Traditional Prayers After Each Sorrowful Mystery of the Rosary
October 13 marks the anniversary of the last apparition at Fátima in 1917, when Our Lady told the three shepherd children that she was "the Lady of the Rosary" and asked that the Rosary be prayed every day. It falls this year on a Tuesday, the day for the Sorrowful Mysteries, in the month Pope Leo XIII dedicated to the Rosary.
The prayers below come from the 1889 Manual of Prayers of the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore, which gave a short prayer to Our Lady after each decade. Each one draws a concrete grace from the Passion: surrender to God's will, self-control, freedom from pride, courage to carry our cross, and a share in the work of our salvation. Pray one after each decade, or slowly on their own as a meditation on Christ's sufferings.
The Prayer
The Agony in the Garden: O holy Virgin, more than martyr, by that ardent prayer which our beloved Saviour poured forth to His Heavenly Father, vouchsafe to intercede for us, that, our passions being subjected to the obedience of reason, we may always, and in all things, conform and subject ourselves to the holy will of God. Amen. The Scourging at the Pillar: O Mother of God, Fountain of patience, through those stripes thy only and dearly-beloved Son vouchsafed to suffer for us, obtain of Him for us grace to mortify our rebellious senses, to avoid the occasion of sin, and to be ready to suffer everything rather than offend God. Amen. The Crowning with Thorns: O Mother of our Eternal Prince, the King of Glory, by those sharp Thorns wherewith His Sacred Head was pierced, we beseech thee to obtain, through thine intercession, that we may be delivered from all emotions of pride, and escape that shame which our sins deserve at the day of judgment. Amen. The Carrying of the Cross: O holy Virgin, model of patience, by the most painful carrying of the Cross, in which thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, bore the heavy weight of our sins, obtain for us of Him, through thine intercession, courage and strength to follow His steps, and bear our cross after Him to the end of our lives. Amen. The Crucifixion: O holy Mary, Mother of God, as the Body of thy beloved Son was for us stretched upon the Cross, so may we offer up our souls and bodies to be crucified with Him, and our hearts to be pierced with grief at His most bitter Passion; and thou, O most sorrowful Mother, graciously vouchsafe to help us, by thy all-powerful prayers, to accomplish the work of our salvation. Amen.
Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us.
See also: Sorrowful Mysteries and Fatima Decade Prayer.
Sources: A Manual of Prayers for the Use of the Catholic Laity, prepared by order of the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore (1889), "A Method of Reciting the Rosary." Public domain.
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