Introduction

We turn to the Lord, who knows our suffering and longs to give us his comfort and peace. Yet it was our infirmities that he bore,
our sufferings that he endured.
Isaiah 53:4a

Apostles’ Creed

While we thought of him as stricken,
as one smitten by God and afflicted.
Isaiah 53:4b

Our Father…

Because God did not make death,
nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living.
Wisdom 1:13

Hail Mary …

For he fashioned all things that they might have being;
and the creatures of the world are wholesome,
Wisdom 1:14a

Hail Mary …

And there is not a destructive drug among them
nor any domain of the nether world on earth,
Wisdom 1:14b

Hail Mary …

For justice is undying.
Wisdom 1:15

Glory Be…

First Sorrowful Mystery: The Agony in the Garden

Then going out [Jesus] went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him.
Luke 22:39

Our Father…

When he arrived at the place he said to them, “Pray that you may not undergo the test.”
Luke 22:40

Hail Mary …

After withdrawing about a stone’s throw from them and kneeling, he prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done.”
Luke 22:41-42

Hail Mary …

And to strengthen him an angel from heaven appeared to him.
Luke 22:43

Hail Mary …

He was in such agony and he prayed so fervently that his sweat became like drops of blood falling on the ground.
Luke 22:44

Hail Mary …

The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Matthew 26:41b

Hail Mary …

I cry aloud to God,
cry to God to hear me.
Psalm 77:2

Hail Mary …

On the day of my distress I seek the Lord;
by night my hands are raised unceasingly;
I refuse to be consoled.
Psalm 77:3

Hail Mary …

My eyes cannot close in sleep;
I am troubled and cannot speak.
Psalm 77:5

Hail Mary …

In the night I meditate in my heart;
I ponder and my spirit broods:
Psalm 77:7bc

Hail Mary …

Has God’s love ceased forever?
Has the promise failed for all ages?
Psalm 77:9

Hail Mary …

Has God forgotten mercy,
in anger withheld compassion?
Psalm 77:10

Glory Be…
Second Sorrowful Mystery: The Scourging at the Pillar
Pilate addressed them a third time, “What evil has this man done? I found him guilty of no capital crime.”
Luke 23:22a

Our Father…

“Therefore I shall have him flogged and then release him.”
Luke 23:22b

Hail Mary …

With loud shouts, however, they persisted in calling for his crucifixion, and their voices prevailed.
Luke 23:23

Hail Mary …

The verdict of Pilate was that their demand should be granted.
Luke 23:24

Hail Mary …

Then Pilate took Jesus and had him scourged.
John 19:1

Hail Mary …

So he released the man who had been imprisoned for rebellion and murder, for whom they asked, and he handed Jesus over to them to deal with as they wished.
Luke 23:25

Hail Mary …

How lonely she is now,
the once crowded city!
Lamentations 1:1a

Hail Mary …

Widowed is she
who was mistress over nations.
Lamentations 1:1b

Hail Mary …

The princess among the provinces
has been made a toiling slave.
Lamentations 1:1c

Hail Mary …

Bitterly she weeps at night,
tears upon her cheeks.
Lamentations 1:2a

Hail Mary …

With not one to console her
of all her dear ones.
Lamentations 1:2b

Hail Mary …

Her friends have all betrayed her
and become her enemies.
Lamentations 1:2c

Glory Be…

Third Sorrowful Mystery: The Crowning with Thorns

Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus inside the praetorium and gathered the whole cohort around him.
Matthew 27:27

Our Father…

They stripped off his clothes and threw a scarlet military cloak about him.
Matthew 27:28

Hail Mary …

Weaving a crown out of thorns, they placed it on his head, and a reed in his right hand.
Matthew 27:29a

Hail Mary …

And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
Matthew 27:29b

Hail Mary …

They spat upon him and took the reed and kept striking him on the head.
Matthew 27:30

Hail Mary …

And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the cloak, dressed him in his own clothes, and led him off to crucify him.
Matthew 27:31

Hail Mary …

Lord, my God, I call out by day;
at night I cry aloud in your presence.
Psalm 88:2

Hail Mary …

You plunged me into the bottom of the pit,
into the darkness of the abyss.
Psalm 88:7

Hail Mary …

All day I call on you, Lord;
I stretch out my hands to you.
Psalm 88:10bc

Hail Mary …

Why do you reject me, Lord?
Why hide your face from me?
Psalm 88:15

Hail Mary …

All the day they surge round like a flood;
from every side they close in on me.
Psalm 88:18

Hail Mary …

Because of you companions shun me;
my only friend is darkness.
Psalm 88:19

Glory Be…

Fourth Sorrowful Mystery: The Carrying of the Cross

As they led [Jesus] away they took hold of a certain Simon, a Cyrenian, who was coming in from the country; and after laying the cross on him, they made him carry it behind Jesus.
Luke 23:26

Our Father…

A large crowd of people followed Jesus, including many women who mourned and lamented him.
Luke 23:27

Hail Mary …

Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep instead for yourselves and for your children.
Luke 23:28

Hail Mary …

“The days are coming when people will say, �Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed.'”

Luke 23: 29

Hail Mary …

“At that time people will say to the mountains, �Fall upon us!’ and to the hills, �Cover us!'”
Luke 23:30

Hail Mary …

“For if these things are done when the wood is green what will happen when it is dry?”
Luke 23:31

Hail Mary …

[Jesus said,] “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.”
Mark 8:34

Hail Mary …

This, rather, is the fasting that I wish:
releasing those bound unjustly,
untying the thongs of the yoke;
Setting free the oppressed,
breaking every yoke.
Isaiah 58:6

Hail Mary …

Sharing your bread with the hungry,
sheltering the oppressed and the homeless.
Isaiah 58:7ab

Hail Mary …

Clothing the naked when you see them,
and not turning your back on your own.
Isaiah 58:7cd

Hail Mary …

Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your wound shall quickly be healed.
Isaiah 58:8ab

Hail Mary …

Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer,
you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!
Isaiah 58:9ab

Glory Be…

Fifth Sorrowful Mystery: The Crucifixion

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.
Luke 23:33

Our Father…

Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”
Luke 23:34

Hail Mary …

“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
Luke 23:42

Hail Mary …

And about three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Matthew 27:46

Hail Mary …

Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”
Luke 23:46

Hail Mary …

And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.
John 19:30b

Hail Mary …

Do not hide your face from me;
do not repel your servant in anger.
You are my help; do not cast me off;
do not forsake me, God my savior!
Psalm 27:9

Hail Mary …

But I believe I shall enjoy the Lord’s goodness
in the land of the living.
Psalm 27:13

Hail Mary …

Wait for the Lord, take courage;
be stouthearted, wait for the Lord!
Psalm 27:14

Hail Mary …

But the souls of the just are in the hand of God,
and no torment shall touch them.
Wisdom 3:1

Hail Mary …

They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead;
and their passing away was thought an affliction.
Wisdom 3:2

Hail Mary …

But they are in peace.
Wisdom 3:3b

Glory Be…

Conclusion

“Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life.”
John 12:24-25

Hail, Holy Queen

Excerpts from the New American Bible with Revised New Testament and Psalms © 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced by any means without permission in writing from the copyright owner.