OUR LADY OF SORROWS
We know very well
that suffering and sorrow weigh us down! Jesus on the Cross brings us face to
face with suffering. All His disciples had deserted Him except for His mother,
Mary, and the three women along with John, the beloved Apostle. The Apostles had
fled of course, in fear. But Mary and the three women were present at the
Cross. Wow! This demonstrates the power of love for overcoming great fear.
This feast of Our
Lady of Sorrows originated in 1413 and was designated for the Friday after the
Third Sunday after Easter. A century ago, Pope Pius X established September 15
as the date for the feast. Two biblical passages form the basis for
commemorating Mary's sorrows. The first is found in Luke 2:35: Simeon predicts
that a sword would pierce Mary's heart. The other passage is found in John
19:26-27: John tells of Mary and the beloved disciple at the foot of the Cross
as Jesus committed each to the other.
But to get the full
picture of the Sorrows of Mary, you need to reflect on the other five which
together, are called the Seven Sorrows of Mary:
The flight into Egypt
The loss of the Child Jesus in the
temple
The meeting of Jesus and Mary on the
Way of the Cross
The taking down of the Body of Jesus
from the Cross
The burial of Jesus
We can imagine that
Mary had many other sorrows that were not written in the Scriptures. St.
Bernard of Clairvaux said that Jesus "died in body through a love greater
than anyone had known. She died in spirit through a love unlike any other since
His." Mary did not despair in her sorrow and loss, since her faith and
hope were sustained by her trust in God the Father and the love she had for her
Son. Jesus, in His grief and suffering, did not forget His mother. He entrusted
her care to John, as well as John to her.
Paul, the Apostle,
says that "love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things,
and endures all things" (1 Cor 13:3). He is right on!