The Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary: text and meditation for all five decades

Five stations lie between the garden on the Mount of Olives and the hill of Golgotha, and the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary walk all of them. Whoever prays them stays with each decade, made up of one Our Father and ten Hail Marys, for a while beside one part of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ: the sweat of blood, the blows of the scourge, the crown of thorns, the way of the cross and the death on the cross. Here you will find the complete text of all five decades with the clause added after “Jesus”, the Scripture passage in the Douay-Rheims version and a thought for meditation, together with the place of these mysteries in Lent and Passiontide according to the 1962 calendar.

What are the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary?

The Sorrowful Mysteries are the set of five decades in which we meditate on the Passion of Our Lord: the Agony in the Garden, the Scourging at the Pillar, the Crowning with Thorns, the Carrying of the Cross and the Crucifixion. They are the middle of the three sets, which together make fifteen mysteries.

Each decade has one Our Father on the large bead and ten Hail Marys on the small ones. After the name “Jesus” you add to each Hail Mary a short clause naming this suffering. The clauses follow our prayer companion to the Rosary, the house standard of our guide.

In 1893 Pope Leo XIII recommended these mysteries as a remedy for the widespread shrinking from suffering and toil; even children, he said, should learn to meditate on them. In his encyclical on the Rosary he sums up the Passion of the Lord in a few sentences:

“We see Him so weighed down with sorrow that blood flowed like sweat from all His limbs. We see Him bound with fetters after the manner of robbers […]. We see Him beaten with scourges, crowned with thorns, fastened to the cross […].”

Leo XIII, Laetitiae sanctae, 8 September 1893 · our translation from the Latin

When do you pray the Sorrowful Mysteries?

According to the traditional order, the Sorrowful Mysteries are prayed on Tuesday and on Friday. Friday is the day of the week on which Our Lord was crucified. In the liturgical year these mysteries belong especially to Lent and to Passiontide before Easter.

The 1962 Roman Missal leads up to Easter in three stages. Septuagesima Sunday opens the pre-Lenten season, and Ash Wednesday, a day of the first class, opens Lent. Two weeks before Easter, Passiontide begins with the first Sunday of the Passion. According to the rubrics, the crosses and images in the church are veiled after Mass on the Saturday before; the crosses remain covered until the adoration of the Cross on Good Friday. In the Missal, Palm Sunday is called the second Sunday of the Passion.

Two days in the year are devoted to the sorrows of the Mother of God: the Friday after the first Sunday of the Passion with the commemoration of the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady, and 15 September with the feast of the Seven Sorrows, of the second class, on the day after the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. For Lent we have put together devotional objects for Lent.

How do you begin the Sorrowful Mysteries?

You begin the Sorrowful Mysteries at the crucifix with the Sign of the Cross and the Apostles’ Creed. Then follow the Glory Be and the Our Father, three Hail Marys asking for faith, hope and charity, and the Glory Be once more. After that the first decade begins.

Sign of the Cross. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

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 Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.

Text as in the MarcellusOnlineShop prayer companion

On the three small beads after the first large bead you pray one Hail Mary each, adding after “Jesus” in turn: “who may increase our faith”, “who may strengthen our hope”, “who may enkindle our charity”. In every decade the same prayers are then said; only the added clause changes:

Our Father (large bead). 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.

Ten Hail Marys (small beads), each with the clause of the decade, as written out below.

Glory Be. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Fatima Prayer. O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell; lead all souls to heaven, especially those who are most in need of thy mercy.

Ejaculation. O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee, and for all who do not have recourse to thee, especially the Freemasons and all those recommended to thee.

Text as in the MarcellusOnlineShop prayer companion

What do you meditate on in the first decade, the Agony in the Garden?

In the first Sorrowful Mystery we meditate on how Our Lord, on the night before His Passion, prays on the Mount of Olives, falls into an agony and sweats blood while the disciples sleep. In each Hail Mary we add after “Jesus”: “who sweat blood for us”.

St Luke relates that the Lord withdrew from the disciples a stone’s cast, knelt down and prayed: “Father, if thou wilt, remove this chalice from me: but yet not my will, but thine be done” (Lk 22:42). An angel from heaven appeared and strengthened Him. “And his sweat became as drops of blood, trickling down upon the ground” (Lk 22:44). When He came back to the disciples, He found them “sleeping for sorrow” (Lk 22:45). A thought for the ten Hail Marys: prayer in anguish is no sign of weakness; the Lord Himself prayed in this way.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus, who sweat blood for us. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Pray ten times · text as in the MarcellusOnlineShop prayer companion

What do you meditate on in the second decade, the Scourging at the Pillar?

In the second Sorrowful Mystery we meditate on how Pilate has Our Lord scourged, although he finds no guilt in Him. Afterwards he hands Him over to be crucified. After “Jesus” we add to each Hail Mary: “who was scourged for us”.

St John says it in a single sentence: “Then therefore Pilate took Jesus, and scourged him” (Jn 19:1). St Matthew adds that Pilate, “having scourged Jesus”, delivered Him to be crucified (Mt 27:26). In his note, Allioli explains the governor’s intention: Pilate wanted to show that he considered the prisoner punished enough and found no guilt deserving death in him. The scourging was meant to appease the people, and yet it did not save the Lord from the cross. A thought for the ten Hail Marys: the body of the Lord bears the punishment our sins deserved.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus, who was scourged for us. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Pray ten times · text as in the MarcellusOnlineShop prayer companion

What do you meditate on in the third decade, the Crowning with Thorns?

In the third Sorrowful Mystery we meditate on how the soldiers set a crown of thorns on Our Lord’s head, clothe Him in a purple cloak and mock Him as King of the Jews. In each Hail Mary we add after “Jesus”: “who was crowned with thorns for us”.

St John describes the scene exactly: “And the soldiers platting a crown of thorns, put it upon his head; and they put on him a purple garment. And they came to him, and said: Hail, king of the Jews” (Jn 19:2–3). Then Pilate leads Him out, and the Lord comes forth “bearing the crown of thorns and the purple garment”. Pilate shows Him to the people with the words: “Behold the Man” (Jn 19:5). The King of heaven accepts the crown of mockery. A thought for the ten Hail Marys: Christ wears the crown that human pride would have deserved.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus, who was crowned with thorns for us. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Pray ten times · text as in the MarcellusOnlineShop prayer companion

A crown of thorns on the home altar keeps this mystery before your eyes during Lent. Our crowns of thorns from the Holy Land are woven from the wood of Christ’s thorn.

What do you meditate on in the fourth decade, the Carrying of the Cross?

In the fourth Sorrowful Mystery we meditate on how Our Lord, after the sentence of death, Himself carries the cross out of the city to Golgotha, the place of the skull. On the way Simon of Cyrene is compelled to help Him. After “Jesus” we add: “who carried the heavy cross for us”.

“And bearing his own cross, he went forth to that place which is called Calvary, but in Hebrew Golgotha” (Jn 19:17). St Mark names the man whom the soldiers stopped on the way: Simon of Cyrene, who was coming from the country, the father of Alexander and of Rufus (Mk 15:21). The Lord had said: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Mt 16:24). On the road to Golgotha He Himself goes ahead on this way. A thought for the ten Hail Marys: your own cross grows lighter when you carry it after Him.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus, who carried the heavy cross for us. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Pray ten times · text as in the MarcellusOnlineShop prayer companion

What do you meditate on in the fifth decade, the Crucifixion?

In the fifth Sorrowful Mystery we meditate on the Crucifixion and death of Our Lord on Golgotha, with His holy Mother and the disciple John beneath the cross. In each Hail Mary we add after “Jesus”: “who was crucified for us”.

Beneath the cross stand His holy Mother, His Mother’s sister Mary, the wife of Cleophas, St Mary Magdalen and the disciple whom He loved, St John. The Lord entrusts them to one another: “Woman, behold thy son” and “Behold thy mother” (Jn 19:26–27). At the last He says: “It is consummated. And bowing his head, he gave up the ghost” (Jn 19:30). St Luke records His last words: “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit” (Lk 23:46).

At this point Leo XIII turns our gaze to the Mother of God, whose soul the sword of sorrow did not merely touch but pierced through, so that she is called, and is, the Mother of Sorrows. A thought for the ten Hail Marys: at the cross we receive a Mother.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus, who was crucified for us. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Pray ten times · text as in the MarcellusOnlineShop prayer companion

How do you end the Sorrowful Mysteries?

After the fifth decade, the Sorrowful Mysteries end at the medal with the Hail, Holy Queen and the prayer to St Michael the Archangel. According to the prayer companion, all five decades take about twenty minutes; if you have less time, you may also pray a single decade.

Salve Regina. Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy, 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 vale of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us; and after this our exile show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

Prayer to St Michael the Archangel. Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle; be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls. Amen.

Text as in the MarcellusOnlineShop prayer companion

According to the traditional order, the Glorious Mysteries follow on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, and the Joyful Mysteries on Monday and Thursday. All three sets with their clauses are shown in the prayer companion, where the set for the current day is highlighted.

Mentioned in this article Lenten Set Crown of thorns from the Holy Land, hand-forged nail and hand-knotted rosary with Passion cross. View the set

Frequently asked questions about the Sorrowful Mysteries