The Third Sorrowful Mystery // The Crowning with Thorns
Fruit of the Mystery // Moral Courage
Reflect
In the previous Mystery, we reflected on the purity of Our Lord and Our Lady's intention: their singleheartedness. In the Crowning with Thorns we see the truth: “He was tested as we are in every way but did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15).
It can take heroic courage to be a Catholic in today’s world. It would be much easier to “go along to get along” and say, “your truth is your truth and mine is mine.”
But pure love seeks pure truth.
Each time we are mocked or persecuted, we can also experience that "love is stronger than death" (Song of Songs 8:6) because the Lord gives us peace and joy that the world cannot know (see John 14:27).
Imagine how strange it would be for a random person to approach a genius and Master of Science, philosophy, music, theology, history, or any other area and begin lecturing them precisely on their area of specialization. Imagine Jesus, King of the Universe, with a crown of three-inch thorns pressed into His Sacred Head. Imagine His mangled body, mockingly draped in a purple cloth. Imagine what interior strength, what moral courage He had standing before the worldly leaders who humiliated Him in front of the deriding mob. Jesus appeared to be a weak fool, though He, in perfect union with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, remained and will forever be the Glorious King of the Universe.
Imagine also how Our Lady must have prayed as she looked at her Son and Messiah. She would have had the perfect grace of "the sanctification of the mind" (Blessed James Alberione) that enabled her to have confidence and strength to persevere with courage.
Let Us Pray
Lord, meditating on the scourging You endured on our behalf compels us to abandon our hearts to the purification of Your Holy Spirit. May we never be afraid of mortification, knowing that You are ever-present in the moments we feel stripped or despised. Amen.
For Discussion
Consider how Jesus accepted mockery. What are some ways you can grow in humility before others?
What are some ways you can familiarize yourself with the life of Christ in order to learn God’s way of thinking? How can you seek “sanctification of the mind” and, as the Lord wore a crown of thorns, allow your mind to be made more and more pure?
Praying the Rosary
Throughout the Prayer Pledge and beyond, we really encourage you to pray the Rosary! Since we will be looking at the fruits of the Mysteries of the Rosary, it only makes sense to actually pray it!
Here is a guide on how to pray the Rosary.
I like this podcast and this podcast for praying the Rosary.
Hallow also has a marvelous Rosary meditation.
And if you want to go even deeper in to the Rosary, check out Mystery!
By Their Fruits: The 2021 Prayer Pledge // Day 20 #BISblog #prayerpledge //Click to tweet
Maria Kim-Ngân Bùi, after twenty years in religious life, is discerning a call to found a community of consecrated religious women dedicated to Our Lady and who will pray reparation for sins against the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, pray for conversions, and work for the evangelization of those who have left the Church or feel furthest from the Church.
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