Points for Meditation

There are countless ways to pray doce me passionem Tuam and to learn Christ’s sufferings in prayer. Here is one simple method, which can of course be modified. This utilizes the following 135 points, or similar considerations, intended to help us meditate upon different aspects of Christ’s suffering from the Incarnation to the Ascension. It also includes points that help us consider how we have fallen short and caused Christ to suffer from our lack of love or complete abandonment to God’s Divine Providence. This page could contain an infinite number of considerations, from the thousands of wounds of His Passion to every blister Jesus sustained on his itinerant journeys when he preached throughout Galilee. In short, there is no limit here, and you can add your own points for meditation to the ones below.

The method proposed here uses the beads of the rosary to meditate on these points, or on others you come up with on your own. Use the Our Father (large) beads to recite the point for meditation, then pray doce me passionem Tuam ten times on the Hail Mary (small) beads. The points can also be used as an aid to quiet contemplation in your mental prayer, and don’t require a particular repetition of the doce aspiration.

If you read the Gospels carefully you can add countless other considerations to this list. These are merely suggestions to get you started.

Christ's Hidden Life

Christ's Public Life

Christ's Passion and Death

After the Resurrection

Christ’s Hidden Life

Teach me the suffering of Your Incarnation, when You humbled Yourself to become man and enter into our fallen world.
- Doce me passionem Tuam x 10
Teach me the suffering of Your nine months of gestation in the womb of Mary, when You began as only a tiny embryo, requiring the nourishment of a human mother in order to be born a living and breathing baby.
- Doce me passionem Tuam x 10
Teach me the suffering of the moment in which You, the One who made Heaven and Earth, entered the world, not in a palace fit for a king, but instead in a stable, barely suitable for the lowliest of animals.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of when—after being nourished and carried in the womb of Your Mother—You were not comforted next to her bosom but instead separated from her consolation and warmth and placed in a manger. You entered this life stretched out on a piece of wood and you would later leave this world stretched out on a piece of wood.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of when You endured the feeling of hunger for the very first time. As the God who created everything that nourishes our bodies, You submitted to feel hunger Yourself.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…

Teach me the suffering of when You endured the feeling of thirst for the very first time. As the God who created water and designed mothers with bodies capable of nourishing their infants, You submitted to feel thirst Yourself.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of when You endured feeling cold for the very first time. As the God who created the winds and snow, You submitted to feel cold Yourself.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of when You endured feeling hot for the very first time. As the God who created the sun and fire, You submitted to feel heat Yourself.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of when Your blood was spilled for the first time at Your circumcision.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of every time You endured feeling uncomfortable as a baby, for example, after soiling Your diaper like any human infant.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…

Teach me the suffering of when You and Your earthly parents had to flee to Egypt to save You from tyrannical murder.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of when You, the King of the Universe, humbled Yourself as a little toddler who had to be taught how to crawl, to walk, to eat, to talk.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of when You fell as a child, scraping Your knee for the very first time.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of when You dwelt not in a palace or a mansion, but instead in a tiny one-room house in Nazareth.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of when You received a splinter for the very first time, while working with St. Joseph and learning to handle wood for Your future trade.
- Doce me passionem Tuam...

Teach me the suffering of when You endured being teased and excluded by other children, submitting to such treatment without seeking any retribution.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of when You humbled Yourself and obediently responded to adult neighbors chastising You without cause.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of when You endured long days working with St. Joseph, learning to be a craftsman. You made the universe and yet worked as a humble apprentice and tradesman.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of when You endured feeling sick for the very first time. Despite Your powers to heal, You knew what it was like to feel physically ill.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of when You sat in the Temple, longing to be united with God Your Father in Heaven.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…

Teach me the suffering of when You experienced the grief of having lost Your earthly father, St. Joseph.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of when You accepted the responsibility of becoming Our Lady’s provider and protector upon the death of St. Joseph.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of when You looked into the eyes of Our Lady as she indicated it was time to begin Your public ministry at the wedding feast at Cana.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of when You humbled Yourself to be baptized in the Jordan by St. John the Baptist.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of when You accepted our sins in Your baptism.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…

Christ’s Public Life

Teach me the suffering of when You endured 40 days of fasting in the wilderness. You experienced the same thirst and hunger, cold and sleepless nights, that we would endure in those circumstances.
- Doce me passionem Tuam x 10
Teach me the suffering of when You experienced the humiliation of being mocked and tempted by Satan in the wilderness.
- Doce me passionem Tuam x 10
Teach me the suffering of the worries and pain You experienced, knowing with each advancing day of Your public ministry that Your Mother’s heart would soon be pierced, and she would join You at the Cross on Calvary.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of the overwhelming feeling of never being alone as the crowds pressed in on You wherever You went.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of the absurd accusations You endured from both ordinary people and the Pharisees.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…

Teach me Your suffering of sustaining blisters on your feet during your long journeys on foot while preaching throughout Galilee and Judea.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me Your suffering of the sunburns you acquired, enduring the heat of the day during your fast in the wilderness and while preaching to the crowds of people.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me Your suffering from the aches and pains caused by sleeping on the hard ground during your itinerant journeys, where the Son of Man had nowhere to lay His head.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me Your suffering of having to walk too far in one day to reach the people and places that longed to see you and enjoy your presence during your public ministry.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me Your suffering of sometimes wearing worn and soiled clothes, with few opportunities to bathe and wash while journeying, relying for material means entirely on the generosity of others.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…

Teach me the suffering of eating with tax collectors and cheats to show us that You will leave the ninety-nine to save one.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of humbling Yourself to touch people who were unclean, such as lepers and the woman with a flow of blood.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me Your suffering of feeling fatigued the next day after spending the entire night in prayer to your Father in Heaven.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me Your suffering of constantly having to prove Yourself, even to Your closest friends, as when You walked on water and calmed the stormy sea.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me Your suffering when You felt tired, hungry, and thirsty, with no time to rest, as word of Your presence brought crowds of people to every place You went.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…

Christ’s Passion and Death

Teach me Your suffering of knowing what You were about to endure, yet putting Your apostle’s needs before Your own, when You lavished them with love at the Last Supper.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of giving us Your body and blood when You instituted the Eucharist, knowing that many would desecrate this priceless gift, or at least be indifferent to it.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of knowing your friend Judas would betray You, and yet allowing this to happen without attempting to stop him.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me Your suffering of knowing that Peter would deny You three times, even after You warned him, and yet You loved Peter and built the Church upon him.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me Your suffering of asking only one thing of Peter, James, and John—that they stay awake with You during Your agony in the Garden—and still, each one of them repeatedly fell asleep and left You alone.
- Doce me passionem Tuam...

Teach me Your suffering of sweating blood in your unspeakable distress, of sobbing so intensely that You cried tears of blood, in Gethsemane. Teach me the burning and dryness of Your eyes, the inflammation of Your eyelids, the sore eye sockets, the taste of tears and blood as they ran down Your face.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me Your suffering of being grabbed, bound, and roughly handled when You were arrested without cause and taken into custody.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the quiet suffering You endured as the soldiers shouted at You in the Garden. You did not physically defend Yourself or shout back. You did not curse Judas. Instead, You healed a wounded man’s ear—one who was assisting Your enemies. Even in this moment of trial, You sought to minimize the suffering of others.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me Your suffering of sitting shackled in the holding cell overnight—lonely, sad, frightened, cold, hungry, dehydrated, exhausted.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me Your suffering of hearing false charges hurled against You while remaining silent. You did not defend Yourself, nor did You smite those who perjured themselves with false accusations. While You endured slander without retaliation, we become defensive and even enraged when others speak the painful truth about us.
- Doce me passionem Tuam...

Teach me Your suffering when the crowd remained silent while your accusers maligned You before Pilate. No one came to Your defense in the face of blatantly false charges.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of hearing Your neighbors, fellow Jews, shouting for the release of the criminal Barabbas. Your people demanded freedom for a derelict over their Savior and Messiah.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me Your suffering of seeing Pilate’s hesitation and cowardice, despite the unrest of his conscience and the statements of his wife. You suffered from Pilate’s weakness, as You suffer from my weakness.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me Your suffering of hearing the crowds, those you loved, yell, “crucify him.”
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teah me Your suffering of hearing Pilate’s words when he unjustly condemned you to death by crucifixion.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…

The Scourging

Teach me Your suffering of seeing and hearing the men who would scourge You approaching with the flagellum, the instrument of torture.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me Your suffering when You saw and heard the flagellum move through the air, anticipating what it would feel like in that split second before it hit Your skin for the very first time. The second time. The thirtieth time.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of Your pain the first time the flagellum ripped open Your skin.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of Your pain the second, the third, the thirtieth time the flagellum ripped open Your skin.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me Your suffering of enduring this pain while remaining silent. You never begged them to stop. You never cursed Your tormentors. Teach me what was required of You to suppress the impulse to cry out in pain—when You grit Your teeth, bit Your lip, squeezed shut Your jaw.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…

Teach me Your suffering of listening to the jeers and cruelty of those who were scourging You and those watching in the crowd.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering You endured as You collapsed, exhausted, to Your knees and scraped them on the ground.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering You endured as the blood trickled down Your precious body.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering You endured as the dehydration increased from Your blood loss.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of the burning and salt of Your tears.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…

Teach me Your suffering as You began to feel faint and dizzy, as You started going in and out of consciousness.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of the stinging and burning You felt as every nerve in Your body cried out in pain.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of the many forms of humiliation that accompanied Your scourging, as You were tied naked to the pillar.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of having Your hands bound to the pillar, unable to move or defend yourself from the blows.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering You endured when the relentless scourging finally stopped. You realized they were done, as you lay nearly dead, yet You knew the suffering of Your Passion had just begun.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…

The Crowning with Thorns

Teach me the suffering of the pain You felt from each piercing of the thorns on Your precious head.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of the blood dripping down Your face, running over Your eyes and into Your ears. It matted in Your beard and blood coagulated with the dirt and tears on Your face.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering You endured as Your blood reached Your lips and tongue. Your only nourishment was this blood, tears, and dirt that ran into Your mouth.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering You endured every time You moved Your head, feeling a new thorn pierce You as You winced in pain.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of the incomprehensible headache You endured from these torments.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…

The Carrying of the Cross

Teach me the suffering of the initial blow You felt from the Cross’ immense weight as it slammed against Your back on your already torn flesh.
- Doce me passionem Tuam x 10
Teach me the suffering of the pain You experienced as You attempted to adjust the Cross to balance its weight, further tearing Your already raw skin.
- Doce me passionem Tuam x 10
Teach me the suffering You endured when carrying the Cross while already nearly dead from Your wounds and blood loss.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me Your suffering as You slowly dragged the Cross to Calvary. It rubbed into Your shoulders and across the crest of your pelvic bone on Your lower back.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me what You suffered as You fell to the ground, as Your knees hit the hard dirt and were further torn raw to the bone by the gravel and grit that filled the path.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…

Teach me the pain You felt in the palms of Your hands as they scraped against the ground and received splinters from the wood of the Cross.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the shooting pain You felt every time the Cross bumped against Your crown of thorns.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering You endured as Your eyes crusted over with tears, blood, and dirt.
Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of every cruel look, every bowed or turned head, every callous glance that You saw in the crowd as You climbed the hill.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me Your suffering when Your lips split from dehydration, sun, rough dirt, and Your own teeth.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…

Teach me the suffering of Your desire for just a sip of cool water.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me Your suffering when You peered into the hateful or indifferent heart of each person You passed. You knew every thought they didn’t whisper, every bit of hidden malice or disregard they harbored. You met their looks of contempt with eyes filled with love, compassion, and forgiveness.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me Your suffering of knowing that, even among those few who were pained in the crowd, they had no awareness that You did this for each of them individually.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering You endured with every step You took. Each individual step.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering You endured when Your hips were dislocated as the Cross landed on you when you fell.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…

Teach the suffering You endured when Veronica wiped Your face, and You felt the necessary but painful sensation of her veil against Your torn skin.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me Your suffering when You saw the reluctance and hesitation of Simon of Cyrene as he was conscripted to help You carry Your Cross.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering You experienced as Simon attempted to help You, but with such an unbalanced object, his assistance did not make much difference. And yet, You met Simon with a look of love and gratitude that converted his heart.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me Your suffering as You spotted the face of Your anguished mother among the teeming crowd.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of the moment You finally reached the top of Calvary and were able to put down the Cross. You knew Your suffering was still only just starting, and yet You persevered to carry Your Cross all the way to the top of the hill.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…

The Crucifixion

Teach me the suffering of Your humiliation in being stripped naked before the onlookers, including Your Blessed Mother. The indecent crowd failed to avert its eyes before your helpless nakedness.
- Doce me passionem Tuam x 10
Teach me the suffering of the pain You endured as Your right arm was held down and the first nail was driven into your hand, with searing pain radiating through Your body from the top of Your head to the tips of Your toes.
- Doce me passionem Tuam x 10
Teach me the suffering of the pain You experienced in a single fingertip on Your right hand—the finger of God himself, the greatest scandal the world has ever known.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of Your gasps for air as Your left arm was held down and You anticipated and braced for the pain to come.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of the blinding pain You felt when the second nail was driven into your left hand.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…

Teach me the suffering You endured when the soldiers positioned Your legs and held them down to drive the nail in.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering you felt in each of Your nerve endings as the final nail was driven in, piercing Your feet.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering in Your precious feet, which brought peace to men and women, now black and blue, swollen and bleeding.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of the pain You experienced in a single toe on Your left foot—this pain alone would constitute the greatest scandal the world has ever known.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering You endured with the movement of Your body as the Cross was raised from the ground and driven into the earth. Your body heaved forward and down, and the nails ripped further into Your flesh from the weight of Your body, as gravity pulled You away from the Cross.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…

Teach me Your suffering as Your arms were dislocated when they pulled away from Your shoulder joint as You hung on the Cross.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me Your suffering as the thorns thrust deeper into Your head when the Cross pushed against it.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me Your suffering from the blinding sun, burning Your eyes and scorching Your naked body.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me Your suffering as the blood drained away from Your head and pooled in Your lungs.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of every breath You took, every movement You made, as You slowly suffocated to death—Your labored breathing, Your fear of suffocation.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…

Teach me the suffering in Your heart as You looked into the eyes of Your Mother, Your disciple John, and Your friend Mary Magdalene who stood at the foot of the Cross.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me Your suffering and sadness as You bestowed Your Blessed Mother on John and on the Church.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of Your loneliness You hung upon the Cross: Where were Your disciples? Where was I?
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me Your suffering at the audacity of the bad thief who questioned whether You were the Son of God.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me Your suffering in the second hour of Your crucifixion and death by slow suffocation.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…

Teach me the suffering of every breath You took in and breathed out, and the panic this induced. Teach me Your struggle to decide whether to pull Your body further from the Cross, thereby tearing Your limbs, just to take a deeper breath.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of Your interior pain—Your enduring and expiating the sins of all humanity from the fall of man to the end of time: murder, theft, genocide, rape, torture, lust, envy, greed, betrayal.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of the countless venial sins You expiated. This interior agony was worse than your physical torments by an incalculable magnitude. And yet, you said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of the third hour of Your slow suffocation, as each breath became increasingly rapid and shallow.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of the numbness in Your limbs, which did not blunt the pain but magnified it.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…

Teach me the suffering of Your experience of abandonment and desolation when you cried out, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?”
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of Your final moment, when you said, “It is finished” and breathed Your last.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of Your pierced side—that final indignity, that violent desecration of Your body.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of Your hurried burial in borrowed grave not Your own.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the incomprehensible suffering of Your descent into Hell—the suffering when Your soul was separated from Your body and kept in a place distant from its rightful spot at the Father’s side in Heaven.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…

After the Resurrection

Teach me the suffering You still endured after Your resurrection. While this was a moment of triumph for mankind, You continued to humble Yourself by returning to a still fallen world tainted by original sin. You returned to us with a body still carrying the wounds of Your Passion.
- Doce me passionem Tuam x 10
Teach me the suffering of each day in which You walked the earth after Your Resurrection and before Your Ascension. You patiently remained with us, not yet assuming Your rightful place in Heaven.
- Doce me passionem Tuam x 10
Teach me the suffering of Your final goodbye to Your Mother and disciples as You ascended into Heaven.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of Your great humility, as You return to us each time the Mass is celebrated, hidden under the humble and simple appearance of bread and wine.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me the suffering of Your loneliness as You wait silently for us inside the tabernacle, Your little house, in churches throughout the world each day.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…

Teach me Your suffering when I fail to love You, when I am inattentive to You or when I ignore Your will for me. Teach me Your immense suffering when I commit a mortal sin or the millions of pinpricks You feel when I commit venial sins, when by my own choices I wound Your Sacred Heart and Your Mother’s Immaculate Heart.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me all that You suffer when You see me suffer.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me all You suffer when I think You have forgotten me in my suffering.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me all You suffer when I think my suffering is more important or worse than Yours.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…
Teach me all You suffer when I think my suffering is proof that You do not exist, or that You are not an all-good and all-loving God. Teach me your suffering when I fail to realize that You didn’t suffer to spare me suffering but to show me that there is something that transcends my suffering, Your infinite love.
- Doce me passionem Tuam…