S1, E6 - The Scourging at the Pillar Decade Meditation

The mission of the Ponder and Magnify Podcast is to seek an encounter with Jesus through praying the rosary, relying on the grace of the Holy Spirit and the intercession of Mary. In this episode, listeners are invited to pray with their imaginations through a decade meditation on the account of the Scourging at the Pillar from John 18: 35 through John 19: 1. All praise be to God!

Transcript

Jessica: 0:05

Hello and welcome to the Ponder and Magnify podcast, where our mission is to seek an encounter with Jesus through praying the rosary, relying on the grace of the Holy Spirit and the intercession of Mary. I am so happy that you are here. In this episode, we are going to meditate on just one mystery of the rosary, the second sorrowful mystery, the Scourging at the Pillar. And before we start, I just want to encourage you to take a moment to just pause and reflect on what you're bringing to prayer. What are your joys in this moment? What sorrows are you feeling right now? Do you have any fears? What are you desiring? Who do you wish to pray for? I just encourage you to take a second to pause and just really bring that to mind so that we can carry all of that with us into prayer In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen, Jesus, we ask you to speak directly into our circumstances. Mary, thank you for praying with us and for us. Holy Spirit, anoint the gift of our imagination so that we might come to encounter Jesus more deeply through it. The second sorrowful mystery is Jesus' Scourging at the Pillar. A reading from the Gospel of John. Pilate said to Jesus I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done? Jesus answered my kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here. So Pilate said to him, Then you are a king? Jesus answered. You say I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the world to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice. Pilate said to him what is truth? When he had said this, he again went out to the Jews and said to them I find no guilt in him, but you have a custom that I release one prisoner to you at Passover. Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews? They cried out again Not this one, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a revolutionary. Then Pilate took Jesus and had him scourged. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, amen.

Jessica: 3:17

I position myself as close as possible to Mary, looking for safety and reassurance, as I take in the horror of Jesus being scourged in front of me. He winces with each strike. His blood spills to the ground. The sight feels overwhelming.

Jessica: 3:36

Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen. I resolve to do whatever Mary is doing to make it through the moment. She is on her knees praying. I kneel next to her, she takes my hand and begins to pray audibly, just loud enough for me to hear, so I will know how to pray. Hail Mary full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Jessica: 4:17

I hear Mary praying for someone by name, but I do not recognize it. Because of this, I am struggling to imitate her, so I resolve to quickly interrupt her. Mary, who is it that you are praying for? Tell me so I can join you. She looks at me with such affection and responds so tenderly. I am praying for the salvation of that man with the whip.

Jessica: 4:45

Hail Mary, full of grace.

Jessica: 4:47

The Lord is with thee.

Jessica: 4:49

Blessed are thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, jesus.

Jessica: 4:53

Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.

Jessica: 4:58

Amen. I feel the wind knocked out of me and a surge of anger that causes an upwelling of tears. I ask her, Mary, why? How can you pray for that man as he abuses your son? Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Jessica: 5:29

Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen. She meets my judgment with such sweetness as she responds. I pray for him because that's what Jesus is doing right now, and I wish to always be united in prayer with my son. Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death, amen. My tears begin to really flow as I respond. But, Mary, look at your son. This is evil. That man doesn't deserve your prayers. He deserves to be struck down for this cruelty. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen. She answers with such love, perhaps, but even still, my son loves him. My son grieves over him. He does not wish for this man to get what he deserves, but to realize the error in his ways and to be restored. Jesus wishes to be in heaven with him. Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death, amen. I tell her with desperation. Mary, I just cannot do it. I cannot pray for that man. What then will happen to me? Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Mary wipes the tears from my cheeks so gently. Oh, my child, you are so loved. Do not be afraid. You are right to call what you are seeing injustice. You are right to feel this anger. If you cannot pray for the man with the whip yet, pray then for yourself to know God's mercy more deeply. I will pray for this for you too. Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. And for a moment, the man with the whip paused, paused, and Jesus lifted his head to scan the crowd as if he were searching for something. When his eyes met mine, he stopped looking around and just held his gaze for a moment, giving me a knowing nod. Mary whispered to me see there, my child, all will be okay. Hail Mary full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Glory be to the Father and to the Son, and our death, amen. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be world without end. Amen. O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of thy mercy. Hail Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope. To thee do we cry poor banished children of eve. To thee do we send up our sighs mourning and weeping in the valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb Jesus. o clement, o loving, o sweet Virgin Mary, pray for us, o Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Amen, the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. What a joy it is for me to pray with you. Thank you so much for being here. Please count on my continued prayers and I ask for you to also pray for me. All praise be to God.