September 15 2021 - Our Lady of Sorrows - Who, that sorrow contemplating...

 Our Lady of Sorrows in the title of Our Lady under which our parish Legion of Mary is particularly dedicated. So Happy Feast to our Legionaries. It is somewhat strange to wish someone a happy feast, on a day when we are contemplating the tears and sorrows of Our Mother, but there is some happiness knowing that we honor her in a way that God wishes us to honor her.

Members of the Legion and all of us have a special duty to pray for the grieving and to go to their side: to go the grieving, to the bedsides of the dying, to attend wakes and funerals with those who grieve their deceased relatives and friends. And also the special duty to pray for those who do not grieve their sins—and to go to their side—to approach families members and members of our parish who have stopped going to Church, who do not go to the Sacrament of Confession, to invite them home.

Today’s Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows logically follows the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross.  Yesterday, we recalled the suffering of Christ on the Cross, the Passion he suffered for our salvation.  Today we recall how Mary stood close to the cross and shared his suffering and participated in our redemption.

Today’s Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows logically follows the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross.  Yesterday, we recalled the suffering of Christ on the Cross, the Passion he suffered for our salvation.  Today we recall how Mary stood close to the cross and shared his suffering. Stabat Mater Dolorosa we sing during the stations of the cross, or in English: At the cross her station keeping,  Mary stood in sorrow weeping When her Son was crucified.

This Church rightly reflects upon our Lady’s suffering as she witnesses her Son’s Passion and death. The grief of any mother watching their child suffer is truly terrible.  Yet, she with perfect love must have suffered all the more.  The Church Fathers teach in fact, that Mary’s sufferings were so great that all the suffering of all the martyrs together do not compare to her suffering with Christ.  

Who, that sorrow contemplating,
On that passion meditating,
Would not share the Virgin's grief?

We are to contemplate her sorrows, her sufferings in union with her Son. Why? Because it wakes up our hearts to the yes, the sufferings of Christ, the sufferings of Our Lady, but the suffering of others in general. Having contemplated her sorrow, her tears, makes us more attentive to the sorrow and tears of our neighbor. It opens up a path to reaching out to them in compassion. Her tears are a road to charity. 

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.”

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.

- - - - - - - 

The petitions I will use today are inspired by the Seven Sorrows of Mary Devotion. 

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 put their all their confidence in the 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.

Holy Hour of Reparation - Healing from Scandal and Grief

In response to the sexual abuse crisis engulfing the Church, the Holy Father, Pope Francis has asked the faithful and the clergy, “the entire holy faithful People of God to a penitential exercise of prayer and fasting, following the Lord’s command.”

“This can awaken our conscience and arouse our solidarity and commitment to a culture of care that says ‘never again’ to every form of abuse,” he said. “Every one of the baptized should feel involved in the ecclesial and social change that we so greatly need.”

To be honest, my first emotions in response to the news of these recent revelations were those of anger and sadness. Anger and sadness over brother priests, consecrated to the Lord, who disgraced their sacred orders; anger at the injustice of bishops and cardinals covering-up the crimes of the abusers; sadness for the pain caused to the victims and the scandal caused to them, how their image of the priesthood and of the Church and perhaps of God has been damaged, how their trust in their priests has been undermined.

Emotions of anger and sadness must always be brought to the Lord to be healed, lest they fester and become poisonous. Likely, I am not alone, here tonight, in bringing my anger and my sorrow to the Lord to be healed.

I came across a quote, just yesterday, from a letter written by the irish playright Oscar Wilde. Wilde writes from prison, this letter which he titled “De Profundis”, out of the depths, the first words of Psalm 130. Wilde writes from the depths of prison, a place of helplessness, despair, anger and sadness. A short sentence near the letter’s beginning resonated with he. He wrote, “where there is sorrow, there is holy ground.” “where there is sorrow, there is holy ground.”

His words reminded me of the second beatitude, “Blessed are the sorrowful, for they shall be comforted.” A time of sorrow can become holy when that sorrow is brought to the Lord. Whether we are grieving the loss of a loved one, a broken relationship, the loss of property, or we are sorrowful for the sins of fellow Christians, like during this time of scandal, grieving can be a holy activity, when our grief is brought to God to be healed.

I think our grief is so great, because grief is a consequence of wounded love.

We grieve the sins of the clergy because we love the clergy, we love our bishops and priests, and it grieves us when they fail, when their sins are so great. We grieve the wounds of the victims, because we love them, especially our young people who put their trust in the Lord and those he has ordained to serve the Church. We grieve their sense of betrayal.

But I truly believe that in coming here is holy, acknowledging our anger and grief before our Eucharistic Lord. This is holy ground because we come to the Lord for healing, healing our wounds, and those of the Church.

We pray that the Lord will hear the prayers of the grieving and bring healing to all the victims of abuse, those who are scandalized by the sins of trusted clergy, and that the Lord will give us strength to continue to work for the spread of the Gospel, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

September 15, 2017 - Our Lady of Sorrows - More Compassionate Hearts

The priest may choose between two different Gospel readings for this Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. The first, which we heard today, from Luke’s Gospel: the words of Simeon to Our Blessed Mother. He foretells the great destiny of her son, while speaking of a future which will be filled with suffering—not just the Son’s suffering, but the mother’s as well: and your own heart a sword shall pierce.

Those who love Christ share his sufferings, and no one loved Jesus more than his mother. In earlier centuries, this feast was called “Our Lady of Compassion”—the word “Compassion” coming from the latin “to suffer with”. Our hearts stretch, we grow in compassion when we meditate on the sorrows of Mary, on the suffering of Jesus. Growing in compassion means stretching the heart to include greater awareness of the suffering of others.

The other Gospel we could have used was from the crucifixion in John’s Gospel: Jesus speaking to Our Lady and the beloved disciple from the cross—Our Lady standing at the foot of the cross. At the cross her station keeping, Stood the mournful Mother weeping, Close to Jesus to the last.

Jesus tells the beloved disciple to take Mary as his mother, and in doing so, gives Mary as mother to all of his beloved disciples throughout the centuries. We are invited to share in our mother’s joy, in her wisdom, we are invited to know her maternal protection. But like any child who sees his mother weeping, we also share in her sorrows.

The founding pastor of our parish, Fr .Fitzgerald, had a great devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows, which is why her statue stands near the sanctuary.

It is sad to think of how many Christians do not know the motherhood of Mary, which I’m sure is one reason why our Mother weeps. 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.

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.”

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.

- - - - - - -
 
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 put their all their confidence in the 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.

May 22, 2017 - St. Rita of Cascia - Battered wife, sorrowful mother, stigmatist, saint

St. Rita is a truly remarkable figure in the history of the church and the history of the saints. She was born in Umbria in 1381. From an early age she wanted to become a nun, a religious dedicated entirely to God. But her parents had other plans for her. They wanted her to marry, and so she did; she obeyed her parents’ insistence and married at a young age. But her husband turned out to be cruel and harsh and the marriage was very difficult, Rita’s only consolation during these years was God; she united herself often, in prayer, to Christ’s sorrowful passion.

After 18 years of a difficult, abusive marriage, her husband, who was a quarrelsome fellow got himself killed in a brawl. When her two sons vowed to avenge their father's murder, she feared for their souls. She tried to persuade them to let go of their anger, but to no avail, they began to plot a murder.

So she prayed, and she petitioned God to prevent her sons from sinning and losing their souls, even if it meant that they lost their earthly life. And it so happened that the sons developed dysentery; but, they were reconciled to God before they died, repentant of their hatred.

Free from earthly ties, St. Rita entered the Augustinian nuns in the nearby town of Cascia. She became renowned for her austerity, devotion, prayer, and charity; and for her patience in long-standing illness, she received visions from heaven and the stigmata—a wound resembling the crown of thorns on her forehead, which she bore until her death, which occurred on May 22, 1457.

So many spiritual lessons, from this brief description of her life:

She united her suffering to passion of Christ. And she followed God’s call to a life of religious consecration. I wish we lived in a culture where it was more common, as it was in those days, for men and women to enter religious life, and to become dedicated to God in prayer and fasting.

And she understood the consequences of mortal sin and the value of the souls of her sons. She understood that sin is the greatest of evils because its effects are eternal. So many parents these days are overly concerned about their children’s earthly successes without greater concern for their eternal welfare. The neglect of religious formation is deeply troubling.

St. Rita is one of the patron saints of impossible causes, we certainly invoke her intercession for the transformation of our culture whose conversion seems quite difficult these days. May St. Rita continue to teach us, inspire us, and challenge us, that we may reach the perfection for which we were made for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

- - - - - - - -

That Christians may grow in grace by uniting their sufferings to the Sufferings of Christ and know God’s presence with them in their sufferings.

For all those in difficult or abusive marriages, that the Lord will protect victims of abuse and bring healing and reconciliation where it is possible.

That all young people may come to value discipleship of Jesus Christ above all earthly pursuits, be preserved from sin, and grow in grace and holiness.

For an increase in vocations to the priesthood and consecrated religious life, and for a strengthening of all vocations of service.

For all those impossible cases which only the grace of God can remedy.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, for the repose of the soul of Fr. Robert Wendelken, longtime pastor of St. Rita parish, for all of the pour souls in purgatory, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.