Meditations on the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary with References to Adam and Eve.

We can start the Rosary by reciting the “Apostles Creed” followed by the “Our Father”, three “Hail Mary’s” and the “Glory Be”.

Click here to see these opening prayers or here to hear them
Click here to hear five Sorrowful mysteries

The 5 Sorrowful Mysteries

The Agony of our Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane Mathew 26;36-46 Feast day; Holy Thursday and Good Friday morning (See also Mark 14; 32-51, Luke 22; 39-53 and John 18; 1- 12)

Garden of desolation instead of the Garden of paradise

Audio of the “Agony of Jesus in the Garden” decade of the Rosary

Jesus goes to Gethsemane (Which means Olive Press) with His 11 disciples to be tempted by Satan and to pray. His soul is “sorrowful unto death”. The deep wound of His betrayal by Judas which was totally unnecessary for our Salvation pierces His soul. His three closest disciples fall asleep and let Him down. Unlike Adam who used his free will to disobey God Jesus always used His free will to obey God even to death on the cross. Perhaps now He is shown all the sins of Mankind from the Fall of Adam to the End of the World because He is going to Atone for them all. Perhaps also He is shown all the sufferings he is going to go through in His Passion and also some idea of the ingratitude of Mankind and the future sufferings and Schisms in the Catholic Church which is His Mystical Body. (See Visions of Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich). Also perhaps He sees some idea of all the people in the future who will reject Him and His Infinite Love. For them all His sufferings will be in vain. Truly then like an Olive that is pressed and crushed His sweat and blood ooze From His Body in large drops as He endures unspeakable anguish. His anguish is caused by those people for who His sufferings will be in vain. Judas who He loved so much comes and betrays Him with a kiss and then the mob sent by the High priests arrest Him and bring Him for interrogation, torture and unbelievable suffering at their hands and by the High priests. So many people do not realise that our “free will” only gives us great eternal power over ourselves. Jesus uses His free will to Obey His Father and this Mystery teaches us the tremendous importance of Obedience to God's Will. Today in the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives opposite the City of Jerusalem there are three 2000 year old Olive trees which must have been there on that night Jesus went in there to pray.

Sal Solo: Take this cup

The Scourging of our Lord at the pillar Mathew 27;26 Feast day; Good Friday morning (See also Mark 15; 15-51, Luke 23; 16 and John 19; 1)

Audio of the “Scourging of Jesus” decade of the Rosary

The Roman Law did not allow the High priests to condemn Jesus to death except for Religious reasons and they are afraid to condemn Him themselves because of His large number of followers so they fabricate false political charges against Him and send Him to Pontius Pilate the Roman Governor to be condemned. Even Pilate can see their malice and the fact that Jesus is Innocent but the Mob gathered by the priests and inspired by them demands the death of Jesus. Pilate gives them the choice of “Jesus” or “Barabbas” but they demand the release of Barabbas who was a notorious criminal. Incredibly the name “Bar-abbas” means “Son of-the Father”. We see that Jesus takes his place so that he and all mankind can become Eternal sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father, and Barabbas is a symbol for each of us. To Jesus Pilate gave the greatest injustice in the history of Mankind and to Barabbas he gave a great act of Mercy. Jesus by receiving this Injustice made incredible Mercy available to each of us. In order to satisfy the bloodthirsty mob Pilate orders that Jesus be scourged at the pillar. Jesus endures this torture of His Sacred Body because all mankind since Adam sin with our bodies. His whole Body, front and back was covered with deep scourge wounds. They scourged Him till He was nearly dead and they were exhausted.

Sal Solo: Crucify Him

The Crowning of our Lord’s Head with Thorns Mathew 27;27-30 Feast day; Good Friday morning (See also Mark 15; 16-17, Luke 23; 16 and John 19; 2-3)

Audio of the “Jesus is crowned with thorns” decade of the Rosary

The Roman Soldiers untie Jesus from the pillar, dress Him in a purple rag and wrap a terrible Crown of Thorns around His Head. They seat Him on a mock Throne and a whole cohort of soldiers insult and mock Him. They torture His crowned Head with blows of the Reed. “Hail king of the Jews” they say kneeling in mockery to the King of Heaven and Earth. After Adam sinned God told him that the ground would produce “Thorns” because of him so Jesus who is the King of Mercy accepted to suffer this crown of thorns on his head for the sake of Adam and all Mankind. Jesus told someone that His enemies crowned His Head with Thorns but His friends crowned His Heart. The thorns around His Heart which is Burning with Love for us are worse because they are the Suffering He feels when we sin or when we refuse to believe He Loves us or when we are ungrateful for what He has done for us.

Sal Solo: Tell me Who

The Carrying of the Cross to Calvary Mathew 27;31-34 Feast day; Good Friday (See also Mark 15; 20-23, Luke 23; 26- 32 and John 19; 16- 17)

Audio of “Jesus carries the Cross to Calvary” decade of the Rosary

Pilate now presents Jesus to the mob saying “Behold the Man”, but Jesus is barely recogniseable as even human. Pilate hopes they will have pity on Jesus on seeing His terrible sufferings but they cry loudly “Crucify Him Crucify Him”. Pilate argues with the Mob more but when they threaten to report him to Caesar he then hands Jesus over to them to be crucified on the Cross. Jesus now has to carry the dead wood Cross which resembles a tree to the lifeless stone Hill of Calvary where it is planted in the barren rock for Him the Lord of Life to be crucified on in order to give Eternal Life to the World. The name Calvary means “Place of the Skull” and Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich said that in her visions the Hill resembled a large skull and also that the skull of Adam was buried deep below the surface of the Earth there. In carrying the burden of this Cross to Calvary Jesus was carrying the sins of all mankind. His Cross is the New Tree of Life for Mankind. As Adam was exiled away from the Tree of Life in Paradise to Earth, which is the place of death for all mankind, so Jesus had to carry the new Tree of Life, which is His Cross to the Place of His death Calvary. Adam was removed from the Tree of Life but the New Adam brought the Tree of Life back to Mankind. Jesus falls several times on His journey because we fall into sin so many times on our journey through life. Mary the New Eve meets Him along the way and helps and supports Him with her Love.

Sal Solo: Don’t cry for Me

The Crucifixion of our Lord on the Cross Mathew 27;35- 56 Feast day; Good Friday morning (See also Mark 15; 24- 41, Luke 23; 33- 49 and John 19; 18- 30)

A) The day of Jesus the New Adam’s greatest temptation

Audio of “Jesus is crucified” decade of the Rosary

In the story of Adam and Eve there were two trees mentioned, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and the Tree of Eternal Life. They were both tempted to take down God’s fruit of knowledge from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and Eve did give in to the temptation and she then tempted Adam to take the forbidden fruit of knowledge from the tree also. That caused the fall of mankind and then they were not allowed to eat the fruit of eternal life from the Tree of Life and they were both expelled from the garden. Jesus is the New Adam and when we look at Jesus on the Cross on Calvary we can see the new Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil because in it we can see God’s Goodness and human evil, we also can see the Tree of Eternal life because by His death on the Cross Jesus bought our eternal life. Jesus made the Cross on Calvary into two Trees in One, the Tree of Knowledge and the Tree of Life.

Another word for, “Fruit” is, “Son” and in the doctrine of the Trinity the Son of God is the Father’s eternal divine Fruit of Knowledge. As we know apples hang on apple trees, and so Jesus on the Cross is not just the Tree of Knowledge in appearance but also in the sense that Jesus who is the Father’s divine Fruit of Knowledge was nailed to the Tree of Knowledge on Calvary. In the story of Adam and Eve they were tempted by selfish love but Jesus the New Adam and Mary the New Eve were most likely tempted by unselfish love to try and take down God’s Fruit of Knowledge from the Tree. They were tempted to end other people’s suffering not their own.

Eve physically took the fruit that did not belong to her down from the Tree and gave it to Adam, Mary by her consent to the incarnation of the Son of God in her womb and to His sacrifice allowed Him to be put on the Tree of the Cross for all Mankind.

Eve disobeyed God and took the fruit from the tree and ate it and then gave some to Adam, Mary obeyed God and received Jesus the Eternal Fruit into her womb and that allowed Jesus that divine Fruit to be put on the New Tree of the Cross on Calvary. Eve stood beneath the tree in the Garden of Eden and was tempted to remove and did remove God’s fruit which did not belong to her. Mary stood beneath the Cross and must have been more tempted to try and take down Jesus who is God’s Eternal and divine Fruit of Knowledge from the Cross. Jesus was also Mary’s Fruit, but she did not try to remove Him and instead she offered Him back to the Father on our behalf. Beneath the tree Eve took fruit that did not belong to her and gave it to Adam and beneath the Cross the Virgin Mary lost the Fruit that did belong to her and received from Jesus fruit that did not belong to her in the person of John and therefore all mankind. Jesus said to Mary “Woman behold your son” and by calling her “Woman” He is showing that she is the New sinless Eve who received all the sinful fruit (children) of the first Eve to look after. At the Annunciation Mary became the Mother of Christ the Head of the Church and at the foot of the Cross Jesus shows us that she is the Mother of His Mystical Body the Church. Jesus is the Eternal Fruit who became her Fruit. Mary is the only person beneath the Cross who knew what Jesus was doing by dying on the cross. She must have known that He was dying for us because Joseph was told “He will save His people from their sins”. There are three Marys at the foot of the Cross(John 19:25), there is the great sinner Mary Magdalen, Mary the mother of Clopas and there is the Sinless Virgin Mary. Mary Magdalen symbolises the first Eve after the “fall” and the Virgin Mary is a copy of the first Eve before the “fall”.

Sal Solo: In Paradise

B) Jesus our Head

Audio of “Jesus is crucified” decade of the Rosary

As we have said already Jesus and Mary are the New Adam and New Eve and on Calvary on the Sixth day of the week (See Mark 15; 42) Jesus shows us again that He is the New Adam sent to redeem the human race and He is helped and supported by Mary the New Eve. Frank Duff who founded the Legion of Mary pointed out that if Adam had refused the fruit offered to him by Eve the Human race would not have fallen because Adam was the head of the Human race and also it was he who was told directly by God not to eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge whereas Eve did not exist till later and must have been told the command of God by Adam afterwards. God gave Eve to Adam and so he was responsible for her because He was made the Head of Mankind. So Eve could not have caused the “Fall” and Mary could not cause the “Redemption”, only Adam could cause the “Fall” and only Jesus could redeem us. Jesus is Mankind’s Hero and He is the Eternal Fruit who was nailed to the Cross and the Cross itself is the new “Tree of (Eternal) Life. We see that Jesus by dying on the Cross for us on the “sixth day” is showing us that He is the New Adam. The God-man dies to make men “Gods”.

Sal Solo: In Paradise

C) Mercy for Injustice

Audio of “Jesus is crucified” decade of the Rosary

Jesus cries out “It is finished” His sufferings as Head of the Church are over. (We still suffer because we need to be sanctified in order to enter the presence of God after we die. He has earned Eternal Life and redemption for each of us, which we could never do ourselves. We can do nothing to “Deserve” anything from God; everything we receive from Him is “Undeserved” and so is an act of His incredible Mercy. On the Cross Jesus felt Rejection from the Jews, Rejection from His Apostles and Disciples and now He consents to feel Rejection from His Heavenly Father for our sake when He cries out “My God my God, why have You forsaken me?” When we sin we are actually rejecting God, so in order to satisfy Divine Justice or Fairness the Hero who would redeem us would also have to suffer rejection by God and this is what Jesus did suffer on the Cross. If God totally rejected any other Human being they would no longer exist, only God could atone to Divine Justice for our sins or else God would have had to destroy all mankind! But God is Love. By His death on the Cross Jesus makes Calvary the New Garden of Eternal Life for all Humanity. Jesus the New Adam was condemned to death on the Cross by Pilate around the sixth hour on the sixth day of the week. That would have been about 12 Midday (See John 19; 14). The Mob prefers the kingdom of Caesar and the World or Satan to the Kingdom of God. The tree of Knowledge became the tree of death for Adam and Eve but the Cross of Jesus became His tree of death but it is our Tree of Life and it allows us to become members of the New Eve His Spouse the Church.

Sal Solo: In Paradise

The Concluding prayers

We conclude these five Decades of the Rosary by saying the “Hail Holy Queen” prayer and the short concluding prayer.

Audio of Concluding prayers

Hail Holy Queen

Hail Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, Hail our life , our sweetness and our Hope. To thee do we cry poor banished children of Eve, to thee do we send up our sighs mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then most gracious advocate your eyes of mercy towards us and after this our Exile show to us the Blessed Fruit of thy womb; Jesus. Oh clement, Oh loving, Oh sweet Virgin Mary, pray for us O Holy Mother of God that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ

Let us pray;

O God whose only begotten Son by His Life, Death and Resurrection has purchased for us the Reward of Eternal Life, Grant we beseech you that meditating on these Mysteries of the most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary we Imitate what they contain and Obtain what they promise through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Hail Holy Queen prayer is a very appropriate prayer to say at the end of the Rosary because it seems to address Mary in the sense of the New Eve. Then in the concluding prayer we pray that we may be made worthy of the promise of Eternal Life by the “life, death and resurrection” of Jesus Christ our Saviour.

The Opening prayers of the Rosary.

The Sign of the Cross

We begin and end these prayers by making the sign of the Cross with our right hand on ourselves from our forehead to our belly button and from left shoulder to right shoulder while saying “In the name of the Father (touch forehead) and of the Son (touch belly button) and of the Holy (touch left shoulder) Spirit (touch right shoulder) Amen.” We then usually say the “Apostles Creed” followed by the “Our Father”, three “Hail mary’s” and the “Glory be”. We can then begin the Joyful, Light, Sorrowful, or Glorious Mysteries. Each group of Mysteries takes about fifteen to twenty minutes to recite.

The Apostles Creed

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
Creator of Heaven and Earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
He descended into hell;
on the third day He rose again, from the dead;
He ascended into Heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;
from there He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Holy Catholic Church,
the communion of Saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the Resurrection of the body
and Life Everlasting. Amen.

The Our Father

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. Amen

The Hail Mary

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.

There may be a Trinity aspect to the Hail Mary prayer because the first three lines of the Hail Mary were addressed to Mary by the Archangel Gabriel who was sent by the Father in Heaven, the second two lines were said by Elizabeth who was inspired by the Holy Spirit and the last four lines were inspired by the Church which although sinful is called to be the Mystical body of Jesus Christ.

The Glory be

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.

Short prayer Our Lady at Fatima in 1917 asked to be said after each Decade of the Rosary

Oh my Jesus,
Forgive us our sins,
Save us from the fires of hell,
and lead all souls to Heaven,
especially those who are in most need of your Mercy. Amen.

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