1. The Agony in the Garden - Jesus’ Prayer of Faith and Trust
Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane ... He took along Peter and two sons of Zebedee and ... said to them: “... Remain here and keep watch with me.” He advanced a little and [prayed]: “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet, not as I will, but as you will.” (Mt. 26: 36-46)
Meditation (Leader)
Jesus, knowing well that his hour of suffering had come, went to the Garden of Gethsemane, sorrowful and distressed. He felt that the cup of suffering destined for him by his Father was too much to bear. He felt lonely and alone; so he asked Peter, James and John to keep awake and pray with him; but they could not help Jesus. He was tempted to run away from suffering, but in obedience to his Father’s will, placed his suffering before his Father in faith and trust. Since Jesus believed in his Father’s unconditional love, he approached God without doubt or fear. This prayer of faith and trust enabled Jesus to experience the loving presence of his Father, and filled him with the courage and strength to accept God’s plan for him. St. Vincent Pallotti believed in God’s promises and approached God in faith and trust. With this conviction, St. Vincent was never alone - God was always with him. (OOCC, X, p. 360).
How do I confront moments of agony and pain?
Do I accuse or blame others or God for my sufferings?
Do I, like Jesus, take my sufferings to God in prayer of faith and trust?
Do I live with the conviction that God is with me in all my struggles?
(Pray the Decade of the Rosary)
Prayer (All)
Almighty and ever living God, you always listen to our prayers. Jesus has shown us the power of prayer offered to you in faith and trust. Give us the grace to believe that your loving presence is always with us and that we only need to raise our hearts and minds to you in faith and trust to experience your assistance. Mary, our Mother, intercede for us that we may have recourse to prayer in our needs. Amen.
2. The Scourging at the Pillar - Jesus’ Acceptance of His Situation
The chief priests, the elders and the scribes held a council, after which they bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate, who to satisfy the crowd, had Jesus scourged and handed him over to be crucified. (Mk. 15:1-16)
Meditation (Leader)
After the arrest of Jesus, the whole Sanhedrin held a meeting and decided to hand over Jesus to the political leadership so that they could press for his crucifixion. They bound Jesus and brought him to Pilate. Having questioned Jesus and finding no punishable offense in him, Pilate tried to release Jesus by offering the crowd the choice between Barabbas and Jesus. Instigated by the Jewish leadership, the crowd asked that Barabbas be released and Jesus be crucified. To please the crowd, Pilate had Jesus scourged at the pillar and then handed him over to be crucified. Believing that Pilate’s judgment was part of God’s plan for him, Jesus accepted his situation. He knew that nothing could alter Pilate’s judgment against him and the consequent suffering he had to undergo. Counting on his Father’s help, Jesus knew he must live through his passion and death. Like Jesus, St. Vincent Pallotti believed that we must not worry about the unalterable situations of our lives. They must be accepted in imitation of Jesus, believing in God’s love for us and hoping in God’s power (OOCC, XIII, pp. 201-202).
Do I have the courage to accept the situation in which I find myself?
Am I anxious and worried about my present situation?
Do I see my present situation as part of God’s plan for me?
How do I cope with the unalterable situations of our lives?
(Pray the Decade of the Rosary)
Prayer (All)
God, ever loving and true, in your Providence you allowed Jesus, your Son, to be brought before judgment, scourged, and condemned to be crucified. Jesus accepted these unalterable situations of his life and lived through them with perseverance and courage. Through the intercession of Mary, our Mother, give us the inner strength to accept every situation you send us in our lives and live them with forgiveness and resignation. Amen.
3. The Crowning with Thorns - Jesus’ Patient Endurance
Having stripped off his clothes and making him wear a scarlet military cloak, they placed a crown of thorns on his head and a reed in his right hand ... they mocked him, saying: “Hail, King of the Jews!” They spat upon him and took the reed and kept striking him on the head. (Mt. 27:27-31)
Meditation (Leader)
When Pilate handed Jesus over to his soldiers to be crucified, they took him inside the praetorium. They made Jesus wear a red military cloak, placed a crown of thorns on his head and gave him a reed in his right hand and mocked him. They spat on Jesus and inflicted all forms of physical violence and mental torment on him. Jesus patiently and silently endured the physical pain and mental agony, while his Sacred Heart was filled with love and forgiveness for the very persons who were inflicting these torments on him. Reflecting on Jesus’ patient endurance during his passion, St. Vincent Pallotti says: “In suffering conform yourself to ... the sacred humanity of the Redeemer. Love with the love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Imitate the silence Jesus observed in his passion.” (OCL, I, 253, p. 364) According to St. Vincent, conforming ourselves to Jesus’ suffering, loving with the sacrificial love of Jesus symbolized by his Sacred Heart, and maintaining attitudes of patience and silence towards those who trouble us in imitation of Jesus are true means of a joyful, peaceful and tranquil Christian life.
How do I deal with situations of insults, mockery, and mental torment?
Do I draw inspiration from the sufferings of Jesus in difficult moments in my life?
Am I ready to love with the sacrificial love of Jesus those persons who hurt me?
Do I maintain attitudes of silence and patience towards my oppressor?
(Pray the Decade of the Rosary)
Prayer (All)
Lord God, in the life of Jesus your Son, you have shown us the way to face physical pain, insults, mockery and mental torment. Jesus’ patient endurance during his passion and his forgiving attitude towards the persons who inflicted torments on him must guide us to face similar situations in our lives. Through the intercession of Mary, our Mother, grant us the grace of patient endurance in moments of our suffering. Amen.
4. The Carrying of the Cross - Jesus’ Perseverance
Since Jesus was weak and unable to carry His cross to Golgotha alone, they forced Simon, the Cyrenian, to help him carry the cross. (Mk. 15: 21-22)
Meditation (Leader)
The physical torments and mental agony Jesus experienced so far were only a prelude to his actual journey towards Calvary. Though exhausted and weak, Jesus had to carry his cross and walk to Golgotha, the place of his crucifixion and death. Considering his weak physical condition, the soldiers forced Simon, the Cyrenian, to help Jesus carry his cross. On the way, Jesus fell three times under the weight of the wooden cross due to extreme fatigue. Yet, Jesus did not give up, but persevered in his determination to accomplish his Father’s will. Inspired by Jesus’ perseverance on his way to Calvary St. Vincent Pallotti says: “For the love of our Lord Jesus Christ, we must persevere until death to live lovingly the perfect observance of being nailed to the mystical cross and ... [live our] life though humble, poor, difficult and demanding.” (OOCC, III, p. 81) According to St. Vincent, people should not allow themselves to get tired of the troubles of life and run away from them; instead they must look up to Jesus, who persevered until death, drew inspiration and strength from his example, and persevered in accomplishing God’s plan in our lives despite sufferings and hardships.
Do I understand the physical torments and mental agony of Jesus during his passion?
Do I appreciate and draw inspiration from Jesus’ perseverance?
Do I allow the troubles of my life to weigh down on me or run away from them?
Do I persevere and remain faithful to my vocation particularly in moments of difficulties?
(Pray the Decade of the Rosary)
Prayer (All)
God, our Creator, you gave your Son the courage and determination to persevere on his journey to Calvary and accomplish your will with great joy. May we learn from his example of perseverance not to shrink from the crosses we are called to carry in our daily lives. Mary, Mother of Sorrows, through your intercession, may God grant us the grace never to run away from the demands of our Christian lives, but to embrace the hardships of our lives and make them redemptive in imitation of Jesus. Amen.
5. The Crucifixion and Death - Jesus’ Self-Surrender
When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him and the criminals there, one on his right, the other on his left ... Jesus cried out in a loud voice: “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit”; and when he had said this he breathed his last. (Lk. 23:33-49)
Meditation (Leader)
Jesus’ journey of carrying his cross came to an end as he arrived at Golgotha, the place of his crucifixion and death. The soldiers crucified Jesus and the other two criminals, hanging on either side of his cross. Hanging on the cross, Jesus forgave everyone involved in his death; he helped the criminal on the right to die peacefully assuring him a place in his Kingdom; he gave the care of his mother to John the Apostle and through John, she becomes our mother also. Though in a moment of desperation he complained of being ignored by all including his Father, Jesus expressed his satisfaction of accomplishing the will of his Father and finally surrendered his spirit and breathed his last. Reflecting on the Calvary scene of Jesus’ self-surrender, St. Vincent Pallotti said that a true Christian should not mourn over Jesus’ death, but should live the attitudes he expressed before he died on a daily basis. He often prayed that Jesus would give him the grace to make a surrender of his life every day with the very same attitudes with which Jesus lived out his death (OOCC, X, p. 419).
What does the Calvary scene of Jesus’ self-surrender mean to me?
Like Jesus, do I live my life in self-surrender to God?
Do I understand the attitudes with which Jesus made his self-surrender?
Which of these attitudes do I need to acquire to make the surrender of my life to God?
(Pray the Decade of the Rosary)
Prayer (All)
O Lord, God of all consolations, in the crucifixion and death of Jesus, your Son, we find the marvelous example of self-surrender in accomplishing your will. Grant us the grace to re-live the self-surrender of Jesus in our lives, particularly by imitating the attitudes Jesus manifested from the cross. Mary, our Mother, make our hearts like that of Jesus, so that we may be forgiving, compassionate, generous, grateful and surrendering as Jesus was in his life. Amen.
HAIL HOLY QUEEN
All: Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us, and after this our exile show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.
Leader: Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
All: That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ
Leader: Let us pray.
All: O God, whose only begotten Son, by his life, death and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal salvation; grant, we beseech thee, that meditating on the mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may both imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise. Through the same Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Leader: May the Divine Assistance remain always with us.
All: Amen. And may the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen
“True devotion to Mary, consists in imitating her Son and learning from her how to imitate Him”
—Saint Vincent
LITANY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY – LITANY OF LORETO
The Litany of Loreto was originally approved in 1587 by Pope Sixtus V.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God, the Father of heaven,
Have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
Have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit,
Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God.
Have mercy on us.
Response for the following: Pray for us.
Holy Mary
Holy Mother of God
Holy Virgin of virgins
Mother of Christ
Mother of the Church
Mother of divine grace
Mother most pure
Mother most chaste
Mother inviolate
Mother undefiled
Mother most amiable
Mother most admirable
Mother of good counsel
Mother of our Creator
Mother of our Savior
Virgin most prudent
Virgin most venerable
Virgin most renowned
Virgin most powerful
Virgin most merciful
Virgin most faithful
Mirror of justice
Seat of wisdom
Cause of our joy
Spiritual vessel
Vessel of honor
Singular vessel of devotion
Mystical rose
Tower of David
Tower of ivory
House of gold
Ark of the covenant
Gate of heaven
Morning star
Health of the sick
Refuge of sinners
Comforter of the afflicted
Help of Christians
Queen of angels
Queen of patriarchs
Queen of prophets
Queen of apostles
Queen of martyrs
Queen of confessors
Queen of virgins
Queen of all saints
Queen conceived without original sin
Queen assumed into heaven
Queen of the most holy
Rosary Queen of families
Queen of peace
Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world;
Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world;
Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world;
Have mercy on us.
V. Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray:
Grant, we beg you, O Lord God, that we your servants
may enjoy lasting health of mind and body, and by the glorious intercession
of the Blessed Mary, ever Virgin, be delivered from present sorrow
and enter into the joy of eternal happiness. Through Christ our Lord.
R. Amen.
During Advent
Let us pray.
O God, you willed that, at the message of an angel, your word should take flesh
in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary; grant to your suppliant people,
that we, who believe her to be truly the Mother of God, may be helped by her
intercession with you.
Through the same Christ our Lord.
R. Amen.
From Christmas to the Purification
Let us pray.
O God, by the fruitful virginity of Blessed Mary, you bestowed upon the human race
the rewards of eternal salvation; grant, we beg you,
that we may feel the power of her intercession, through whom we have been made
worthy to receive the Author of life, our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,
who lives and reigns with you forever and ever.
R. Amen.
During Paschaltime
Let us pray.
O God, who by the Resurrection of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,
granted joy to the whole world, grant, we beg you,
that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, his Mother, we may attain the joys of
eternal life.
Through the same Christ our Lord.
R. Amen.