Thought for the Day – 15 September – The Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows
The Seven Sorrows of
the Blessed Virgin Mary
1. The prophecy of Simeon
2. The Flight to Egypt
3. Loss of Child Jesus for 3 days
4. Meeting Jesus carrying His Cross
5. The Crucifixion of Jesus
6. The Pieta – receiving Jesus’ Body
7. The Burial of Jesus
“The Liturgy teaches us to meditate on the sorrows of Mary. So we turn once more to a memory of sadness, an example of patient endurance, to remind ourselves, for our own good, that our whole life here below is beset with trials and difficulties. It is a life of hardships but at the end, we shall receive the reward of eternal joy.
So we must always take courage – Jesus, Mary and Joseph, give us the certainty of future triumphs. In every moment of their earthly lives, they knew sorrow, privations and suffering and yet, they always reflected the eternal splendour of heaven.
The lesson all the faithful may learn from such sublime examples, is a continual encouragement and strength, by means of which, rising again after every failure and correcting the faults of our temperaments, we may all seek to reach that shore, whee perfect peace and blessing are to be found.”…St Pope John XXIII
John’s account of Jesus’ death is highly symbolic. When Jesus gives the beloved disciple to Mary, we are invited to appreciate Mary’s role in the Church – she symbolises the Church, the beloved disciple represents all believers. As Mary mothered Jesus, she is now mother to all his followers. Furthermore, as Jesus died, he handed over His Spirit. Mary and the Spirit co-operated in begetting new children of God—almost an echo of Luke’s account of Jesus’ conception. Christians can trust that they will continue to experience the caring presence of Mary and Jesus’ Spirit throughout their lives and throughout history.
Prayer to our Lady of Sorrows
By St Bonaventure (1217-1274) Doctor of the Church
O most holy Virgin,
Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ,
by the overwhelming grief you experienced
when you witnessed the martyrdom,
the crucifixion
and the death, of your divine Son,
look upon me with eyes of compassion
and awaken in my heart a tender
commiseration for those sufferings,
as well as a sincere detestation
of my sins, in order that,
being disengaged from all undue affection
for the passing joys of this earth,
I may sigh after the eternal Jerusalem
and that henceforward all my thoughts
and all my actions may be directed
towards this one most desirable object,
the honour, glory and love
to our divine Lord Jesus,
and to the you,
the Holy and Immaculate
Mother of God.
Amen
AnaStpaul 