Newman Meditations: The Sorrowful Mysteries

The Sorrowful Mysteries

Faith Magazine

September/ October 2019

These meditations have been compiled by a Sister of St Cecilia’s Abbey, Ryde, Isle of Wight.

1. The Agony in the Garden (The Dream of Gerontius, Angel of the Agony)

Jesu! by that shuddering dread which fell on Thee;

Jesu! by that cold dismay which sickened Thee;

Jesu! by that pang of heart which thrilled in Thee;

Jesu! by that mount of sins which crippled Thee;

Jesu! by that sense of guilt which stifled Thee;

Jesu! By that innocence which girdled Thee;

Jesu! by that sanctity which reigned in Thee;

Jesu! by that Godhead which was one with Thee;

Jesu! spare these souls which are so dear to Thee.

2. The Scourging at the Pillar (PS iii, 11, 148)

Pain, which by nature leads us only to ourselves, carries on the Christian mind from the thought of self to the contemplation of Christ, His passion, His merits, and His pattern; and thence, further to that united company of sufferers who follow Him and “are what He is in this world.” He is the great Object of our faith; and while we gaze up on Him, we learn to forget ourselves.

3. The Crowning with Thorns (Meditations: the Power of the Cross)

Let me bear pain, reproach, disappointment, slander, anxiety, suspense, as Thou wouldest have me, O my Jesu, and as Thou by Thy own suffering hast taught me, when it comes. ...I wish to bear insult meekly, and to return good for evil. I wish to humble myself in all things, and to be silent when I am ill-used, and to be patient when sorrow or pain is prolonged, and all for the love of Thee, and Thy Cross, knowing that in this way I shall gain the promise both of this life and of the next.

4. The Carrying of the Cross (PS iii, 11, 154)

Could we see the Cross upon Calvary, and the list of sufferers who resisted unto blood in the times that followed it, is it possible that we should feel surprise when pain overtook us, or impatience at its continuance? Is it strange though we are smitten by ever so new a plague? Is it grievous that the Cross presses on one nerve or limb ever so many years till the hope of relief is gone? Is it, indeed, not possible with the Apostle to rejoice in bearing in our body the marks of the Lord Jesus?

5. The Crucifixion (PS vii, 10, 145)

Let us prepare to meet our God; let us come into His Presence whenever we can ... fancy you see Jesus Christ on the cross, and say to Him with the penitent thief, Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom; that is, ‘Remember me, Lord, in mercy, remember not my sins, but Thine own cross; remember Thine own sufferings, remember that Thou sufferedst for me, a sinner; remember in the last day that I, during my lifetime, felt Thy sufferings, that I suffered on my cross by Thy side. Remember me then, and make me remember Thee now.’