Sorrowful Mysteries 1: Agony

Meditations on the Agony in the Garden
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First Sorrowful Mystery
The Agony in the Garden
In his anguish, he prayed with all the
greater intensity, and his sweat became like
drops of blood falling to the ground. Then
he rose from prayer and came to his
disciples, only to find them asleep,
exhausted with grief.

Fruit of the mystery: Sorrow for sin
The Sorrowful Mysteries represent “the culmination
of the revelation of God’s love.” (Pope John Paul II)

1. Jesus took leave of
His Mother

Words of the Queen on:
The royal road of suffering

1***.Jesus took leave of This desire for suffering
his mother and the wishes of my
divine Son led me on in
the way of suffering. For
those whom He loves, He
chastises and afflicts
(Prov. 3, 12). I as his
Mother was not to be
deprived of this blessed
distinction of being
entirely like unto Him,
which alone makes this
life most estimable.” (Mary
of Agreda)

Lorenzo Lotto, Christ takes leave of his mother, 1521. Gemalde-galerie. Berlin.

1A. Jesus took leave of “My Mother, the hour decreed
by My Father for the salvation
his mother of the human race has now
arrived, and we must subject
our wills to His. As My true
Mother, give Me your
permission to enter upon My
suffering and death. Just as
you consented to My
Incarnation, so I now desire
that you also consent to My
death on the Cross. This
sacrifice is the return which I
ask of you for having made
you My Mother.” (Mary of
Agreda)

Lorenzo Lotto, Christ takes leave of his mother, 1521. Gemalde-galerie, Berlin.

1B. Jesus took “My Lord, I offer myself and
resign myself in order that in
leave of his mother me, just as in Thee, the will of
the Eternal Father may be
fulfilled. The greatest sacrifice
that I can make is that I
cannot die with Thee. O my
Son and Lord, give Thy
afflicted Mother strength and
courage. Admit her as Thy
companion so that she may
share Thy Passion and Cross
and so that the Eternal Father
may receive the sacrifice of
Thy Mother in union with
Thine.” (Mary of Agreda)


1C. Jesus took “Oh, if only I could receive
the pains and sorrows that
leave of his mother await Him, and suffer death
so as to save His life! Accept,
Heavenly Father, the sacrifice
of my grief and affection,
which I offer in union with
Him, in order that Thy holy
will may be fulfilled.
O Children of Adam, begin at
last to take heed of the harm
caused by you sins!” (Mary of
Agreda)
Jesus kneels devotedly before
His mother.
The Madonna stricken with
sorrow is supported by John
and Mary Magdalene.


 All words and description are far too inadequate to manifest what
passed in the heart of the Son and Mother. God permitted these
effects to work in Them to their full extent, and as far as was
compatible with the holiness of both Mother and Son. Our divine
Teacher found no relief in hastening his steps toward the goal of
our Redemption, to which He was drawn by the force of his
immense charity.
 O my dearest Love! Why does not our ingratitude and hardness of
heart allow us to meet Thee with a responsive love? Why does not
the perfect uselessness of man, and still more, his ingratitude,
influence Thee to desist? Without us, O my eternal Goodness and
Life, Thou wilt be just as happy without us as with us, just as
infinite in perfections, holiness and glory; we can add nothing to
that which Thou hast in Thyself, since Thou art entirely
independent of creatures. Why then, O my Love, dost Thou so
anxiously seek us out and care for us? Why dost Thou, at the cost
of thy Passion and the Cross, purchase our happiness? Without
doubt, because thy incomprehensible love and goodness.

 He said: "My Mother, my existence as man I derive
entirely from thy substance and blood, of which I have
taken the form of a servant in thy virginal womb (Phil. 2,
7). Thou also hast nursed Me at thy breast and taken care
of Me by thy labors and sweat. For this reason I account
Me more thine own and as thy Son, than any other ever
acknowledged, or more than any ever will acknowledge
himself as the son of his mother. Give Me thy permission
and consent toward accomplishing the will of my eternal
Father. Already the time has arrived, in which I must
leave thy sweet interaction and company and begin the
work of the Redemption of man. The time of rest has come
to an end and the hour of suffering for the rescue of the
sons of Adam has arrived. But I wish to perform this work
of my Father with thy assistance, and Thou art to be my
companion and helper in preparing for my Passion and
Death of the Cross. Although I must now leave Thee
alone, my blessing shall remain with Thee, and my loving
and powerful protection.” Mystical City of God. Mary of
Agreda

 WORDS OF THE QUEEN on The Royal Road of Suffering (The Virgin
Mary speaks to Sister Mary of Agreda, Spain.)
 “I was made to comprehend the high value which the Lord sets
upon the labors, the Passion and Death of my Son, and upon all
those who were to imitate and follow Jesus in the way of the Cross.
Knowing this, I not only offered to deliver my Son over to Passion
and Death, but I asked Him to make me his companion and
partaker of all his sorrows, sufferings and torments, which request
the eternal Father granted. I besought my Son and Lord to deprive
me of interior delights; and this petition was inspired in me by the
Lord himself. This desire for suffering and the wishes of my divine
Son led me on in the way of suffering. For those whom He loves, He
chastises and afflicts (Prov. 3, 12). I as his Mother was not to be
deprived of this blessed distinction of being entirely like unto Him,
which alone makes this life most estimable. I began to feel the want
of his delightful caresses and He began to treat me with greater
reserve. That was one of the reasons, why He did not call me
Mother, but Woman, at the marriage-feast at Cana and at the foot
of the Cross (John 2, 4, 19, 26); and also on other occasions, when
He abstained from words of tenderness. So far was this from being a
sign of a diminution of his love, that it was rather an exquisite
refinement of his affection to assimilate me to Him in the sufferings
which He chose Himself as his precious treasure and inheritance .”

 “Hence thou wilt understand the ignorance and error of mortals,
and how far they drift from the way of light, when, as a rule, nearly
all of them strive to avoid labor and suffering and are frightened by
the royal and secure road of mortification and the Cross. Full of
this deceitful ignorance, they do not only abhor resemblance to
Christ's suffering and my own, and deprive themselves of the true
and highest blessing of this life but they make their recovery
impossible, since all of them are weak and afflicted by many sins,
for which the only remedy is suffering. Sin is committed by base
indulgence and is repugnant to suffering sorrow, while tribulation
earns pardon of the just judge. By the bitterness of sorrow and
affliction the vapors of sin are allayed; the excesses of the
concupiscible and irascible passions are crushed; pride and
haughtiness are humiliated; the flesh is subdued the inclination to
evil, to the sensible and earthly creatures is repressed; the judgment
is cleared; the will is brought within bounds and its desultory
movements at the call of the passions, are corrected; and, above all,
divine love and pity are drawn down upon the afflicted, who
embrace suffering with patience, or who seek it to imitate my most
holy Son. In this science of suffering are renewed all the blessed

2. Jesus prayed to
the Father
 The Cross, the science of saints

2.** Jesus prayed to the Father

Sin is the cause of Our
Lord’s mortal agony. Let
us ask for contrition over
our sins. Let us pray for
the conversion of sinners
and especially our own
conversion.

Before every important
event in Jesus’ life He
took time off by himself to
pray.
Heinrich Hofmann, Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.

2A. Jesus prayed to the Father
“Father, all things are
possible to Thee; take away
this chalice from before me;
only as thy will is, not as
mine is.”

Christ, You know what it
is to suffer mentally and
physically. Give us the
courage to deal with the
tasks we are given, no
matter how terrible they
seem.
Heinrich Hofmann, Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.

 Be faithful to the ministry of prayer. Jesus is
constantly offering Himself and interceding before
the Father by means of you. In these times, how
greatly prayer is being neglected by so many.
 People no longer pray. They are absorbed in
action. You forget that you can do nothing of
yourselves, and that it is Jesus Christ alone who,
by means of you, works and saves. You forget that
you are useless servants, that you are poor, that
you are sinners. Return to prayer.
 Make the Eucharistic Jesus the center of your
prayer, the secret of you life, the soul of your
apostolic action. (Gobbi)

3. **He had sight of an angel from Heaven, encouraging Him.
Jesus shows us that the greater our distress, the
more earnest should be our prayer.

“The
sufferings of
your day will
dispose you to
be prompt to
enter into
continuous
prayer.”
(Gobbi)

Sebastiano Ricci, The Agony in the Garden, 1730, Vienna museum

3A. He had sight of an angel from
Heaven, encouraging Him.
“I, the Mother, am
the angel of
consolation. At
every moment,
your heavenly
Mother is close to
each one of you.
She is at your side
to help you suffer
and to comfort you
in your great
abandonment.”
Sebastiano Ricci, The Agony in the Garden,
(Gobbi)
1730, Vienna museum

WORDS OF THE QUEEN on The Cross, the Science of Saints
(The Virgin Mary speaks to Sister Mary of Agreda, Spain.)
 “My daughter, in all that thou art made to understand and write
concerning these mysteries, thou drawest upon thyself (and upon
mortals) a severe judgment, if thou dost not overcome thy
pusillanimity, ingratitude and baseness by meditating day and night
on the Passion and Death of Jesus crucified. This is the great
science of the saints, so little heeded by the worldly; it is the bread of
life and the spiritual food of the little ones, which gives wisdom to
them and the want of which starves the lovers of this proud world
(Wis. 15, 3). In this science I wish thee to be studious and wise, for
with it thou can buy thyself all good things (Wis. 7, 11). My Son and
Lord taught us this science when He said: "I am the way, the truth
and the life: no one cometh to my Father except through Me" (John
14, 6). Tell me then, my daughter: if my Lord and Master has made
Himself the life and the way for men through his Passion and
Death, is it not evident that in order to go that way and live up to
this truth, they must follow Christ crucified, afflicted, scourged and
affronted?”

 Consider the ignorance of men who wish to come to the Father
without following Christ, since they expect to reign with God
without suffering or imitating his Passion. They want it to procure
for them the pleasures of this life as well as of eternal life, while
Christ their Creator has suffered the most bitter pains and torments
in order to enter Heaven and to show them by His example how they
are to find the way of light.
 Eternal rest is incompatible with the shame of not having duly
labored for its attainment. He is not a true son of his father, who
does not imitate him, nor he a good disciple, who does not follow his
Master, nor he a good servant, who does not accompany his lord;
nor do I count him a devoted child, who does not suffer with me and
my divine Son.
 But our love for the eternal salvation of men obliges us, who see
them forgetful of this truth and so adverse to suffering, to send them
labors and punishments, so that if they do not freely welcome them,
they may at least be forced to undergo them and so be enabled to
enter upon the way of salvation.”

 “Hence it comes, that men do not find joy in their tribulations, nor
rest in their labors, nor consolation in their sorrows, nor any peace
in adversities. For, altogether different from the saints who glory in
tribulation as the fulfillment of their most earnest desires, they
desire none of it and abhor all that is painful. In many of the
faithful ignorance goes still farther; for some of them expect to be
distinguished by God's most intimate love, others, to be pardoned
without penance, others, to be highly favored. Nothing of all this
will they attain, because they do not ask in the name of Christ the
Lord and because they do not wish to imitate Him and follow Him
in his Passion.
 Therefore, my daughter, embrace the Cross and do not admit any
consolation outside of it in this mortal life. By contemplating and
feeling within thyself the sacred Passion thou wilt attain the summit
of perfection and attain the love of a spouse. Nothing was so highly
estimated and earnestly desired by Him, as to offer Himself for
suffering and death and to deliver Himself up entirely to his
enemies. I wish also that thou lament with great sorrow the fact that
Judas, in his malice and treachery, has many more followers than
Christ. Many are the infidels, many the bad Catholics, many the
hypocrites, who under the name of a Christian, sell and deliver Him
and wish to crucify Him anew.”

3 The abandonment and
betrayal by the disciples

 Abandonment and betrayal

 Console my Son.

4.Jesus went back to his disciples to find them asleep.
Then He went back again and prayed.
“My children, never seek your comfort in anyone but God. In your
times of loneliness, doubt, and depression, have recourse to prayer.”

Duccio di Buoninsegna, The Maesta, the phases preceding the passion

5.** The Abandonment by the disciples
“Today, how many abandon Him, being seduced by the
attractions of the world. How many sleep the slumber of
doubt, lack of faith, indifference and mediocrity.” (Gobbi)

“Make reparations
by your presence,
for the countless
and repeated acts
of abandonment.”
(Gobbi)

A. Mantegna, The Garden of Gethsemane 1470

A. Abandonment by
the disciples “Imitate and follow
me into the
solitude. Weigh in
thy heart, how
much it cost my
Lord to reconcile
mankind to the
eternal Father.
(Colos. 1, 22)
Weep and afflict
thyself that so many
should live in such
forgetfulness.”
Mantegna, The Garden of Gethsemane 1470 (Mary of Agreda)

WORDS OF THE QUEEN on Console my Son . (The Virgin Mary
speaks to Sister Mary of Agreda, Spain.)
 “Thou art now roused to great wonder, sorrow and compassion at
the want of attention displayed by mortals toward these great
sacraments and at the losses sustained by them through their
lukewarmness and negligence. I am much incensed to find so few
who console with me and try to console my Son in his sorrows , as
David says (Ps. 68, 21). This hardness of heart will cause great
confusion to them on the day of judgment; since they will then see
with irreparable sorrow, not only that they were ungrateful, but
inhuman and cruel toward my divine Son, toward me and toward
themselves.
 Consider then thy duty, my dearest, and raise thyself above all
earthly things and above thyself; for I am calling thee and choose
thee to imitate and follow me into the solitude, in which I am left by
creatures, whom my Son and I have pursued with so many blessings
and favors. Weigh in thy heart, how much it cost my Lord to
reconcile mankind to the eternal Father (Colos. 1, 22) and regain
for them his friendship. Weep and afflict thyself that so many
should live in such forgetfulness.”

6A. The Betrayal by Judas

“I wish also that thou
lament with great
sorrow the fact that
Judas, in his malice
and treachery, has
many more followers
than Christ. Many
are the infidels, many
the bad Catholics,
many the hypocrites,
who under the name
of a Christian, sell
and deliver Him and
wish to crucify Him
anew.” (Mary of
Agreda)
Caravaggio, The Betrayal of Christ, 1602, National Gallery of Ireland. Dublin.

7. Non-Violence

“ Put your sword back
into its place; All
those who take up the
sword will perish by
the sword.”

Altdorfer Albrecht 1509-16 The Arrest of
Christ. St. Florian bei Linz

4. The Denial

 The denial of Christ’s divinity

 The denial of Peter.

8. Christ before
Caiaphas
Caiaphas questioned him,
“ Are you the Christ, the
Son of God?”
Jesus replied, “ I am.”

Gerrit van Honthorst, Christ before Caiaphas, 1618. National Gallery. London

8A. Christ before
Caiaphas
“The attempt to recognize Him
only as man continues: to deny
his divinity, to reduce his divine
words to a purely human
interpretation.
Together with me, suffer the
judgment of the world, the
rejection, the persecution and
the condemnation on the part
of a society which continues to
deny its God.” (Gobbi)
Gerrit van Honthorst, Christ before Caiaphas, 1618. National Gallery. London

 “Few know the poverty of Christ, and fewer
embrace it. Holy faith is hindered and is not spread
among the nations on account of the boundless
ambition of the mighty of this earth; in many
Catholics it is inactive and dead; and whatever
should be living, is near to death and to eternal
perdition. The counsels of the Gospel are
forgotten, its precepts trodden under foot, charity
almost extinct. My son and true God offers his
cheeks in patience and meekness to be buffeted
and wounded (Thren. 3, 30). Who pardons an
insult for the sake of imitating Him? Just the
contrary is set up as law in this world, not only by
the infidels, but by the very children of the faith
and of light.” (Mary of Agreda. Mystical city of God.

 In all these things canst thou suffer and must thou
bear in faith, hope and magnanimous sentiment.
I remind thee that there is no exercise more
profitable and useful for the soul than to suffer:
for suffering gives light, undeceives, detaches the
heart from visible things and raises it up to the
Lord. He will come to meet those in suffering,
because He is with the afflicted and sends to them
his protection and help (Ps. 40,15).”

9.** Peter’s denial “How many are those
who deny Him today,
out of fear of not being
well thought of,
out of fear of being
considered backward
and old-fashioned, out
of fear of being
criticized and rejected,
and by the way they
live.” (Gobbi)
Gerard Seghers, 1591-1651
Peter’s denial. Hermitage.
St. Petersburg.

9A. Peter’s remorse Peter went out, and wept bitterly.
..and

“How many repeat the
gesture of Peter, who
denied the Master out
of cowardice and fear;
fear of not appearing
up-to-date and in line
with the cultural norms
of today.” (Gobbi)

Gerard Seghers, 1591-1651
Peter’s denial. Hermitage.
St. Petersburg.

9C. The Denial by Peter
“In this century, Jesus is again denied by many of his disciples who do
not have the courage to witness to Him. They deny Him out of fear of
not being thought well of; of being considered backward and old
fashioned, of being criticized and rejected.” (Gobbi)

Gerard Seghers, 1620. Raleigh, North Carolina Museum of art

 “In recognizing these sins I desire that thou imitate me in
what I did during the Passion and during my whole life,
namely practice the virtues opposed to these vices. This is
what I desire thee to do while living in this world. Fly also
from dangerous interactions with creatures, taught by the
example of Peter, for thou art not stronger than he, the
Apostle of Christ; and if thou fall in thy weakness, weep
over thy fault and immediately seek my intercession. Make
up for thy ordinary faults and weaknesses by thy patience
in adversities, accept them with a joyous mien and without
disturbance, no matter what they may be, whether they be
sickness or the molestations coming from creatures, or
whether they arise from the opposition of the flesh to the
spirit, or from the conflicts with visible or invisible
enemies. (Mary of Agreda)

 “Do not look at your miseries; do not be
discouraged by you weaknesses; do not count your
sins; do not go back over your infidelities, but let
yourselves be possessed by his Love, because the
divine Charity of the Heart of Jesus surpasses
infinitely every human ingratitude.
 Even if there is being repeated the action of Peter
who denies, or that of Judas who betrays, of that of
the apostles who flee and abandon Jesus, open
your hearts today to hope, because Jesus loves you.
His love overcomes your every human weakness .”
(Gobbi)

10.The Beatings: They beat him, mocked him,him on the face.
blindfolded him and struck
spit upon him,

Ludovico Carracci, Flagellation of Christ. 1585.

10A.The Beatings “I remind thee
that there is no
exercise more
profitable and
useful for the
soul than to
suffer.
He will come to
meet those in
suffering, as He
is with the
afflicted and
sends to them his
protection and
Ludovico Carracci, Flagellation of Christ. 1585. help”
(Mary of Agreda)

The ( National ) Rosary For the Evangelization of
(Nations)
1. Fatima Prayer: To Eucharistic Jesus, source of all
evangelization.
“O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of
hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those who are in
most need of thy mercy.”

2. Invocation of the Holy Spirit: Principal agent of
evangelization.
“Come, Holy Spirit! Fill the hearts of the (National) people
and enkindle in them the fire of your love! Come by means
of the powerful intercession of the Immaculate Heart of
Mary, your well-beloved Spouse.”

3. Prayer to Our Lady of ( Nation ): Star of the new
evangelization.
“Hail Holy Queen, Mother of (Nation), come and present the
(National) people to Jesus, the fruit of thy womb.
Look upon them continually with mercy and through your

Sorrowful Mysteries 1: Agony

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Sorrowful Mysteries 1: Agony