Hebrews 5:7-9, Ps 31, Luke 2:33-35
Our Lady of Sorrows is a memorial which goes back to the founding of the Servite Friars back in the middle ages. It was spread to the universal Church in the 19th century by Pope Pius VII in response to the suffering he experienced while begin held captive in France. Finally it was given the date on which we currently celebrate the memorial, September 15, by Pope Pius X in the early twentieth century.
Known more devotionally as the 7 sorrows of Mary the memorial commemorates scriptural moments that depict Mary’s suffering at having been found worthy to be the Mother of God. Much like the 5 sorrowful mysteries of the rosary which recount Jesus’ passion and suffering on the way to Calvary, the 7 sorrows depict Mary as one who also suffered along side her son. St. Alphonsus in fact declared Mary a spiritual martyr who, though knowing that her Son was destined to suffer die and rise again, still went through the torment of her own passion as she not only watched her son suffer and die but throughout her life lived with the knowledge of the depths of suffering that her Son would endure for the sake of the world.
The seven sorrows are traditionally
1. Simeon’s Prophecy
2. Of the Flight of Jesus to Egypt
3. Of the Loss of Jesus in the Temple
4. On the Meeting of Mary with Jesus When He was Going to Death
5. Of the Death of Jesus
6. The Piercing of the Side of Jesus, and His Descent from the Cross
7. The Burial of Jesus
This memorial is not one with which I have had a great deal of experience and I have never preached on it before. My only memory of reflecting on the suffering of Mary is having had a moment in front of Michelangelo’s Pieta in St. Peter’s basilica in Rome. While known for it exquisite beauty and detail I recall that I thought it ironic that a cold block of marble would have the required properties to depict the depths of sorrow of a mother holding the lifeless body of her only child.
Most important to the devotion in my mind is that the sorrows do not focus entirely upon the suffering and death of Jesus but that in her “Yes” to God, Mary inherited not only the joy depicted in the story of the Visitation but that her remaining life was also marked with a weight that comes from the knowledge that what we love most in our life is ultimately not ours to keep and that we can only hold on to it for a little while.
We recognize the tragedy of a mother losing a child but, in some respect, the sacrifice of all mothers for their children whom they watch emerge from their own flesh, only to grow and change and slowly move away from them, is tinged with both joy and sorrow.
Our Lady of Sorrows offers one more glimpse into the heart of Mary who is so approachable because she knows us so well having shared our life. We come before her with confidence in her ability to intercede for us having given birth to and been mother of our Lord, suffering in His own passion and cross.
