"And the soldiers platting a crown of thorns, put it upon his head" (John 19: 2).

This is the third Sorrowful Mystery of the Holy Rosary. We meditate on Our Lord crowned with thorns. What does it mean? It means horrendous, inexplicable pain. Can we imagine what happens when finger length thorns are going deep into the head's skin pushed there by cruel hands of rude soldiers. Our Lord's head was soon covered with endless, bleeding wounds. We can see in our hearts these drops of blood streaming down the head and flowing into His eyes. This is the 'gratitude' returned to Him for His goodness and merciful love He manifested to all who ever met Him. "My people, what I have done to thee?" - He gently complains. Looking into these eyes covered with blood, we may find there some accusations for our sins.
Crowning with thorns was the most shameful and cruel penance. He was mocked, ridiculed, scoffed and sneered at by the bunch of drunk soldiers. Let us prostrate before the King of kings and Lord of lords with contrite and compassionate hearts and beg His mercy: "Oh Divine Head, most cruelly injured by dreadful thorns, bleeding, painful and ridiculed. Oh Divine Head, deserving to be adorned with utterly different crown and adored by all, I praise and glorify Thee!"
Our Lord did willfully penance for sins of impurity, intemperance, apostasy. Let us humbly pray for the grace to see forgotten sins we may need to repent of in confession: "The crown is fallen from our head woe to us, because we have sinned."(Lam 5:16). Let us make good and holy resolution to amend some faults or imperfections before Our suffering Lord: "And man when he was in honour did not understand; he is compared to senseless beasts, and is become like to them" (Ps 48:13)