curious to know if anyone else has felt this? At Fatima Our Lady said that the greater numbers of sinners are dragged to hell by this sin. Our Lady to Saint Jacinta: 'The sins which lead the most souls to hell are sins of the flesh.' It seems to me that this sin is like a very soft bed on which we lie ,very decpetive and the very opposite of what it appears to be. The Scourging at the pillar on the other hand is the very opposite of deceptive it is the ultimate wake up call , which Jesus makes on our behalf. Some people claim that the Church in her teaching is obssessed by sex; but if it is true that most souls go to hell by sins of this nature, then surely like a good mother this is what should concern the Church most?
I think one of the great things this Mystery teaches me is the need for Fasting, Penance and Mortification. Of the need to rise above the self decpetion of sin to the purity of those who see God with a pure heart. An old Passionist priest gave me a beautiful insight into this mystery one time. He talked of the Roman soldiers broed and angry in a hostile country so furstrated they walked about their barracks kicking stones. Kicking stones. So from kicking sones to kicking people. How deliogthed these savage beasts must have been to recieve a real victim to kick about, a JEw, the Lamb of God, Jesus.
"Then he released to them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him unto them to be crucified." -Matthew 27:26 An amazing presentation God The Father sets up here. On one side of Pilate, stood Jesus the Son of God, and on the other, Barabbas. Reflecting on the name Barabbas; Abba means Father and Bar means son, so in in effect, Barabbas means "Son of the Father". An astounding situation: the son of the father standing in opposition to The Son Of The Father. The Jews choose the son of the father of this world, and rejected the Son of the Heavenly Father, preferring a physical kingdom rather than the " My Kingdom is not of this kind " kingdom that Jesus spoke about. Watching Jesus reaction when He was tempted by satan in the desert "I will give you all of this is you bow down and worship me" - Jesus replies " Get behind me satan". Even his own disciples, most notibly Peter at the transfiguration, hint at the earthy kingdom "let us build threes tents, one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah". The trading of Barabbas must have been a terrible torture for Jesus, the public and formal rejection of the spiritual kingdom, and at the second sorrowful mystery, it's something I always remember.
The Third Sorrowful Mystery: The Crowning With Thorns. View attachment 2152 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Crowning_with_Thorns_(Caravaggio) 'Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the praetorium, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe upon him, and plaiting a crown of thorns they put it on his head, and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they spat upon him, and took the reed and struck him on the head.'
O Sacred Head surrounded By crown of piercing thorn! O bleeding Head so wounded, Reviled and put to scorn! Death's pallid hue comes o'er Thee, The glow of life decays, Yet angel hosts adore Thee, And tremble as they gaze. In this, Thy bitter passion, Good shepherd, think of me, With Thy most sweet compassion, Unworthy though I be: Beneath Thy cross abiding, Forever would I rest; In Thy dear love confiding, And with Thy presence blest. Meditation by St. Alphonsus De Liguori Ah, cruel thorns, ungrateful creatures, wherefore do ye torment your Creator thus? But to what purpose asks St. Augustine, dost thou find fault with the thorns? They were but innocent instruments--our sins, our evil thoughts, were the wicked thorns which afflicted the head of Jesus Christ: "What are the thorns but sinners?" Thou, too, therefore, O my soul, didst then inflict torture upon the venerable head of thy Redeemer by thy many consentings to evil: Know thou and behold how grievous and bitter it is for thee to have left the Lord thy God." Open now thine eyes, and see, and bitterly bewail all thy life long the evil that thou hast done in so ungratefully turning thy back upon thy Lord and God. Ah, my Jesus! No, Thou hast not deserved that I should have treated Thee as I have done. I have done evil; I have been in the wrong; I am sorry for it with all my heart. Oh, pardon me, and give me a sorrow which may make me bewail all my life long the wrongs that I have done Thee. My Jesus, my Jesus, pardon me, wishing, as I do, to love Thee forever.
As much as the Crown of Thorns was about pain, I think it was more about mockery. Isn't this where we are today in the Western world? Catholics and other Christians are often mocked for what we believe in. Almost shamed into not standing up. We see this in the laws where we can't even pray in public or most recently where a small town diner in the US gave unexpected discounts to anyone (not to a particular faith) that paused to pray before eating their meal stop because of threatened lawsuits. You even see it in subtle ways from neighbors and friends who raise an eyebrow when you say you are going to Confession or Mass. These are nothing compared to those now in Iraq or Africa that have suffering bloody martyrdom, but nonetheless I see it as a firm of bloodless martyrdom and a chance to atone.
