Chaplet of The Compassionate Tears of Christ
The Bible records 3 times that Jesus wept, although He probably wept many, many times.
1. Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus in John 11:35. "Jesus Wept." (Here we see the sympathy of Jesus."
2. Jesus wept in the Garden of Gethsemane as He approached the hour of the cross.
And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. Luke 22:44
3. Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem.
OUR Lord Jesus Christ, in his original nature, was infinitely above all suffering, for he was "God over all, blessed for evermore;" but, when he became man, he was not only capable of suffering, but partook of that nature that is remarkably feeble and exposed to suffering. The human nature, on account of its weakness, is in Scripture compared to the grass of the field, which easily withers and decays. So it is compared to a leaf; and to the dry stubble; and to a blast of wind: and the nature of feeble man is said to be but dust and ashes, to have its foundation in the dust, and to be crushed before the moth. It was this nature, with all its weakness and exposedness to sufferings, which Christ, who is the Lord God omnipotent, took upon him. He did not take the human nature on him in its first, most perfect and vigorous state, but in that feeble forlorn state which it is in since the fall; We all know we can turn to Jesus when we need a shoulder to cry on but we seldom think there are times when He is the one doing the crying. The shortest verse in the bible, "Jesus wept" (John 11:35), shows us our Saviour as a compassionate man with real emotions who could be saddened to the point of tears. When "Jesus wept" He was dealing with some dear friends who had lost their brother, Lazarus, to death.
What led our Lord to weep over the dead, who could at a word restore him, in fact had it in purpose so to do?
First of all, as the context informs us, He wept from very sympathy with the grief of others. "When Jesus saw Mary weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, He groaned in the spirit, and was troubled." It is the very nature of compassion or sympathy, as the word implies, to "rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep." We know it is so with men; and God tells us He also is compassionate, and full of tender mercy. Yet we do not well know what this means, for how can God rejoice or grieve? By the very perfection of His nature Almighty God cannot show sympathy, at least to the comprehension of beings of such limited minds as ours. He, indeed, is hid from us; but if we were allowed to see Him, how could we discern in the Eternal and Unchangeable signs of sympathy? Words and works of sympathy He does display to us; but it is the very sight of sympathy in another that affects and comforts the sufferer more even than the fruits of it. Now we cannot see God's sympathy; and the Son of God, though feeling for us as great compassion as His Father, did not show it to us while He remained in His Father's bosom. But when He took flesh and appeared on earth, He showed us the Godhead in a new manifestation. He invested Himself with a new set of attributes, those of our flesh, taking into him a human soul and body, in order that thoughts, feelings, affections might be His, which could respond to ours and certify to us His tender mercy. When, then, our Saviour weeps from sympathy at Mary's tears, let us not say it is the love of a man overcome by natural feeling. It is the love of God, the bowels of compassion of the Almighty and Eternal, condescending to show it as we are capable of receiving it, in the form of human nature.
Jesus wept, therefore, not merely from the deep thoughts of His understanding, but from spontaneous tenderness; from the gentleness and mercy, the encompassing loving-kindness and exuberant fostering affection of the Son of God for His own work, the race of man. Their tears touched Him at once, as their miseries had brought Him down from heaven. His ear was open to them, and the sound of weeping went at once to His heart.
There was another time when the Lord shed tears. Luke 19:41 And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, The lord was crying over Jerusalem shortly before his arrest and crucifixion.
He cried more than once because of the deeds and actions of man. If He cried over the actions of man while He was here, it stands to reason he cries today when believers and non-believers sway from His standard of behaviour. The bible says the Lord is the same yesterday, today and forever.
The tears of Christ as he wept over Jerusalem were for the sins of all time. The Jewish nation was a symbol of the people of all ages who scorn the pleadings of Infinite love. Those who profess to be the representatives of Christ upon earth, yet whose lives are a continual denial of him, may read their own condemnation in Christ's denunciation of the self-righteous Jews. The Saviour came to the world bringing the light of truth; but his counsel has ever been rejected and his mercies despised by those who have allowed selfishness and the love of mammon and worldly honour to possess the temple of the heart. The sin of Jerusalem was in the rejection of her then present mercies and warnings
"And God shall wipe away all TEARS from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor CRYING, neither shall there be any more pain." Such is the condition of the New Jerusalem––the new earth and the new heaven in which the risen and glorified saints will dwell and reign for ever with Jesus at His coming. "He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces." (Isa. 25:8.)
Prayer before the Chaplet
O Father we desire to be an image of your Son,
Our Lord. Jesus Christ. By reflection upon His compassionate tears may we come
to better know Him and His merciful love.
He, who was born because of our sins.
He, who was born to bear our sins.
He, who was born to death for the debt of our sins.
He, who was born again to forgive our sins.
He who was, is and will be our everlasting saviour.
We give all praise and glory to you.
We humbly ask intercession from our Blessed Mother.
Holy Mary Mother of God
Exalted be your name above all others,
Blessed is your Immaculate Conception,
The blessed fruit born without our sin, to bear the fruit of man's injustice,
Immaculate heart of Mary turn our sorrow to joy,
Ever Blessed be the gift of the Father, Our Mother, Bearer of our salvation.
The Creed
Our Father
Glory Be
1st Mystery
1.*Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus
(We offer this mystery for lost souls especially those in our family and
friends)
V.
Through your compassionate tears,
R.
O Jesus teach us mercy. (10 times)
Hail Mary
2nd Mystery
2.*Jesus wept in the Garden of Gethsemane as He approached the hour of the
cross.
(We offer this mystery for those who bear their cross for Christ, for Martyrs,
for missionaries and for all religious and all who are persecuted for their
faith)
V. Through your compassionate tears,
R. O Jesus teach us mercy. (10 times)
Hail Mary
3rd Mystery
3.*Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem (We offer this mystery for the souls in
purgatory, for those souls nobody prays for and for those that haven't had
proper rites or burial)
V. Through your compassionate tears,
R.
O Jesus teach us mercy. (10 times)
Hail Mary
Fatima Prayer to conclude
"O My Jesus forgive us our sins and save us from the fires of hell and lead all
souls to heaven especially those in most need of thy mercy."