They Crowned Him with Thorns - a meditation on the third Sorrowful Mystery of the Rosary

Crowning Jesus with Thorns

Oh My Jesus, they used all
our smug entitlement,
all our arrogance and fear —
the harvest of our pride and egotism —
and they crowned You with our sin.

With each act of our corruption,
like a spike,
they pierced Your head with thorns.

Pray, cover us in Your robes of humility,
and detachment,
and compassion.
With Your grace, free us of our unholy desires.

Pray, that Your goodness finally
overshadows and dispels all our fears.
Soften our hearts, that we might yield to
Your love and mercy,
crucifying daily our human desire
for power and prestige.

Pray, we are left only with the
naked truth of Your Love for us.

Pray, we let this truth fill us,
permeate our whole being.
Prepare us with humility,
that we might spend eternity with You.

Pray, we accept, instead, your crown of grace,
cooperating with You, as You call us
into the mystery of Your love.

*******

As we recall in this mystery the ease of falling prey to pride, we’re reminded of St. Augustine of Hippo’s words in the City of God, when he said, “Pride is the beginning of sin. And what is pride but the craving for undue exaltation?” Learning humility, cooperating with Christ, then, in His humility, becomes the antidote.

?Each of these meditations are in my Rosary Meditations Library, at Walking With My Brother. The Meditations Library includes additional resources that you may find helpful, including background readings and a publication schedule for future Rosary meditations.

?And they also publish at Catholic 365 and on Substack, which allows people to subscribe and access them for free. If you do want to contribute to this effort, all donations will go to help physical renovation of St. Mary of the Seven Sorrows in Nashville.