Sorrowful Mother: 15th September

Rev. Fr. John Brucciani

It seems strange that the Church celebrates the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. There does not seem much to “celebrate” when it comes to the intense suffering which afflicted Our Blessed Mother’s heart and soul. We should be ashamed of such pain, for which we are so much the cause, and we should be glad that the pain is now over.  

Yet, there is cause to celebrate. Such celebrations remind us of all that Our Lady went through for our salvation. They give us an example to follow in times of trial. They also teach us the methods God uses to bring souls to great sanctity, in particular, the souls of mothers. 

Our Lady’s crowning glory is her Divine Motherhood. Her Seven Sorrows are as seven pearls of great price that adorn that crown and make it all the more precious and beautiful. When she agreed to become the Mother of God, she accepted also all the great honour and proximity to God that this brings in its train. She knew that her crown would be one of thorns.  

Our Lady’s sorrows are of a particular nature. They are different from those of her Son. He suffered in His Person. He was hated, persecuted, tortured and murdered. He bore the brunt of sin and died its victim. In a mysterious and mystical way, He had, at least, the satisfaction of knowing that He was diverting divine wrath and suffering away from those He loved: by His wounds we were healed. He could satisfy His love by giving everything He had. When He died, He sighed as if in relief. All was accomplished — Consummatum est! — His mission was done. 

It was not given to Our Lady to satisfy her love by offering her life. She was called upon to give up something much more precious: her Son. She was called upon to accompany Him all the way to Calvary and to assist powerless at His demise. More terrible still, she was required to love and pray for those who persecuted her Son. Not only the Jews and the Pharisees, but all of mankind. For we all participate in Our Lord’s death by the sins we commit. 

There is more: Our Lady was called upon to care for those who murdered her Son, who was her sole Love and unique Care. Woman, behold thy son. When Our Lord uttered those words, there was created in Our Lady’s Most Immaculate Heart a new fountain of solicitude for every member of the human race. She became at that moment our Mother, and her pains were doubled. For she had to witness, powerless, her loved ones killing her Loved One. Her Immaculate Heart became a heart filled with unadulterated sorrow. Thus was it fully configured to Our Lord’s Most Sacred Heart, pierced for our sins. 

We have here Our Lady’s crowning glory. She loved when love became distasteful. She did not push us away. She did not push God away who wished her heart to be crushed, a heart that had loved so freely and, in times past, so delightfully and willingly. The delight was now gone, but the will remained. That is holiness.  

Every Catholic mother’s heart will be worked by God according to the same pattern. Mothers suffer for those they love, with those they love, at the hands of those they love. Family can be the source of great joy, but also of intense despondency. So it was for Our Lady. 

But the equation may be applied to all Christians seeking to be like unto Christ. He will lead them down paths of disappointment, injustice and sadness. In a world of sin, that is what happens. It was His lot in life. It was the lot of His Mother. If we wish to be like Our Lord and Our Lady, it will also be our lot in life. In Heaven, where there is no sin, there will be no suffering, only bliss and joy. 

Let us be careful of inflicting pain on those we love. That pain is of a parti-cular, life-draining sort. Only God is powerful enough to inflict pain with-out destroying love. It is not for us to consider ourselves “like unto God”.


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