Hebrews 5:7-9,
Ps 31:1-2ab.2cd-3.4-5.14-15. 19,
John 19:25-27 Full Readings
Our Lady of SorrowsThe Sorrowful Mary
Brethren, Mary our Mother, mother of God, Queen of heaven, has the many celebrated feasts on the catholic saints' calendar. Most of her feasts and memorials are happy feasts but today we celebrate her as our Lady of Sorrows. Being the mother of God, Queen of heaven and many titles which she has did not mean she could not suffer nor not to have sorrows in her heart. We can see many passages in the Gospels which show that Mary had sorrows in her heart. For instance:
In today's Gospel Mary standing near her crucified Son was filled with sorrows and sadness in her heart and even as she beheld her lifeless son in her hands she really felt a lot of pain. Mary underwent all this sadness from the time Jesus was arrested until Jesus rose from the dead. However, Mary never gave up, she remained a real disciple of Jesus and a model of all mothers. Her sorrows were not just sorrows of suffering without any driving force but sorrows of love.
Even before Jesus' passion Jesus, Mary had very sorrowful experiences which she kept in her heart. For instance the parallel Gospel of today (Luke 2:33-35) about Simeon's prophecy made Mary sorrowful in her heart. Also Mary was sorrowful when Jesus at 12 got lost in Jerusalem and had to spend three days looking for him and how Jesus responded to her after being found. But we are told that all these experiences, Mary kept them in her heart, pondering on them.
Mary did not want to get into the way of doing the will of God both in her life and in the life of Jesus. She knew that the will of God involves suffering and sorrows and so these sorrows meant nothing compared to the will of God. Despite her sorrows, her heart was full of motherly love and tenderness. St. Jerome wrote, "Even while living in the world, the heart of Mary was so filled with motherly tenderness and compassion for men that no one ever suffered so much for their own pains, as Mary suffered for the pains of her children."
This is why Jesus at the cross gave his mother to the beloved disciple. Note that the beloved disciple's name is not mentioned, meaning that a beloved disciple is any one who believes in Jesus and follows his teaching. So by giving Mary to the beloved disciple, Jesus also gave Mary to all of us as our mother. She loves us with tender love as she loved Jesus her Son. She knows all our sorrows and sufferings and she will not leave us alone when we run to her.
Reflect today on the sorrows of Mary our Mother. As she encountered sorrows in her life and didn't avoid doing the will of God in her life, let us remember that when we encounter our own sufferings, we have the same chance to participate in Christ’s saving mission by offering God our hurts, failures, illnesses, sorrow, and grief. When we unite our suffering to Christ’s, our offering becomes meritorious for the salvation of the world. As St. John Paul II said, “Christ has raised human suffering to the level of the Redemption. Thus each man, in his suffering, can also become a sharer in the redemptive suffering of Christ” (Salvifici Doloris 19).
Let us Pray.
Immaculate Heart of Mary, my mother, lead me to your Son. Please receive my prayers and make them beautiful for Christ. Sacred Heart of Jesus, reveal my heart to yours. Open it and lay it bare in front of you. Discern and purify the innermost thoughts of my heart. Fill my heart with a love that burns with such a pure and radiant love for you that others are attracted to you by this love. Amen
Be blessed.
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