Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows

Into each life a little rain must fall! Today’s memorial is about the unbelievable sadness our Blessed Mother experienced. As our minds travel back through our own lives, we recall our own difficulties and wonder why our loving Lord allows these things to happen to his mother, to us. These sufferings are all part of our journey of faith and are to be expected. My mother-in-law used to say that if things were too quiet and calm, we should watch for a tornado or a storm of difficulties to come along. She was often right.

Mary experienced grief that we cannot comprehend. Her misery had to do with her son, Jesus. Simeon told her a sword would pierce her heart; that her son would be involved in the falling and rising in Israel. She and Joseph had to flee to Egypt to keep their infant son from being murdered. Then they temporarily lost him for three days in Jerusalem. Can you imagine a mother watching the indescribable pain her son endures on the Way of the Cross? The images that come to mind are like nightmares. The unbelievable continues with the crucifixion and death of her son. She holds his body in her arms briefly before Jesus is laid in the tomb.

If you have not known such sorrow and sadness, just wait, as God has appointed a set of problems and woes as part of his purpose for us. Even as we grieve and suffer, He is working out his plan necessary for our own good. Our sufferings are a means to examine the genuineness of our faith in God. We are tested, changed, and purified. We will only suffer for a little while. He comes to us in the Eucharist, where our sorrows turn into enduring joy.

Will you seek the strength of his Eucharistic love to endure the difficulties God sends you?

Let us pray:

Praise the Lord, oh my soul, and forget not his benefits; He who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life and crowns you with love and compassion, and who satisfies your desires with good things so that you are renewed. (Psalm 103:2-5)