September 15 2023 - Our Lady of Sorrows - A heart united to Christ in love and suffering

Yesterday, on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, the Church turned her heart to the Passion of Christ and the wood of the cross upon which our Lord conquered death.  Today the Church turns her heart to the suffering his His Mother—the heart of His mother which shared in her son’s great suffering. 

In the Collect prayer beginning today’s Mass we prayed, O God, who willed that, when your Son was lifted high on the Cross, his Mother should stand close by and share his suffering.

Love unites the mother with her children. She shares their joys, their excitements, their sorrows and sufferings. The heart of the mother aches in every of her child’s bruises, broken bones, or illnesses.

Our Lady’s heart because of it’s purity, selflessness, devotion to the will of God, and faith loved more deeply and therefore suffered more deeply than any mother in history. Because of her love her heart was pierced with swords of sorrow so intense that one might say she only survived the sufferings of her son through special graces from God. 

Today we turn our hearts to her, that she might teach us how to love and how to suffer with grace. And also to know that because her love for each of us is great, she also knows and shares our sufferings too. For since her heart is united to Christ in love and suffering, she loves what he loves...that includes us.

Pope St. John Paul II wrote: “Turn your eyes incessantly to the Blessed Virgin; she, who is the Mother of Sorrows and also the Mother of Consolation, can understand you completely and help you. Looking to her, praying to her, you will obtain that your tedium will become serenity, your anguish change into hope, and your grief into love.”

It is sad to think of how many Christians do not really grasp the motherhood of Mary, the role that God wants her to have in our lives. For God himself, from the cross, told us, “Behold your mother.”

So we who love her have a duty to help those who do not to come to understand this dimension of the Good News of Christ—the Gospel. For it is part of the Gospel that Mary is our Mother—and comes to our aid in our suffering. 

Older Catholics especially can help younger family members to love Mary. When the grandkids or nieces and nephews come over to visit, pray the rosary with them, teach them of the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady, for the younger generations who do not know Mary are in danger of have stilted, colder hearts, as we all are when we fail to love Our Mother as we should.

During the remainder of the day, let us reflect upon the sufferings of the Mother of God. May the tears of Mary give us more compassionate hearts, and keep us faithful to her Son, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For the Church in every place; that, by calling to mind the sorrow of the Blessed Virgin Mary upon hearing the prophecy of Simeon, she may offer comfort to all who advance in this life

along a path of obscurity and suffering. 

For the leaders of nations; that, by remembering the sorrow of the Holy Family’s flight into Egypt,

they may be moved to care for refugees and for all who are obliged to flee from war and persecution. 

For parents anguishing over their children; that, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary

and of Saint Joseph who were anguished by the disappearance of Jesus for three days, they may come to deeper trust and confidence in the providence of the Heavenly Father.

For all who bear the cross of suffering; that, like Jesus bearing His cross, they may encounter the Mother of Sorrows on the way, and be sustained by her compassion.

For widows mourning the death of a beloved spouse; that, by turning to Our Lady, the Virgin Widow of Saint Joseph, they may be comforted in their solitude and inspired to go forward with courage and trust in God.

For all priests; that in the daily offering of the Holy Sacrifice, they may discover the nearness of the Mother of Sorrows and, like Saint John, take her into their homes.

For ourselves; that, by remembering the sorrow of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the entombment of her Son, we may be strengthened in hope and learn from her to wait in silence for the light of the resurrection, and for N. for whom this mass is offered. 

May we be aided at your Mercy Seat, Lord Jesus Christ, now and at the hour of our death, by the pleading of the Blessed Virgin Mary, your Mother, whose most holy soul was pierced, in the hour of your sufferings, by a sword of sorrow. Who live and reign forever and ever.

April 03 2020 - Seven Sorrows of BVM (EF) & Quarantine

A few weeks ago I was thinking that my office needed a bit more sacred art. A priest friend of mine recommended a website (FineArtAmerica) where I could find some beautiful art, and I decided to purchase a print of this beautiful image by William Bouguereau titled "Pieta" (1886).

Today, on the Extraordinary Form liturgical calendar is the Commoration of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which I had the honor to celebrate. I couldn't think of a more appropriate day for the print to arrive via FedEx.

In the image, Our Lady, the Sorrowful Mother, holds the lifeless body of her Son, the Savior of the World. Sorrow pierces her heart, as was foretold by Simeon.

The Collect for this morning's Mass speaks of this event: "O God, in Whose Passion the sword, according to the prophecy of blessed Simeon, pierced through the soul of Mary, the glorious Virgin and Mother, mercifully grant that we, who reverently commemorate her piercing-through and her suffering, may, by the interceding glorious merits of all the saints faithfully standing by the cross, obtain the abundant fruit of Your Passion".

As I hung the print on my office wall, I thought of how this image speaks powerfully of our current sadness, the sorrow of so many good Catholic faithful who long for the Eucharist, but cannot attend mass because of the COVID-19 quarantine. We long to receive not a lifeless body, but the living Body of Christ--a living Body that gives life.

Our Lady knows the grief of the Church during this time, for she has felt it more deeply than we can possibly imagine. The Collect for the Mass certainly resonates not only with our grief, but also with the hope--a hope to receive once again the abundant fruit of the Lord's Passion--the fruit of His Body and Blood offered for us--which we receive in the Eucharist.

As we continue to experience the grief of not being able to receive the Eucharist as often as we would like, we certainly are united with those Catholics in the missionary territories, who only have a priest to celebrate mass for them a few times or only once a year, sometimes less. They are certainly our teachers, that during the desert of Eucharistic fasting, we can practice the precepts of our faith well, study our faith, and pass on our faith.

We also unite are grief with our Lady, who teaches us to trust and submit to God every moment of our life, especially in our grief, in hopes and trust that the Lord God is at work for the greatest good, the salvation of souls.