Our Lady of Sorrows, Thursday – 15th September 2022 — Gospel: Jn 3,13-17
Model of Endurance
The celebration of the memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows focuses on Mary’s intense suffering and grief during the passion and death of Jesus. Traditionally, this suffering was not limited to the passion and death event; it consisted of the seven sorrows that had taken place in Mary’s life, which were foretold by Simeon. The seven sorrows of Mary are: The prophecy of Simeon (Lk 2,34-35); The flight into Egypt (Mt 2,13-15); Loss and finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple (Lk 2,41-50); Mary meeting Jesus on his way to Calvary (Lk 23,27-31; Jn 19,17); Mary standing at the foot of Cross and witnessing the Crucifixion and Death of Jesus (Jn 19,25-30); Mary holding the body of Jesus when taken from the cross (Lk 23,50-54; Jn 19,31-37); and The burial of Jesus (Lk 23,50-56; Jn 19,38-42). In all these events, the prophecy of Simeon that a sword would piece Mary’s heart was fulfilled. She endured each of these sorrows with perfect love, courage, and trust because she knew from the visit of the angel Gabriel and her miraculous conception that her son was the promise of salvation for her people. More importantly, she echoed her fiat, “let it be done unto me according to thy word,” which she first uttered at the Annunciation. In recalling the Sorrows of Mary, we find that though Jesus and Mary were constantly doing Gods’ will, they were not spared from the Cross, the challenges and daily struggles of life. In the midst of these challenges, we must always remember that God walks ahead and never abandons us. And it gives us hope that sorrow and the Cross is never the end, but only a step towards resurrection and the fullness of life.
