The Sorrowful Mysteries
ONE
Friday is a day of penance in the Catholic Church. Offering of penance is a reminder to turn our heart toward Christ. From the very earliest days of the Church, Christians would fast on Wednesdays and Fridays. Wednesdays were to recall the betrayal of Christ by Judas. Fridays were to recall the suffering and death of Jesus. In fact, Canon 1251 says that all Fridays, except solemnities, are days of penance and abstinence from meat is to be observed, not just during Lent. In the United States, we can substitute some other form of penance on Fridays, whether it be fasting, prayer, or almsgiving, but we should be doing something. Because Friday is a penitential day, let us reflect more deeply on the sorrowful mysteries.
We begin in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus is praying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.”(Mt. 26:39) He is sweating blood. This is a real medical condition called hematidrosis. It occurs when a person is under such extreme stress, it causes the capillaries to burst, allowing the blood to come out of the pores or hair follicles. It leaves your body tender like a bruise, and hastens dehydration. Knowing the sins of the world, your sins, and the agony he was to face, He still said, “…not as I will, but as You will”. A New Adam, in a new garden, crushing the head of the serpent by His trust in the Father.
TWO
Jesus finds himself before Pilate with the Pharisees asking for his death. Pilate wanting to avoid this, agrees to have Christ scourged. Romans had honed their torture techniques. These scourges would have many pieces of leather with bits of metal and bone at the end. They would not only whip, but tear. From forensic evidence of the Shroud of Turin, there were two men striking Jesus, one slightly taller than the other. They used three different types of scourges, leaving 159 wounds on the front, 239 on His back. By this point, Jesus had not slept, is probably suffering from hypothermia, dehydration, and shock. The Prophet Isaiah speaks of the scourging when he says, “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed.” (Is 53:5).
THREE
The soldiers who had charge of Jesus then made, and placed on his head, a crown of thorns, then wrapped him in a purple robe. They mocked Him. They hit Him. When Pilate presents him to the people, he uses a very peculiar phrase: Behold, the man! Pilate did not know what he was doing, but pointed to the fulfillment of all things. The Hebrew word for “man” is adam. So, when Pilate says this, he is saying behold the adam. As we said previously, Christ is the New Adam, setting right all that went wrong in the first Adam. Behold the New Adam, King of the Universe. But the crowd did not want a king. So often we too do not want Christ to reign. They yell, “Crucify Him!”
FOUR
Christ sets out carrying His cross. It was probably the cross bar portion, which still would’ve weighed upwards of 100lbs. Recall right now the worst you’ve ever felt in your life and imagine picking up a 100+ pound piece of wood and trying to carry it. Imagine how that cross felt against his lacerated skin. Because of the impossibility of the task, they force Simon of Cyrene to assist Jesus. We too, today, are being asked to help Jesus with His cross. The Gospel mentions that Simon is the father of Rufus and Alexander. Why? Because these young men end up becoming prominent saints in the early Church. I can’t help but think the way you and I carry our crosses and assist Jesus by our prayers and sacrifices will have everything to do with whether our children become great saints.
FIVE
A medical doctor describes the crucifixion like this:
As Jesus slowly sagged down with more weight on the nails in the wrists, excruciating, fiery pain shot along the fingers and up the arms to explode in the brain. The nails in the wrists were putting pressure on the median nerve, large nerve trunks which traverse the mid-wrist and hand. As He pushed himself upward to avoid this stretching torment, He placed His full weight on the nail through His feet. Again there was searing agony as the nail tore through the nerves between the metatarsal bones of his feet. At this point, another phenomenon occurred. As the arms fatigued, great waves of cramps swept over the muscles, knotting them in deep relentless, throbbing pain. With these cramps came the inability to push himself upward. Hanging by the arm, the pectoral muscles, the large muscles of the chest, were paralyzed and the intercostal muscles, the small muscles between the ribs, were unable to act. Air could be drawn into the lungs, but could not be exhaled. Jesus fought to raise Himself in order to get even one short breath.
This is why on Fridays we remember the Passion. This is why we offer on Fridays some sacrifice in union with the Cross of Jesus, for the sake of the World.