"And platting a crown of thorns, they put it upon His head, and a reed in His right hand, and bowing the knee before Him, they mocked Him saying, Hail, King of the Jews." - Matthew 27:29
What a picture this scene related by Saint Matthew places before us as we recite this third decade of the sorrowful mysteries of the rosary! He Who is really our King, is thrust upon a jagged pedestal, crowned with a wreath of thorns, furnished with a reed as a sceptre, and subjected to the scorn and mockery and ribaldry of a group of soldiers who w^ere crude and rough and pitiless! Keeping that picture before our minds, let us reflect for a moment on the sorrow and affliction that settled upon the heart of Mary as she realized the tortures to wdiich her Divine Son was being abased! With a supreme act of self-surrender to the holy will of God she steels herself to acquiescence with the sublime submission of Her Divine Son in His obedience to the will of His heavenly Father.
Behold how Jews and soldiers weave
For Christ a thorny crow^n.
And bending on one knee in jest.
Before His face bow down!
My Jesus, for each piercing thorn,
For every jest and smart.
We still will make fresh acts of love
To soothe Thy Sacred Heart."
Saturday - The Joyful Mysteries
Saint Michael, Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray. And you, Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust into Hell Satan and the other evil spirits who prowl the world for the ruin of souls. Amen. – Pope Leo XIII
To thee, O blessed Joseph, do we come in our tribulation, and having implored the help of thy most holy Spouse, we confidently invoke thy patronage also. Through that charity which bound thee to the immaculate Virgin Mother of God and through the paternal love with which thou embraced the Child Jesus, we humbly beg thee to graciously regard the inheritance which Jesus Christ has purchased by his Blood, and with thy power and strength to aid us in our necessities. O most watchful Guardian of the Holy Family, defend the chosen children of Jesus Christ; O most loving father, ward off from us every contagion of error and corrupting influence; O our most mighty protector, be propitious to us and from heaven assist us in our struggle with the power of darkness; and, as once thou rescued the Child Jesus from deadly peril, so now protect God’s Holy Church from the snares of the enemy and from all adversity; shield, too, each one of us by thy constant protection, so that, supported by thy example and thy aid, we may be able to live piously, to die holy, and to obtain eternal happiness in heaven. Amen.
- text taken from The Rosary Devotions for Every Day by Father Mark J Smith, SJ, International Catholic Truth Society, 1924; audio is from Rosary Army