Information about the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows Readings for the Memorial of Our Lady of SorrowsReadings from the Jerusalem Bible
Commentary:
This pastoral statement from the First Letter of Timothy states the fundamental truth that Jesus came into the word to save humankind from the death of sin and bring us to everlasting life. The conclusion is another statement of faith there is only one true God and he deserves all glory and honor. Presented on this memorial, the statement clearly points, as does his Blessed Mother, to the primacy of Christ.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 113:1b-2, 3-4, 5 and 6-7
R. Blessed be the name of the Lord for ever.
Psalm 113 is a song of praise. In these strophes we rejoice in all of God’s creation and his loving mercy for the poor.
Here is Jesus’ last address to his mother. The Lord, nearing the end of his life commends the care of his mother to the disciple whom he loved (presumably St. John). Seeing her Son dying upon the cross is one of the seven sorrows the Blessed Mother endured in faith.
Or Lk 2:33-35
In this passage we hear Simeon’s prediction, a man, we are told earlier, who “was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel”. Simeon was told by the Holy Spirit that he would not pass away until he had seen the Messiah. He has declared that this promise has been fulfilled and then turns to Mary and makes the prediction about the nature of Christ’s ministry and the nature of the sorrow she will endure, “and you yourself a sword will pierce”
Reflection:
The life of the Blessed Mother was filled with the joy of the gift of her Son and with the sorrow resulting from the actions of the faithless people he came to save. In the story about the prophecy of Simeon in the temple which coincided with the Lord’s presentation at the Temple, we hear the first prediction in Mary’s life of what was to come. She must have been concerned before that time, knowing as she did that her son came to fulfill the prophecy of the Messiah and that oracle was filled with suffering.
We celebrate this part of her life, not because it is glorious, but rather because of how she reacted to what came to pass. Our Mother could easily have laid herself down in abject sorrow. She could have rent her garments and shouted at God the father at the injustice. She could have turned away from God completely, blaming him for the events that followed. Certainly other women have done worse with much less provocation. But Mary, who accepted the child of the Holy Spirit into her virgin womb, did none of these things. On the contrary, she accepted these further burdens and in the face of her own intense pain, she glorified God the Father of their Son.
We thank God, today, for the gift of Mary, Mother of God and Mother of us all. We praise her for her example of strength and steadfast faith in the face of the cruel inhumanity and injustice she was forced to suffer for us all. We ask for that same strength as we face the sorrows of our life on earth.
Pax
The picture today is The Seven Sorrows of the Virgin by Albrecht DΓΌrer, 1496
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