Our Lady of Sorrows

I have a statue of the Virgine Perdonlente, Our Lady of sorrows, in my parish office. The usual reaction is that Mary looks "sad", "not feeling well", or simply, "scary". My stock response, "You would also look that way if your son was being crucified before you".

Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son." Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother." And from that hour the disciple took her into his home. John 19:25-27

When the rest of the men ran, John and the women stood at the cross watching in horror the execution of Jesus. In this group, Mary is the first named.

Mary was no stranger to pain in her life. From the moment of her acceptance of God's invitation to be the mother of His Son, her life was full of rejection, pain, and quiet suffering. The old Simeon spoke in profecy to Mary, "And you yourself, a sword shall pierce your heart". And indeed, a sword did pierce her heart.

As mother of Jesus, it must not have been easy to stand and watch her beloved son being lost (how do you explain that one to God?), being rejected, threatened, scourged, crowned with thorns, crucified and laid in a tomb long before his time. Stounding, yet, is the fact that Mary stood by her son even in his most painful moments. I have often wondered what gave Mary the strength to remain faithful, and of course, it was her faithfulness in God. She understood quite well that life was not fair and that others were not as loving as she was, and that not everyone always looked for the good in others. She drew from her own ability to love, to look for the greater good, and an awareness of the presence of God in her life to accept the sorrows she experienced.

Her feast day is celebrated on September 15. Several Religious Orders have devotions to the sorrows of Mary. The Servites and the Passionist are a couple. The Servites, as part of their spiritual patrimony, have given us the Rosary of Our Lady of Sorrows. It differs from the traditional Dominican Rosary in that instead of the traditional 5 decades there are 7-- one for each of the sorrows of Our Lady: 1. The Prophecy of Simeon, 2. The Flight to Egypt, 3. The Finding of Jesus in the Temple, 4. Mary's Encounter with Jesus on the Way to Calvary, 5. The Crucifixion, 6. The Descent of the Body of Jesus from the Cross, 7. The Laying of Jesus in the Tomb.

So why should we be concerned with the Sorrows of Mary, and why do I continue to have a "scary" statue of Mary in my office? Because Mary in her sorrows serves as an inspiration for us. When life gets rough and it seems that we can't go on, Mary reminds us to get to God. Who better to offer solace and encouragement in our difficulties than she who's heart was pierced with a life time of sorrows?

Below I offer a simple prayer to our Lady of Sorrows.

Most holy and afflicted Virgin, Queen of Martyrs, you stood beneath the cross, witnessing the agony of your dying Son. Look with a mother's tenderness and pity on me, who kneel before you. I venerate your sorrows and I place my requests with filial confidence in the sanctuary of your wounded heart.

Present them, I beseech you, on my behalf to Jesus Christ, through the merits of His own most sacred passion and death, together with your sufferings at the foot of the cross. Through the united efficacy of both, obtain the granting of my petition. To whom shall I have recourse in my wants and miseries if not to you, Mother of Mercy? You have drunk so deeply of the chalice of your Son, you can compassionate our sorrows.

Holy Mary, your soul was pierced by a sword of sorrow at the sight of the passion of your divine Son. Intercede for me and obtain for me from Jesus if it be for His honor and glory and for my good. Amen.

Our Lady of Sorrows, Pray for Us.

Tomorrow on the Angelus.