Sorrowful Mysteries
Rosary for Everyone
Sorrowful Mysteries
We pray the Sorrowful Mysteries of the rosary on Tuesdays and Fridays. You can follow along with paintings, Bible quotes, Catechism of the Catholic Church quotes, prayers in drop-down menus.
The Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary
First Mystery: The Agony in the Garden
FRUIT OF THE MYSTERY: SORROW FOR SIN
BIBLE
LUKE 22: 41-44
Then he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw away, knelt, and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done.” Then an angel from heaven appeared to him and gave him strength. In his anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling on the ground.
CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
God our Father desires that all of humanity be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. His commandment is that “you love one another as I have loved you”. (John 15:12) This commandment summarizes all the others and expresses his entire will. In the prayer of his agony, Jesus consented totally to this will: “not my will, but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42) By this prayer we can discern what is the will of God and obtain the endurance to do it.
PRAYERS
Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.*
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen
*Or: Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
O My Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, and lead all souls to heaven, especially those most in need of Thy mercy.
Second Mystery: The Scourging at the Pillar
FRUIT OF THE MYSTERY: PURITY
BIBLE
JOHN 19:1
Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged.
CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
By embracing in his human heart, the Father’s love for all, Jesus loves us to the end, for “no one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends”. (John 15:13) In suffering and death, his humanity became the free and perfect instrument of his divine love which desires the salvation of all. Out of his love for the Father and for humanity (whom the Father wants to save), Jesus freely accepted his passion and death.
PRAYERS
Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.*
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen
*Or: Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
O My Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, and lead all souls to heaven, especially those most in need of Thy mercy.
Third Mystery: The Crowning with Thorns
FRUIT OF THE MYSTERY: COURAGE
BIBLE
JOHN 19: 2-4
And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they dressed him in a purple robe. They kept coming up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and striking him on the face. Pilate went out again and said to them, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no case against him.”
CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
It was precisely in the Passion when the mercy of Christ was about to vanquish it, that sin most clearly manifested its violence and its many forms: unbelief, murderous hatred, shunning and mockery by the leaders and the people, Pilate’s cowardice and the cruelty of the soldiers, Judas’ betrayal… so bitter to Jesus… Peter’s denial and the disciples’ flight. However, at the very hour of darkness, the hour of the prince of this world, the sacrifice of Christ secretly became the source from which the forgiveness of our sins would pour forth inexhaustibly.
PRAYERS
Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.*
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen
*Or: Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
O My Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, and lead all souls to heaven, especially those most in need of Thy mercy.
Fourth Mystery: Jesus Carries His Cross
FRUIT OF THE MYSTERY: PATIENCE
BIBLE
JOHN 19:17, LUKE 23: 26-27
And carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. As they led him away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming from the country, and they laid the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. A great number of the people followed him, and among them were women who were beating their breasts and wailing for him.
CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
The cross is the unique sacrifice of Christ, the “one mediator between God and humanity.” (1 Timothy 2:5) “Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24). The way of perfection passes by way of the Cross. There is no holiness without renunciation and spiritual battle. All Christians are called to holiness as can clearly be seen in the history of the Church through the lives of so many saints. The all-holy Virgin Mary, who faithfully persevered in her union with her Son unto the cross, is the model and source of our example of holiness.
PRAYERS
Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.*
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen
*Or: Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
O My Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, and lead all souls to heaven, especially those most in need of Thy mercy.
Fifth Mystery: The Crucifixion and Death of Our Lord
FRUIT OF THE MYSTERY: PERSEVERANCE
BIBLE
JOHN 19: 18-19, 28-30
There they crucified him and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them. Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews”. After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (to fulfill the scripture), “I am thirsty”. A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth. When Jesus received the wine, he said, “It is finished”. Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
Jesus’ redemptive death fulfills Isaiah’s prophecy of The Suffering Servant. “He was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises, we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:1-10)
St. Paul professed that “Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures.” (1 Corinthians 15:3) There is not, never has been, and never will be a single human being for whom Christ did not suffer.
PRAYERS
Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.*
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen
*Or: Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
O My Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, and lead all souls to heaven, especially those most in need of Thy mercy.
Click for the Closing Prayers of the Rosary
Click to Share This Post
CREDITS
The LOGO image of Our Lady of Grace is original artwork by Martin Lariviere in 2009. We have the artist’s permission (my son). It is our exclusive trademark logo image.
A beautifully photographed sky by Donald Tong inspired the website’s colour scheme. Cropped portions of it are the background for the footer Bible verse. He shared it as a free download on pexels.com.
The source of the Bible passages is the Catholic Edition of the Revised Standard Version.
The references to CCC (The Catechism of the Catholic Church) are in the 1994 edition. However, there are re-ordered sentences from the various sections and minor edits for easier reading. Please refer to the general sections for the complete, original text.
The fruits of the Rosary Mysteries have many different versions. We chose the ones from Calloway, Donald H., MIC, Champions of the Rosary, Stockbridge MA: Marian Press, 2016.
Our information is from general knowledge, experience, and shared internet sources. We’d like you to use it as a starting point for your research to verify facts and build a reference list.
Art
Heinrich Hofmann painted Christ in Gethsemane in 1886.
Peter Paul Rubens painted The Flagellation of Christ circa 1577-1640.
Carl Heinrich Bloch painted Christ with Thorns circa before 1890.
Raphael painted Christ Falling on the Way to Calvary circa 1516.
Circa 1677, Bartolome Esteban Murillo painted Mount Calvary and Christ Crucified.
Raphael painted The Sistine Madonna circa (1513-1514). We made circular cut-outs from the original image.
IN REVIEW
We pray the Sorrowful Mysteries on Tuesdays and Fridays:
- The Agony in the Garden
- The Scourging at the Pillar
- The Crowning with Thorns
- Jesus Carries His Cross
- The Crucifixion and Death of Our Lord
Find the fruit of the mystery, Bible verse, relevant Catechism of the Catholic Church quotes, and classic paintings.