Meditation on the thorns in the Immaculate Heart of Mary
as Her co-sorrow with Jesus, saddened by
a frigidity of the faithful receiving Him in Communion
Dr. Wojciech Kosek
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Meditations led by seven people
B, D – women; J, P, W, Z, L – men.
This translation was published here on 20 Nov 2023.
To see the original Polish text ← click, please!
(Duration of meditations: about 31 min.)
(Duration with songs and the Rosary: about 61 min.)
Introduction
to praying the Holy Rosary
W Dearest Lord Jesus! Called by the Lady of Fatima, we now proceed to pray the Holy Rosary. We recall the tears of St. Francisco Marto, who, gazing poignantly at the Immaculate Heart of Mary, surrounded by thorns, saw that in it You are hidden, O Jesus, Spouse of immeasurable sorrow. [1] Grant, O Beloved, that we may always bring relief to the Immaculate Heart of Mary by the power of that love which we direct to You, present in the Blessed Sacrament, so sad because of the indifference with which many receive You. Through the Rosary, we wish to deeply live our union with the Lord Jesus in the Holy Communion as an act of reparation, having a model for it in the Immaculate Mary. The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments indicated this practice in The Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy (No. 174), issued in 2001. The Congregation, speaking about the act of receiving the Holy Communion as an act of reparation on the First Saturdays, ruled: (1:33)
D This pious practice should be seen as an opportunity to live intensely the paschal Mystery celebrated in the Holy Eucharist, as inspired by the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary (0:23)
J Following St. Francisco Marto, we believe, O Most Holy God, that our Eucharistic union with You on First Saturdays is to console You. If it is given to us to make You not sad, we simultaneously relieve Our Immaculate Mother Mary. Sister Lucia, reporting on the July apparition, with which Mary’s request to receive Holy Communion of reparation is connected, recorded these words about Francis: (0:45)
J In the third Apparition, Francisco seemed to be the one on whom the vision of hell made the least impression, though it did indeed have quite a considerable effect on him. What made the most powerful impression on him and what wholly absorbed him, was God, the Most Holy Trinity, perceived in that light which penetrated our inmost souls. Afterwards, he said: “We were on fire in that light which is God, and yet we were not burnt! What is God?… We could never put it into words. Yes, that is something indeed which we could never express! But what a pity it is that He is so sad! If only I could console Him!…” [2] (0:48)
L Francisco spoke similarly before the last apparition: “«I’m longing for that day to come, so that I can see Our Lord again.» Then he thought for a moment, and added: «But listen! Will He still be so sad? I am so sorry to see Him sad like that! I offer Him all the sacrifices I can think of.»” [3] (0:28)
D Beloved Savior! In order to console You, and through this console Mary, we will pray the Rosary. We will fulfill this expectation that Mary expresses to us through the ministry of St. John Paul II, who said at Fatima in 2000: “Our Lady needs you all to console Jesus, who is sad because of the bad things done to him; he needs your prayers and your sacrifices for sinners.” [4] (0:42)
The First Mystery.
The Lord Jesus prays in Gethsemane.
Z Song: Garden of Olives – 1-2 stanza (1:20)
Z Dearest Jesus! In the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary, we pass with You and Your Immaculate Mother Mary through the successive events that happened to You 2000 years ago. Thanks to having received You in Holy Communion at the recently concluded Holy Mass, we can now not only reflect on those difficult hours of Your life but do much more. (0:36)
B Thanks to our sacramental union with You, this meditation is simultaneous with our actual participation in those distant hours. With poignancy, we give thanks for this miracle of participation in Your life… We give thanks for it together with Mary, whose union with You, who are going step by step along the path of salvific suffering, is for us a model of how to love You, O Lord. (0:38)
L Jesus, kneeling in Gethsemane! You raise Your eyes to Heaven and humbly ask the Father to remove the cup of bitterness from You, to remove, if possible, the violence of the people heading towards You. Here they go, led by Judas. Here they go, armed with swords, spears, lanterns, and torches. They go, and You, O Jesus, pray. You ask the Father that His Holy Will be fulfilled. You ask that I too may have the ability to fulfill His Holy Will. (0:46)
J Jesus beloved! Why was it precisely he who betrayed You? Why was it precisely Judas who turned You into the hands of enemies? Why did he not take advantage of such a significant distinction, which was to call him to the group of Your closest friends – to the group of twelve Apostles? Why was it precisely Judas who betrayed You? John Chrysostom, a Church Father who died at the beginning of the fifth century, gives a poignant answer to this question. He notes that the immediate cause of this denial of love towards You was the frigidity of Judas’ heart. This frigidity was revealed in his failure to give thanks after Holy Communion. John Chrysostom writes thus: (1:00)
P “If you want, I can show you whose footsteps follow those who leave before the end of the Holy Banquet and do not pray thanksgivings after it. I must say something that may be unpleasant for you to hear, but I have to do so because of the negligence arising in the behavior of many of you. Judas walked away and went out just after participating in the Last Supper that night when all of them were still seated at the table. He is imitated by those who go out before the last thanksgiving.” [5] (0:46)
D Lord Jesus! We humbly beseech You in this hour of grace of sacramental union with You: grant us a new fervor of faith so that we may always be able to remain in prayer of thanksgiving after receiving You in Holy Communion. Amen. (0:23)
The Second Mystery.
The Lord Jesus experiences the scourging.
W Song: O the Silent White Host – 1-2 stanza (1:18)
W Immaculate Mary, co-suffering with the scourged Son! In this First Saturday Adoration, we recall the words of Your call of 13 July 1917, which You addressed to the whole Church through Jacinta, Francisco, and Lucia – asking them to make that people receive the Lord Jesus in Holy Communion every first Saturday of the month for the intention of reparation. We fulfill your request, O Immaculate One! Obedient to You and the revelations of the Angel of Peace in 1916, we wish to make special reparation for the frigidity of hearts toward Jesus received in Holy Communion. (0:57)
B St. John Chrysostom wrote this about the betrayal of Judas, who, out of frigidity of heart, left the Upper Room before the end of the hymns sung to God during thanksgiving after Holy Communion: “If he had not gone out, he would not have committed treason; if he had not left table companions, he would not have been killed; if he had not found himself outside the sheep-fold, the wolf would not devour him; if he had not gone away from the Shepherd, he would not have become the prey of wild beasts. Judas went to the Jews earlier, whereas apostles, together with the Lord, left after singing the psalms. You see, it is what happened then that happens every time here during the last prayer after the Holy Sacrifice.” (1:05)
Z Mary! Through your intercession, help us, people who are weak and prone to succumb to the temptations of frigidity, so that now – by the power of union with the Sacrifice of the scourged Jesus – we may be freed from those sources of sin in our hearts that so grievously wound our Lord. May our inner transformation become a true consolation for Jesus and you, Mary! (0:37)
J Forgive us, O Lord, for our tendency to justify acts contrary to Your commandments! Forgive and transform us into truly immune to the whispers of the devil. Forgive us and make us truly Yours. We desire that our presence today with You and for You, Jesus, be the beginning of a new stage in our life – the beginning of the inner process leading to a radical break from the sin of frigidity. Amen. (0:40)
The Third Mystery.
The Lord Jesus experiences the crowning with thorns.
P Song: Adoro Te Devote – 1-2 stanza (0:47)
L Beloved Jesus! Abiding in sacramental, Eucharistic union with You, we now participate in crowning You with a crown of thorns. We read in the Gospels how Pilate frees Barabbas, wishing to please the crowd, but orders to scourge You. The soldiers lead You into the inner courtyard and summon the entire cohort. They dress You in purple and, having woven a crown of thorns, press it onto Your head… Beloved! How You suffer out of love for me… (0:46)
D With a wreath of thorns, the soldiers mercilessly wound Your head, O Jesus! Now they begin to mockingly greet You: ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ They beat You with a reed on Your head, spit on You, and kneel to pay false homage. It is how they mock You, O Beloved Savior! Oh, how great is the price of our salvation, O Beloved! How much You endure, burning with love for us… You see us, grieved because of sins by which we have contributed to Your being so painfully crowned with thorns. Is not the coldness of our hearts towards You, who comes in Holy Communion with a Heart thirsty for love, one of these thorns?… (1:03)
P We desire, therefore, by abiding in adoration, to console You. We believe we are truly there with You thanks to the Holy Communion. Jesus! We still succumb to false justifications, born in the hearts and heads of people disobedient to the teaching of the Magisterium of the Church… We still feed on illusions that You do not care about our prayerful presence with You after Holy Communion… If we had not succumbed to this false teaching, it would be easier for You… If it were not for the fact that we succumb to such weaknesses instead of valiantly resisting temptations, You would be lighter… Forgive us, O thorn-crowned Jesus (0:54).
B St. John Chrysostom concludes his consideration of the frigid heart of Judas and many believers thus: “Now, let us think about this; let us consider this for fear of punishment. Christ gives you His own Body, but you do not want to express Him your gratitude with any words? Don’t you thank Him for what you have received? When you have eaten the usual food, you pray thanksgiving, having got up from the table. However, when the spiritual food is given to you, which much surpasses all visible and invisible creations, though you are a man who is a poor creature, you do not want to express Him your gratitude with any words and act? It deserves a heavy penalty.” (0:57)
The fourth Mystery.
The Lord Jesus carries the cross to Calvary.
B Song: You go Through the Ages – 1-2 stanza (0:56)
W Beloved Savior! In our First Saturday Adoration, now we walk with You to Calvary. We walk beside Immaculate Mary, Your and our Mother… We walk, gazing at Her presence with You and for You… A Mother with a heart pierced by the pain that has been inflicted on You. Yes, Mary suffers above all the pain that men inflicted on You. The thorns, thrust into Her Immaculate Heart just as the thorns of the crown of thorns are thrust into your head, are the image of this pain. (0:48)
J St. Francisco Marto, one of the three shepherds, spoke with poignancy about what he was given to see at Fatima during a vision of the Immaculate Heart of Mary pierced by thorns: in the Immaculate Heart of Mary, he saw You, O Jesus, engulfed in ineffable sorrow. Francisco saw that Mary was moved to the depths of her heart by that ineffable sorrow that fills Your Heart with bitterness – a Heart thirsting for love. (0:40)
Z Jesus, You are sad, above all You! What makes You sad? Probably the atheists’ unbelief, their life away from You. However, is this the only thing? Maybe our hearts are also the cause of Your sadness… maybe also our attitude – us, the chosen ones of Your grace… Yes, it is not only the world of atheists that sins, but we are often not grateful for the miracle of being in communion with You in Holy Communion. How we are sometimes in a hurry to do the things of this world, oblivious to the fact that You, coming in Holy Communion, really thirst for love, thirst for a heart focused on You, on being with You… Jesus, heal us from this hasty abandonment of You after Holy Communion… (1:05)
D O Jesus thirsting for consolation! All the sins, but above all the ingratitude of us, the elect, make the Immaculate Heart of Mary, as seen by St. Francis Marto, hide You – God who is sad! Yes, You are sad because few truly love You when You come in Holy Communion. Few are those who love You as You desire to be loved, and as Immaculate Mary gives us an example of the love for You. Going to Calvary, You bear the burden of unwanted love – Your love. Going to the Hill of the Skull, you faint from the pain of disappointed love. Jesus, forgive and heal my heart. Amen. (1:04)
The Fifth Mystery.
The Lord Jesus dies on the cross at Calvary.
D Song: I Greet You – 1-2 stanza (1:00)
L The Hill of the Skull, the hill of executions… Here we are, where three crosses have been hammered today into the rock of this Hill of the Skull, into the rock of Calvary. The middle one of them, oh Jesus, is destined for You! The verdict has already been passed: you must die… We are aware that we are the ones who nailed You to the cross through the hands of Roman soldiers… we nailed You not only with nails… but, above all, with a lack of love for You. Jesus! You suffer from physical wounds; You suffer from the rejection of Your love. Jesus! The pain of a heart disappointed in love is unbearable. Fortunately, You are not alone. (0:58)
B Fortunately, Mary stood very close to You. Her Immaculate Heart suffers inexpressibly from the pain that pierces You. The pain of unwanted love… The pain of rejected love… Your pain – Mary’s pain… O Beloved Jesus! O Jesus, of the pained Heart! We are here today at a prayer vigil, obeying the Immaculate Mary’s call to make reparation for this pain that fills her Heart because it fills Your Heart. Standing here on Calvary, we wish, in an attitude of obedience to the Church, to accept the authoritative interpretation of the thorns that wounded the Immaculate Heart of Mary in the Fatima vision. This interpretation was communicated to the Church through the Bishop of the Diocese of Leiria, in whose territory Fatima is located. The bishop, on the 13th of September 1939, announcing publicly the devotion of the First Saturdays, wrote thus: [6] (1:21)
P “Mother of Jesus – offenses against Her Divine Son deeply hurt Her Heart. That is why on Calvary, at the foot of the Cross, there was the Mother, Our Lady of Sorrows. Our Mother – entrusted by Jesus in His testament during His agony; therefore, the hatred, the evil that people commit against each other are real offenses against the Heavenly Mother. … It is the Heart of Mary, pained by the loss of so many souls, that brought Her from Heaven to Cova da Iria to talk with small shepherds. She appeared and spoke to the children – unapproachably beautiful, but with the sad smile, as it is at the Mother full of bitterness.” (1:04)
J Continuing the interpretation of the thorns wounding Mary’s Immaculate Heart, the bishop wrote as follows: “Unfortunately, Her Dear Jesus is still insulted; wicked men insult Him with blasphemy and offend Him, the good Lord, with the most horrendous sins. Nations officially distanced themselves from God, and as a consequence, the terrible war has broken out again, which directly or indirectly affects all people and threatens to subvert the whole world in a sea of hatred and blood! How not to feel the bitterness of the Heart of Mary, Mother of God and our Mother! We must seek to make reparation for Him by obeying the commandments of God’s law, obedience to the Holy Church, prayer, and frequent reception of the sacraments.” (1:12)
W Jesus! We embrace the same beam of the cross Mary embraces, with a kiss of love touching Your feet nailed to it… Heavy is the burden of love rejected, love unwanted… Therefore, we wished to truly respond to Your love, abiding after receiving You in Holy Communion in loving union with You… Jesus! Be my love, for which my heart is always open, especially when You come to me in Body and Blood. May the daily abiding of each of us, participants in this First Saturday Adoration, in prolonged loving union with You in Holy Communion become the fulfillment of the command of the Angel of Fatima, who, in the final third apparition in 1916, said on behalf of sad God: “Take and drink the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, horribly outraged by ungrateful men! Make reparation for their crimes and console your God.” [7] Amen. (1:33)