p. 87Meditations on the Sorrowful Passion of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and Pious Exterior and Interior Exercises for Every Day in the Month

Day 1

Mysteries of Christ’s Passion. Jesus takes leave of His Mother.

Exterior Exercises. Not to complain to any one about one’s sufferings, and not to seek human consolation.

Interior Exercises. I wish for nothing besides Thee, O my Lord and God.

Day 2

Mysteries of Christ’s Passion. Jesus washes the feet of His disciples.

Exterior Exercises. To assume the meaner occupations.

Interior Exercises. O Lord, wash and cleanse my impure heart.

Day 3

Mysteries of Christ’s Passion. Jesus Christ institutes the sacrament of the Blessed Eucharist.

Exterior Exercises. Often make a spiritual Communion during the day, and at meals perform some little mortification.

Interior Exercises. O Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldst enter under my roof.

Day 4

Mysteries of Christ’s Passion. Jesus gives His last admonitions to His Apostles before His passion.

Exterior Exercises. Not to speak unnecessarily during the day, and be so much the more attentive to the divine inspirations.

Interior Exercises. Speak, O Lord, for Thy servant heareth.

Day 5

Mysteries of Christ’s Passion. Jesus prays in the Garden of Olives and sweats blood for our salvation.

Exterior Exercises. Fervently hasten to the prescribed exercises of devotion.

Interior Exercises. Lord, not my will, but Thine be done!

Day 6

Mysteries of Christ’s Passion. Jesus is betrayed by Judas with a kiss.

Exterior Exercises. Act in a friendly manner towards those who are disagreeable and opposed to us.

Interior Exercises. Who will grant, O Life of my soul, that I may die for Thee?

Day 7

Mysteries of Christ’s Passion. Jesus is arrested and bound like a criminal.

Exterior Exercises. To deny our own will.

Interior Exercises. O my Jesus, like a lamb Thou didst not open Thy mouth.

Day 8

Mysteries of Christ’s Passion. Jesus is led to Annas.

Exterior Exercises. Perform at once the good resolved upon or commanded.

Interior Exercises. Thou, O God, art my strength; in Thee I can do all things.

Day 9

Mysteries of Christ’s Passion. Jesus receives a blow on the cheek from a servant.

Exterior Exercises. Not to excuse ourselves, when, though innocent, we are blamed or punished.

Interior Exercises. O Lord, I am only what I am before Thee, neither better nor worse.

Day 10

Mysteries of Christ’s Passion. Jesus is thrice denied by Peter.

Exterior Exercises. To complain of no one.

Interior Exercises. Behold me, O Lord, have mercy on me.

Day 11

Mysteries of Christ’s Passion. Jesus is mocked all night long, and is badly treated and tormented.

Exterior Exercises. To mortify ourselves on all occasions without attracting observation.

Interior Exercises. O my Jesus, Thou canst now say, I am a worm, and not a man.

Day 12

Mysteries of Christ’s Passion. Jesus is brought to Pilate at early morn.

Exterior Exercises. To address our neighbor in a friendly manner.

Interior Exercises. O Lord, I offer myself to Thee as a constant holocaust of Thy love.

Day 13

Mysteries of Christ’s Passion. Jesus is led bound to Herod.

Exterior Exercises. Neither do nor neglect anything good out of human respect.

Interior Exercises. O my Jesus, the more Thou allowest Thyself to be despised, the more I love Thee.

Day 14

Mysteries of Christ’s Passion. Jesus Christ, the eternal Wisdom, is clothed in a white garment and mocked.

Exterior Exercises. To say or do something that may draw contempt on us.

Interior Exercises. O my dearest Spouse, I will rather be despised with Thee, than be honored without Thee.

Day 15

Mysteries of Christ’s Passion. Jesus is brought back in great disgrace from Herod to Pilate.

Exterior Exercises. Constantly to preserve holy patience amid crosses and trials.

Interior Exercises. My kingdom is not of this world.

Day 16

Mysteries of Christ’s Passion. Barabbas, the robber, is preferred to Jesus, the chief Good.

Exterior Exercises. To say nothing in our own praise.

Interior Exercises. O dearest Jesus, my God and my all.

Day 17

Mysteries of Christ’s Passion. Jesus is most cruelly scourged.

Exterior Exercises. Carefully to restrain our eyes in honor of Jesus stripped.

Interior Exercises. O Lord, is it possible for me to see Thee in such torments, and not to melt into tears?

Day 18

Mysteries of Christ’s Passion. Jesus Christ, the King of heaven and earth, is crowned with thorns.

Exterior Exercises. On this day especially let us yield to our neighbor in all things lawful.

Interior Exercises. O my Jesus, it was I, who by my pride, placed this crown of thorns on Thy head.

Day 19

Mysteries of Christ’s Passion. Jesus is shown in this lamentable state to the people.

Exterior Exercises. Neither desire to please men, nor fear to displease them.

Interior Exercises. My Lord and my God, in possessing Thee I possess all things.

Day 20

Mysteries of Christ’s Passion. Jesus is unjustly condemned to death.

Exterior Exercises. To explain everything in favor of our neighbor.

Interior Exercises. O Lord, I have deserved death.

Day 21

Mysteries of Christ’s Passion. Jesus carries His heavy cross.

Exterior Exercises. In honor of Jesus carrying His cross to assist others in their hard work.

Interior Exercises. My Lord, grant me the grace to suffer something for Thy sake.

Day 22

Mysteries of Christ’s Passion. Jesus, carrying His cross, meets His sorrowful Mother.

Exterior Exercises. To practise some devotion in honor of the Mother of God, and to console the afflicted.

Interior Exercises. O dearest Mother, assist me in every trial, anguish, and want.

Day 23

Mysteries of Christ’s Passion. At the end of the Way of the cross Jesus is allowed neither refreshment nor rest.

Exterior Exercises. Not to eat out of meal time, not to sit down without necessity, if fatigued.

Interior Exercises. O my Jesus, for Thy sake change for me all earthly sweetness into bitterness.

Day 24

Mysteries of Christ’s Passion. Jesus is stripped of His clothes shamefully and amid great suffering.

Exterior Exercises. To suffer patiently the inclemencies of the weather.

Interior Exercises. Forgive me, O my Saviour, for having so delicately treated my body.

Day 25

Mysteries of Christ’s Passion. Jesus is nailed to the cross.

Exterior Exercises. Not to lean on anything when seated, or—when not observed—to pray with outstretched arms.

Interior Exercises. O Lord, suffer not Thy great pains to be in vain for me.

Day 26

Mysteries of Christ’s Passion. Jesus, fearfully insulted and reviled, prays for His enemies.

Exterior Exercises. Most willingly to return good for injuries received.

Interior Exercises. O Lord, how much more hast Thou forgiven me, than I have forgiven my neighbor!

Day 27

Mysteries of Christ’s Passion. Jesus cries out, I thirst; and is given gall and vinegar to drink.

Exterior Exercises. Not to drink out of meals.

Interior Exercises. May the Blood of Jesus Christ be given me to drink and to cleanse me from my sins.

Day 28

Mysteries of Christ’s Passion. Jesus amid great torments gives up His soul.

Exterior Exercises. To obey perfectly even in difficult matters.

Interior Exercises. O Jesus, to Thee I live; O Jesus, to Thee I die; O Jesus, Thine am I in life and death!

Day 29

Mysteries of Christ’s Passion. The Sacred Heart of Jesus is pierced with a lance.

Exterior Exercises. To exercise hearty and benevolent charity towards our neighbor.

Interior Exercises. With the darts of Thy love, O Lord, wound my heart, and remain my portion forever.

Day 30

Mysteries of Christ’s Passion. Jesus is taken down from the cross and placed in the sepulchre.

Exterior Exercises. Strive to practise poverty perfectly.

Interior Exercises. O my only Good, I willingly embrace holy poverty, since, for my sake, Thou didst become the poorest of all.

Day 31

Mysteries of Christ’s Passion. Mary, the Mother of sorrows, is constant in suffering, and perfectly conformed to God’s holy will.

Exterior Exercises. Strive to practise true self-denial, and accept all things with a holy indifference from the hands of God.

Interior Exercises. Holy Mother, impress thy sufferings deeply in our hearts.