S1, E9 - The Crowning with Thorns 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 Crowning with Thorns from Mark 15: 16-20. 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.

Jessica: 0:16

I am so happy that you are here. In this episode, we'll be meditating on the third sorrowful mystery Jesus' crowning with thorns. Before we start, I want to just encourage you to take a moment to pause and reflect on what you're bringing to prayer. What are your joys in this moment? What is weighing heavy right now? What fears do you hold? What are you desiring from the Lord? Who do you wish to pray for? I invite you to pause, as you need to just bring all of this to the forefront of your mind, In the name of the Father and and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen, Jesus, we ask you to speak directly into our circumstances. Mary, thank you for praying with us and for us now. Holy Spirit, please anoint the gift of our imagination so that we might come to encounter Jesus more deeply through it. The third sorrowful mystery is Jesus' crowning with thorns, a reading from the Gospel of Mark. The soldiers led him away inside the palace, that is, the praetorium, and assembled the whole cohort. They clothed him in purple and weaving crown of thorns, placed it on him. They began to salute him with "hail king of the Jews and kept striking his head with a reed and spitting upon him. They knelt before him in homage and when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak, dressed him in his own clothes and led him out to crucify him. 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. Jesus stands before me crowned with thorns. I see how the thorns pierce into his scalp. I see him wipe blood from his forehead so it doesn't spill into his eyes. He shows me that he knows my heart when he speaks so tenderly, " He holds his hand out, inviting me closer. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed are 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 draw closer to him and his crown becomes all the more astounding. In each thorn I can see an image of an earthly suffering he endured A thorn for being reduced to a human embryo. A thorn for the discomfort of the manger. A thorn for the fleeing of the Holy Family from Bethlehem to Egypt, trying to escape the threat of death. A thorn for the grief he carried at the death of his earthly father, Joseph. A thorn for the rejection he experienced from those in his native place. A thorn for the misunderstanding of the Pharisees and Sadducees. A thorn for the physical separation from his mother. A thorn for the betrayal of his good friend whom he loved, Judas. And the thorns went on and on. Rather than a crown adorned with jewels, Jesus wore a crown adorned with all of the sufferings of his earthly life. 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 feel eager for Jesus to escape this suffering, as I often feel eager to escape my own suffering. I offer him O Jesus, can I help you take this crown off and let me get a rag so we can wipe away the blood.

Jessica: 4:47

Hail Mary full of grace.

Jessica: 4:49

The Lord is with thee.

Jessica: 4:51

Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Jessica: 4:56

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

Jessica: 5:01

Amen. He speaks to me with such tenderness, "Can't you see what the soldiers intended for evil, the Father has turned for good. This is His way. This is His power.

Jessica: 5:20

Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee.

Jessica: 5:23

Blessed art thou among women.

Jessica: 5:26

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 asked Jesus. I do not understand. How is this good? You deserve better than this. Please let me help you take this off. 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, sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Jesus takes my hands in His. I invite you to look at the thorns again. I do. Every single suffering that you see was worth it, that I could draw nearer to you. This crown is a testament to the truth that comes from the Father that you are worth enduring every possible suffering of this life. This is the goodness and the power in the crown of thorns that you might look at it and see how loved you are. How, then, could I possibly take it off? 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. But Jesus, how do you endure the pain of it? 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. Jesus smiles at me. I know that the pain is only temporary, yet in his goodness, the Father allows the effects of offering this pain for the sake of love to be eternal. It is such a gift, and the same is true for you. Your present suffering is temporary, yet if you can offer your suffering in love for the benefit of those entrusted to you, then the Father will allow this temporary pain to have an eternal reward for you and for others. 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. Jesus continues with such excitement in his voice. Don't you see, when you allow your sufferings to serve souls, you receive a crown of love glorified. Wait until you see the radiance of this crown in heaven. The Holy Spirit will capacitate you to endure every pain for this heavenly crown, reminding you over and over that the pain is only temporary but the rewards are eternal. He will give you every strength you need. 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. Jesus is radiant. From his crown of thorns come beams of radiant light. His sacred heart is completely ablaze with love for souls, with love for me, and all I can think to do is just throw my arms around Him and He receives me and holds me in such a tight embrace. I have never felt more free. 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 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 this valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious, advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us and, after this our 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, thank you Jesus, thank you Mary. What a gift it is to pray with you. Count on my continued prayers and please, please, pray for us. Praise be to God.