# The fourth sorrow: Mary meets her son
*2015-06-03*

> Bill Young leads a prayerful meditation on the fourth sorrow of the Blessed Virgin Mary, focusing on the moment she encounters Jesus as He carries His cross.

## Opening Prayer and Creed

Good morning, this is Bill Young and welcome to the Prayer N Lunch podcast. Today is Sunday, May 30, the feast of the Visitation of Mary. We are continuing our series on the Chaplet of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Today we reflect on the fourth sorrow: Mary meets her son while He is weighed down by the cross.

We begin in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Oh God, come to my aid; oh Lord, make haste to help me. 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. I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, the only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell, and on the third day, He rose again. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.

## The Fourth Sorrow

The fourth sorrow is Mary meeting her son while He is weighed down by the cross. As it is written in Luke 23:27, "And there followed him a great multitude of the people, and of women who bewailed and lamented him."

We pause for a brief moment for personal reflection, followed by the Our Father and seven Hail Marys.

## Intercession and Petition

Mother full of mercy, remind our hearts of the sufferings of Jesus during His passion. Let us pray: Oh Mary, humble handmaid of the Lord, who allowed yourself to be guided by the beatitudes promised by your son to all those who fulfilled the will of the Father, help us to be obedient to God's will for us and to embrace the cross of our path with the same love with which you accepted and carried it. Amen.

## Closing Hymn

We conclude with a hymn: Oh Queen of Holy Rosary, oh Queen of Holy Rosary, oh blessed as we pray, and offer our roses in gratitude day by day. From our Father's garden, with loving hearts and bold, we gather to divine honor, buds white, red, and gold.

O Queen of Holy Rosary, its mystery blends with thee, the secret scarred life of Jesus in every step divine. The soul was His fair garden, divine breath His bloom; thus to His Father's mirror, faithful mirror, reflecting Him above. Amen.

*We are called to be obedient to God's will and to embrace our own crosses with the same love that the Blessed Mother showed.*