The Second Sorrowful Mystery
The Scourging at the Pillar
By May/June 2009
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The Prophet of Peace is flogged
“Then Pilate took Jesus and had him whipped.” John 19:1
“The men who were guarding Jesus mocked him and beat him. They blindfolded him and asked him, ‘Who hit you?’ Guess!’ And they said many other insulting things to him.” Luke 22:63-65
Reflection
Jesus has undergone his trial; he has been condemned to be whipped. His arms are tied tautly around a pillar. The whip cuts into his flesh. The pain is unbearable and he begins to faint. He is practically unconscious when it finally stops and he is dragged away.
Torture has been practiced throughout history and it still goes on today. We have only to listen to the news to hear the names of prisons and torture camps around the world. Many people are arrested without having committed any crime, simply because they hold opinions contrary to those in power. How is it possible for someone to inflict physical pain on another human being? What goes on in the mind and heart of an individual who condemns someone to torture or who carries it out?
Psychological torture is as painful as physical torture. Words can cut like a whip. They can leave invisible scars on a person’s heart. Children are especially vulnerable and can be marked for life by hurtful remarks. Our words have the power to kill or to give life, to destroy or to build up. Have I experienced torture of some kind? Am I aware of the potential effect of my words and my actions on others? How can I become more aware of situations of imprisonment and torture in the world?
Mission Call
Missionaries often meet individuals who have been imprisoned and tortured. Sometimes we meet families who have lost someone who was disappeared under certain repressive regimes. More common are the many persons who have suffered family violence: women and children who have been abused. We witness the many types of torture inflicted on others because of differences in gender, sexual orientation, race, class, or educational background.
As we pray this decade of the rosary, let us ask the Holy Spirit to strengthen those undergoing torture at this very moment. Let us pray for groups working at ending torture in the world. Let us pray for the healing of those psychologically abused. Let us ask for the grace to affirm others.
Amazon Word
Sister Veronica visits the women’s prison on the outskirts of Boa Vista every Friday morning. She invites me to accompany her to visit Judith, an African woman who speaks no Portuguese, only English. The woman is quite young. I learn that she, her husband, and several other men, had fled a repressive regime. They were arrested in Brazil for travelling on false passports. Now they sought political asylum, but were stuck in jail on legal technicalities. Judith starts to cry. “If we are sent back to our country,” she says, “they will kill us!” We pray together. A few weeks later, with the help of the local human rights group, she and her husband are released and start the process for refugee status.
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