The Seven Day Bible Rosary - The Passion and Death

The first mystery of the Passion and Death of Our Lord

Jesus accepts his suffering in the garden of Gethsemani

Three times Jesus prayed about the possibility of not suffering;
three times He concluded, "Not my will but thine be done."
We do not understand the mystery of suffering; we do not understand why our salvation had to come through suffering. But one thing we know: Jesus accepted his suffering to be faithful to his Father. On the other hand, the refusal to accept difficulties and even suffering is the cause of much sin.

The lesson is obvious. Jesus accepted suffering; so must his disciples.

We pray to accept whatever is necessary to be faithful to God's will.

Our Father
1. Jesus went with his disciples to Gethsemani and told them, "Sit here while I go yonder and pray."
Hail Mary
2. He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with Him, and He became sad and very troubled.
Hail Mary
3. He told them: "My soul is sorrowful, even unto death. Wait here and stay awake with Me."
Hail Mary
4. And He withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed.
Hail Mary
5. "Father, if thou art willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will, but thine, be done."
Hail Mary
6. And there appeared to Him an angel from heaven to strengthen Him.
Hail Mary
7. And being in an agony He prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down upon the ground.
Hail Mary
8. Then He came back to the disciples and found them sleeping, and He said to Peter, "Could you not watch one hour with me?"
Hail Mary
9. "Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak."
Hail Mary
10. He went away a second time and a third time and prayed: "My Father, if this cup cannot pass away unless I drink it, thy will be done."
Hail Mary
Glory be

The second mystery of the Passion and Death of Our Lord

Jesus bears witness to the truth of his divinity and is condemned to die

On trial for his life, Jesus bore witness to his Messiahship, and He also referred to Himself as the Son of Man coming upon the clouds of heaven. The Jewish leadership recognized this as a claim to equality with God, and for this witness they condemned Him to death.

The Christian is called to bear witness to the person and the teachings of Christ by word and by example, even when this entails suffering or, more likely, rejection.

We pray for the courage always to bear witness to the truth of God's revelation.

Our Father
1. The high priest said to Jesus: "I order you by the living God: tell us whether you are the Christ, the Son of God."
Hail Mary
2. Jesus said to him: "You have said it."
Hail Mary
3. "I say to you, hereafter you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power and coming upon the clouds of heaven."
Hail Mary
4. Then the high priest tore his robes and said "He has blasphemed... What do you think?"
Hail Mary
5. They answered and said, "He is liable to death," and they spat in his face and struck Him.
Hail Mary
6. Jesus stood before Pilate who asked Him,]"Art Thou the king of the Jews?" Jesus said to him, "You have said it."
Hail Mary
7. "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my followers would have fought, but my kingship is not from here."
Hail Mary
8. Pilate said to Him, "Thou art then a king?" Jesus answered, "You are saying it. I am a king."
Hail Mary
9. "That is why I was born and why I have come into the world to bear witness to the truth."
Hail Mary
10. "Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice."
Hail Mary
Glory be

The third mystery of The Passion and Death of Our Lord

Jesus is mocked and scourged and crowned with thorns

In the sermon on the mount, Jesus taught that "if someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also," and in his passion He shows us his teaching in action. In word and in deed Jesus teaches us that we are not to respond to insults with vengeance.

Many of us find it difficult to deny ourselves any legitimate pleasure of the flesh. The scourging of the flesh of Jesus is a never-ending statement about the need for self-denial in the life of Christian discipleship.

We pray for the gifts of humility and voluntary mortification

Our Father
1. Pilate Saw that he was getting nowhere so he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd;
Hail Mary
2. Saying: "I am innocent of the blood of this just man; see to it yourselves."
Hail Mary
3. And all the people answered, "His blood shall be upon us and on our children!"
Hail Mary
4. Then he released Barabbas, but Jesus he scourged and then delivered Him to be crucified.
Hail Mary
5. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the praetorium and gathered the whole cohort around Him.
Hail Mary
6. They stripped Him and put a scarlet cloak on Him, and they wove a crown of thorns and placed it on his head.
Hail Mary
7. They put a reed into his right hand, and kneeling before Him they mocked Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews."
Hail Mary
8. And they spat on Him, and they took the reed and kept striking Him on the head.
Hail Mary
9. He was wounded for our iniquities; He was bruised for our sins.
Hail Mary
10. Upon Him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed.
Hail Mary
Glory Be

The fourth mystery of the Passion and Death of Our Lord

Jesus carries his cross to Calvary

How honored must have been Simon of Cyrene after the Resurrection. Yet on Good Friday, it was not a pleasant task which Simon of Cyrene was forced to accept; it was carrying or helping to carry a cross. He did not know that it was the cross on which the Savior of the world would be crucified.

In his humanity Jesus needed help to carry his cross, and so do we. Helping to carry the cross of Christ was undoubtedly a cause of salvation for Simon of Cyrene and his family, and it will be the same for us.

We pray for the gift of perseverance.

Our Father
1. And when they had mocked Him, they took off the cloak and put his own garments on Him.
Hail Mary
2. As they led Him away to crucify Him, they laid hold of a certain Simon of Cyrene who was coming in from the country;
Hail Mary
3. And upon after Jesus. him they laid the cross to carry it
Hail Mary
4. And there was following Him a great crowd of the people and of women who were bewailing and lamenting Him.
Hail Mary
5. But Jesus turned to them and said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for Me; weep for your selves and for your children.
Hail Mary
6. "The days are coming when men will say to the mountains, 'Fall on us,' and to the hills, 'Cover us.
Hail Mary
7. "If they do these things to the green wood, what will happen to the dry?"
Hail Mary
8. And they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which means the place of the skull.
Hail Mary
9. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.
Hail Mary
10. Surely, He has borne our grief and carried our sorrows.
Hail Mary
Glory Be

The fifth mystery of the Passion and Death of Our Lord

Jesus suffers and dies for us upon the cross

Both in living and in dying, Jesus shows us how to love. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught us to pray for our persecutors; on Mount Calvary He prays for those who have condemned and crucified Him. In the parables of the Good Shepherd and the Prodigal Son, Jesus taught us about God's love for repentant sinners; on the cross He forgives and saves the repentant thief.

Words cannot describe the great evil of sin, but the suffering and death of the God-man Jesus give us an insight.

We pray for increased sorrow for sin.

Our Father
1. They crucified Him there, and the robbers, one on his right hand, the other on his left.
Hail Mary
2. And Jesus said: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."
Hail Mary
3. One of the robbers mocked Him saying: "If you are the Christ, save yourself and us."
Hail Mary
4. But the other said to Jesus: "Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom."
Hail Mary
5. Jesus said to him:"Amen. I say to you, this day you shall be with me in paradise.'
Hail Mary
6. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to his mother: "Woman, behold thy son."
Hail Mary
7. Then He said to the disciple, "Behold thy mother."
Hail Mary
8. And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with aloud voice: "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit."
Hail Mary
9. Knowing that all was now completed, Jesus said, "I thirst," in order to fulfill the scripture.
Hail Mary
10. And after taking the wine, Jesus said, "It is consummated"; and bowing his head, He gave up his spirit.
Hail Mary
Glory Be