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Rosary, SORROWFUL Mysteries

3/5/2021

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Third Decade: The Crowning with Thorns

Christ Crowned with Thorns
Anthony van Dyck (1618-1620)
oil on canvas, Large: approximately 7 feet high by 6.5 feet wide
Currently located in the Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain
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Jesus was arrested, then He was questioned over and over by different authorities. A judgment was made: everyone then knew that He would be crucified. Behind the scenes, the torture continued. Do you know where we are now? Here He is, in a prison, being made fun of with a crown of thorns.

This painting is dark, isn't it? I wouldn't be surprised if you needed to step a little closer if you were in the Museum-- or zoom in here on your phone or computer-- to see all the details. But wait. Let's look from a distance first. I see seven people with Jesus. All of them look really worked up. Despite that agitation, the dark colors that the artist Anthony van Dyck uses cause a very quiet pause. We hear nothing, we might feel our souls reaching out, as we reverently look at our exhausted Jesus, Whose Heavenly Father bathes Him in light. That light isn't coming from the window, is it? Look out the window; it's still twilight outside. God is always with Him, and us.

Let's lean in.

Jesus is surrounded by five men. They are probably soldiers who just finished scourging Him. Now they are jeering Him; they are making fun of Him.

Do you remember the Jusepe de Ribera painting called The Adoration of the Shepherds painting that we looked at during Advent? One of the shepherds was genuflecting as he recognized God in the Holy Infant. His hands are held in prayer, and his knees and feet are respectfully placed.

The man who helped torture Jesus is genuflecting in front of Him, too, in the same exact position and the same exact placement on the canvas as that shepherd, but this genuflect is not sincere. He is in bare feet, and one of those dirty soles is shown directly to us. This was a common technique Renaissance and Baroque artists used to show rudeness and disrespect. ​How different their attitudes are! The man makes fun of Jesus while he hands Jesus a pretend scepter before he yells, "Hail, King of the Jews!"
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Yes, that is a dog. It's barking. It's not threatened by Jesus; it's not barking at Jesus. This dog is upset with what's going on. When we read Scripture, the Gospel writers don't say anything about a dog being in this place at this time. The artist has chosen to include this element to bring to our attention that, even though many humans were completely unaware of Who Jesus was and consumed with evil, the simple creatures and living things in nature as well as the climate and weather were disturbed at the sight of Jesus' suffering. In Matthew 27, we read that the sky became dark (Mt 27: 45), that there was an earthquake (Mt 27:51).​
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​The hand of the man behind Him (on our left) looks like it's ready to punch Jesus, or maybe it already did.
Look at the man in red (on our right). Look at his hands. What is he feeling? What is he doing? I wonder about him. Do you think that maybe he, for just a moment, recognizes Who Jesus really is? I wonder what that man will do next. You know, even nowadays, lots of people recognize Who Jesus is but then they ignore what they know to be true, turn their backs on Jesus, and commit sins anyway.

How do you feel when you are looking at all of this?
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o Jesus.... He is so weak from the scourging. Through it must be painful beyond imagination, He does not scream, groan, or even show pain on His Face. He just sits there as the soldier dressed in a suit of black armor places the crown of thorns upon His divine Head. We can see how painful the thorns must be because the soldier is wearing iron and heavy leather gloves rather than using his bare hands to drive the thorns into Christ's Head. 

Soldiers living in the Holy Land during Jesus' lifetime did not wear suits of armor. So why is this soldier wearing something that was invented a thousand years after Good Friday? There are several possibilities why the artist chose to include this anachronism. Sometimes artists include contemporary items to remind us that we are a part of the ancient Christian scene. Sometimes artists include objects that viewers are familiar with to express an abstract idea; here, van Dyck may have wanted to remind us of the constant fight between good (symbolized by the innocent, loving, accepting Jesus) and evil (symbolized by the cold, hard, unyielding armor). The battle axe held by the man behind Jesus is also an anachronism. In religious art the battle axe is used as a symbol of martyrdom.
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​Who is that looking in the window? When all this happened to Jesus, all of the Apostles ran away to hide because they were afraid that they might be crucified, too. All except two ran away, actually. These two people looking in are probably St. Peter and St. John. You can tell by the anxious expression on one face that they must be Jesus' friends. 

Now, with The Crowning with Thorns in our imagination,
let us pray.

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First Sorrowful Mystery: Agony in the Garden
Second Sorrowful Mystery: Scourging at the Pillar
Fourth Sorrowful Mystery: The Carrying of the Cross
Fifth Sorrowful Mystery: The Crucifixion

For families with very young children, or for families new to the Rosary, simplify by only praying the Sign of the Cross, the Lord's Prayer, and the Hail Mary. These prayers are inside the front and back covers of your child's workbook. Follow the graphic:
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For families ready to push it forward, add in one new prayer each week until you have a complete decade. Follow the outline:
Hold the Crucifix in your right hand. Make the Sign of the Cross properly, using the right hand only.

Still holding the Crucifix, state what you believe as a Catholic by saying the Creed.

Move to the first bead. Pray one Our Father.

Move to the next beads. Pray the Hail Mary three times, once on each bead.

Move to the next bead and pray one Glory Be.

Stay on the same bead. Announce the Mystery by saying these words: The Third Sorrowful Mystery, The Crowning with Thorns. We believe and know that Jesus is the King of Kings, the King of the Universe! On Good Friday, Pilate charged Him with claiming to be "the King of the Jews." The Roman soldiers thought this was funny and made fun of Him by twisting a branch of cruel thorns into a crown. They pushed it into the head of our Savior. It hurt Him terribly. The thorns tore His skin and reached toward His brain. Blood ran down into His eyes.  Then the soldiers put a reed in His hand and threw a dirty cloak over His shoulders, which were already torn from the scourging. They laughed at Him and yelled, "Hail to the King!" God, His Father, allowed this punishment because He knew how many people commit sins with their thoughts. Jesus took on the punishment for our sins so that we have the chance to go to Heaven. We recognize this Sacrifice, and we ask for Jesus' help with battling sinful thoughts: pride, lust, envy, anger. Jesus, help me to become pure and loving. Cleanse my mind. Let my mind focus on praising and worshipping You and You Alone. 
​
Stay on the same bead. Pray one Our Father.

Move through the next ten beads, praying the Hail Mary on each one.

Move to the next bead. Pray one Glory Be.

Stay on the same bead. Pray the Fatima Prayer.

Make the Sign of the Cross using the Crucifix. AMEN!

Lenten Application

Hello to all families who are walking with me this Lent! ​

Speaking of walking ... What about the Stations of the Cross?

The Stations of the Cross, also known as Via Crucis, Via Dolorosa, and Way of the Cross, is a devotion that began in the 1600s to commemorate the Christ's last day on Earth as a man.
 It mimics the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem that many modern-day Catholics walk nowadays. That pilgrimage was reverently mapped under the Emperor Constantine and has been walked by pious Catholics since the earliest times. Catholic Pilgrims stop at 14 places where 14 significant events happened to Jesus on Good Friday while they walk the same path that Jesus walked from the praetorium to Calvary.

Local Catholic parishes have made the Via Dolorosa accessible to their parishioners by creating a path on parish property with 14 stops along the way. While the original Via stops at 14 buildings and gates, parishes ha
ve some form of art depicting each scene from that day. Most churches have plaques, but some have statues or paintings. Participants move from artpiece to artpiece. They stop at each one and say a series of prayers; as they walk to the next artpiece, they sing the "Stabat Mater" hymn (linked below). The stations are most commonly prayed during Lent on Wednesdays and Fridays, and especially on Good Friday, the day of the year upon which the events actually occurred. 

At Holy Family, we have Stations plaques inside the main church, inside the chapel, and outside near the gazebo. You may pray these with our community; times are on the website, and you'll receive a little booklet of prayers on your way in.

Alternatively, you can pray these on your own time with just your family. If you don't have a Stations booklet, you could use these 
Stations of the Cross written for families.

Kids and grown-ups of all ages are able to pray this devotion. I encourage you to be creative and active with your prayers!

​Blessings,
Mary Acevedo, Director of Religious Education

Sing this ancient hymn as you walk between plaques. In this video, it is sung in Latin first followed by English. Lyrics are on the screen, and you only need to choose just one to sing:
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