Additional Information about Our Lady of Sorrows[1]
Readings for the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows[2][3]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible[4]
Commentary:
Reading 1: 1 Corinthians 11:17-26, 33
St. Paul lashes out at the church in Corinth for divisions that have developed between different groups or factions. In the first part of this reading he compares their behavior to those who would be uncharitable; eating and drinking while their brothers and sisters go hungry. His comment on these divisions is especially harsh as he gives a veiled warning that those who cause these divisions separate themselves from “those who are approved” – acceptable to the Lord in the eschaton.
The Apostle goes on to recount the Eucharistic Blessing in this earliest form of the institution of the Lord’s Supper. The emphasis is on Jesus’ generous gift of self and the command to repeat his actions in worship.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 40:7-8a, 8b-9, 10, 17
R. Proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes again.
While Psalm 40 is a song of thanksgiving, it is also combined with a lament. The initial waiting is satisfied by favor shown by God to one who is faithful in service to Him. In these strophes is sung the thanksgiving of those who hear the voice of God and obey his words. This obedience is loved by God above ritual sacrifices. The Lord especially loves those who follow His law. Once heard, the good news is proclaimed to all the people.
Gospel: John 19:25-27
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: Luke 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”
Gospel for Monday of the 24th Week in Ordinary Time (see Jerusalem Bible link above)
Readings for the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows[2][3]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible[4]
Commentary:
Reading 1: 1 Corinthians 11:17-26, 33
St. Paul lashes out at the church in Corinth for divisions that have developed between different groups or factions. In the first part of this reading he compares their behavior to those who would be uncharitable; eating and drinking while their brothers and sisters go hungry. His comment on these divisions is especially harsh as he gives a veiled warning that those who cause these divisions separate themselves from “those who are approved” – acceptable to the Lord in the eschaton.
The Apostle goes on to recount the Eucharistic Blessing in this earliest form of the institution of the Lord’s Supper. The emphasis is on Jesus’ generous gift of self and the command to repeat his actions in worship.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 40:7-8a, 8b-9, 10, 17
R. Proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes again.
While Psalm 40 is a song of thanksgiving, it is also combined with a lament. The initial waiting is satisfied by favor shown by God to one who is faithful in service to Him. In these strophes is sung the thanksgiving of those who hear the voice of God and obey his words. This obedience is loved by God above ritual sacrifices. The Lord especially loves those who follow His law. Once heard, the good news is proclaimed to all the people.
Gospel: John 19:25-27
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: Luke 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”
Gospel for Monday of the 24th Week in Ordinary Time (see Jerusalem Bible link above)
The story of the healing of the Centurion’s servant is used to demonstrate that even death is subject to the will if Christ. The Centurion’s speech, through the messenger expresses this thought and communicates the humility of one who recognizes God’s authority.
Reflection:
Today we remember in memorial Mary the Mother of God who followed her Son through his life and thereby suffered as only a mother can suffer. The Church traditionally remembers seven specific events in the life of Mary that are called her Seven Sorrows (Note the Hebrew numerological significance of the perfect number, seven (7)). It is apologetically noteworthy that all of her seven sorrows were scriptural. They include:
1. The Prophecy of Simeon.
2. The Flight into Egypt.
3. The Loss of the Child Jesus for Three Days.
4. Meeting Jesus on the Way to Calvary.
5. The Crucifixion and Death of Jesus.
6. Jesus Taken Down from the Cross.
7. Jesus Laid in the Tomb.
Two of these events are options for our Gospel today. In John we find Mary at the foot of the Cross as Jesus is being crucified and in Luke, she is hearing the awful prophecy from Simeon the mystic. While the Gospel of Luke predicts the sword of sorrow that will pierce Mary’s heart, it is more wrenching to hear the story of that event taking place in the Gospel of John.
Anyone who has had a child badly hurt can get an idea of the suffering Mary went through at the Cross. Only one who as lost a child in death can fully come to grips with Mary’s anguish as she watches her Son slip into death on the Cross. We can feel hear pain as her “brave little soldier” has spikes driven through his hands and feet. We can feel the hot tears as he is taken down from that place and laid, dead, beyond help, in a stranger’s tomb.
It is because of her humanness that we can so easily identify with her. It is because at these moments in her life when pain and suffering threatened to overcome her, Mary demonstrated the virtue and strength of one who was worthy of the title Mother of God, that we revere her. Mary always shows us the strength of the Holy Spirit and the peace only faith in Her Son can bring.
Today’s memorial is a reaffirming event for us. The Son of God, who is True God and was True Man had a mother, Mary. His mother went through the same human trials that mothers from the beginning of human history have endured. She has demonstrated for us the fruits of faith and the strength of love that is our example of virtue.
Our prayer today is a simple one. We take it from the hymn Stabat Mater Dolorósa:
Pax
[1] The picture used today is “The Pietà (Mary Lamenting the Dead Christ)” by Baciccio, 1667
[2] After Links to Readings Expire
[3] Note – the first reading from 1 Corinthians and the Psalm with its response are taken from the proper of the season (Monday of the 24th Week in Ordinary Time # 443). The Gospels from John and Luke are taken from the proper of the day (Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows #639).
[4] Readings for Monday of the 24th Week in Ordinary Time
Reflection:
Today we remember in memorial Mary the Mother of God who followed her Son through his life and thereby suffered as only a mother can suffer. The Church traditionally remembers seven specific events in the life of Mary that are called her Seven Sorrows (Note the Hebrew numerological significance of the perfect number, seven (7)). It is apologetically noteworthy that all of her seven sorrows were scriptural. They include:
1. The Prophecy of Simeon.
2. The Flight into Egypt.
3. The Loss of the Child Jesus for Three Days.
4. Meeting Jesus on the Way to Calvary.
5. The Crucifixion and Death of Jesus.
6. Jesus Taken Down from the Cross.
7. Jesus Laid in the Tomb.
Two of these events are options for our Gospel today. In John we find Mary at the foot of the Cross as Jesus is being crucified and in Luke, she is hearing the awful prophecy from Simeon the mystic. While the Gospel of Luke predicts the sword of sorrow that will pierce Mary’s heart, it is more wrenching to hear the story of that event taking place in the Gospel of John.
Anyone who has had a child badly hurt can get an idea of the suffering Mary went through at the Cross. Only one who as lost a child in death can fully come to grips with Mary’s anguish as she watches her Son slip into death on the Cross. We can feel hear pain as her “brave little soldier” has spikes driven through his hands and feet. We can feel the hot tears as he is taken down from that place and laid, dead, beyond help, in a stranger’s tomb.
It is because of her humanness that we can so easily identify with her. It is because at these moments in her life when pain and suffering threatened to overcome her, Mary demonstrated the virtue and strength of one who was worthy of the title Mother of God, that we revere her. Mary always shows us the strength of the Holy Spirit and the peace only faith in Her Son can bring.
Today’s memorial is a reaffirming event for us. The Son of God, who is True God and was True Man had a mother, Mary. His mother went through the same human trials that mothers from the beginning of human history have endured. She has demonstrated for us the fruits of faith and the strength of love that is our example of virtue.
Our prayer today is a simple one. We take it from the hymn Stabat Mater Dolorósa:
Make me feel as thou hast felt;
make my soul to glow and melt
with the love of Christ, my Lord.
Pax
[1] The picture used today is “The Pietà (Mary Lamenting the Dead Christ)” by Baciccio, 1667
[2] After Links to Readings Expire
[3] Note – the first reading from 1 Corinthians and the Psalm with its response are taken from the proper of the season (Monday of the 24th Week in Ordinary Time # 443). The Gospels from John and Luke are taken from the proper of the day (Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows #639).
[4] Readings for Monday of the 24th Week in Ordinary Time
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