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.