First Reading: (Hebrews 5:7–9)
Responsorial Psalm: (Psalm 31)
Save me, O Lord, in Your kindness.
Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia, Alleluia.
Blessed are you, O Virgin Mary; without dying, you won the martyr's crown beneath the Cross of the Lord.
Alleluia, Alleluia.
Gospel: (Luke 2:33–35)
Reflection
Today is the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows.
Mary, the Mother of Sorrows, deeply enters into that tragedy and evil herself, for she had her heart pierced, as Simeon said in that prophecy when they brought the little baby Jesus into the temple, as a Jewish custom required, for Him to be dedicated to the Lord.
Little did Mary know, or anyone know, what that dedication meant.
Because it, of course, was a dedication ultimately to the Cross.
But Simeon saw ahead and he prophesied:
“Your heart will be pierced.”
And that's one of the images.
Often when you see an actual icon or a painting of Our Lady of Sorrows, she has a sword in her.
And in some of the paintings she has seven swords in her heart, expressive of one of the traditions, the beautiful prayer traditions that are related to this day: the Seven Sorrows of Our Blessed Mother.
The most beautiful sculpture in the whole world is Michelangelo's Pietà .
That most beautiful and yet most painfully thing to look at.
Mary holding the body of her dead Son.
Is there any grief more grievous than that?
Is there any pain deeper than that?
No.
No, it is the greatest pain.
But in the Christian faith, there is hope, and words of comfort that break into that pain.
It is, of course, taken from the image of Jesus walking and meeting the disciples who were walking away from Jerusalem right after the crucifixion, absolutely filled with sorrow and horror at what they'd seen, the torture and death of their Lord and Master.
For them, it seemed like the whole thing was now a tragic nightmare.
They were in great despair and disillusionment.
And then Jesus comes and walks with them. Walking through sorrow with the Lord.
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me. Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.”
There's a word of comfort.
Jesus comes to us in the midst of this pain.
He's a man of sorrows, the Bible says, a man acquainted with grief.
That first reading from Hebrews emphasizes that we do not have a priest who's unsympathetic, but a priest who has suffered in every way that we are, and He comes into that pain.
But particularly also, we have our Blessed Mother, Our Lady of Sorrows.
She comes to us as well.
You know, Jesus gave us each one of us the gift of His mother.
The last gift He gave from the Cross:
“Behold your mother,”
as He spoke to John, who is a symbol of every one of us.
And it's been a wonderful grace to come to know our Blessed Mother and to know her as she is, especially today: a mother who comes deep into our suffering.
And, of course, finally, Our Lady is not only the Mother of Sorrows; she's the Mother of the Resurrection.
And that is the good news and the comfort of this day to all who has sorrow.
Mary, Blessed Mother of Sorrows, pray for us.
Amen.
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