Luke 2:33-35

Hebrews 5:7-9

Psalm 31:2 and 3b, 3cd-4, 5-6, 15-16, 20

John 19:25-27 or Luke 2:33-35

Luke 2:33-35

Jesus’ father and mother were amazed at what was said about him;

and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother,

“Behold, this child is destined

for the fall and rise of many in Israel,

and to be a sign that will be contradicted

and you yourself a sword will pierce

so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, I humbly ask you to bring me more deeply into the mystery of suffering and how to unite my sufferings to those of your Son so that they have a powerful redemptive value.

Encountering the Word of God

1. The Foundation of the Order of the Servants of Mary: Today, we celebrate the memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows. The devotion was promoted especially by the Servite Order, or the Order of the Servants of Mary. The order was founded by seven holy men in Florence, Italy, around the year 1233. All seven experienced a similar vision of Mary on August 15, 1233, and heard the call to “leave the world, the better to serve almighty God.” The mendicant order they began was recognized in 1259 and approved by Pope Benedict XI in 1304. The seven founders were canonized by Pope Leo XIII in 1888. Some of their Marian devotions include the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows and the Via Matris (“Way of the Mother”), which also involves meditating at stations on Mary’s seven sorrows or sufferings.

2. The First Three Sorrows and Jesus’ Early Life: The first three sorrows and sufferings of Mary complement the five joyful mysteries of the Rosary. This teaches us an important lesson that moments of joy in our lives are often accompanied by moments of sorrow and suffering. The joy of presenting the child Jesus at the Temple was accompanied by Simeon’s prophecy about the child being a sign of contradiction and about a sword piercing Mary’s heart. The joy of Jesus’ birth eventually gave way to the sorrow and suffering of fleeing to Egypt to escape the murderous intentions of King Herod. The joy of finding Jesus in the Temple was preceded by the sorrow and suffering of losing Jesus for three days. Our suffering, when united to the sufferings of Christ, has a redemptive value. As John Paul II taught: “Christ has also raised human suffering to the level of the Redemption. Thus each man, in his suffering, can also become a sharer in the redemptive suffering of Christ” (John Paul II, Salvifici doloris, 19).

3. The Last Four Sorrows and Jesus’ Passion and Death: The last four sorrows of Mary are all connected to Jesus’ Passion and Death. First, tradition holds that Mary, like the women of Jerusalem, met her Son on the way to Calvary. Second, Mary stood faithfully by the foot of the Cross, accompanied by Mary of Magdala, the beloved disciple, John, and her sister-in-law, Mary, the wife of Clopas. Third, Mary received the dead body of her son into her arms. Finally,  Mary helped bury her Son. A couple of decades ago, in 2005, the then-Cardinal Ratzinger wrote the meditations for the Way of the Cross. This was his reflection on the Fourth Station and the Fourth Sorrow of Mary: “On Jesus’ Way of the Cross, we also find Mary, his Mother. During his public life, she had to step aside, to make place for the birth of Jesus' new family, the family of his disciples. She also had to hear the words: ‘Who is my mother and who are my brothers?... Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is brother, and sister and mother’ (Mt 12:48-50). Now we see her as the Mother of Jesus, not only physically, but also in her heart. Even before she conceived him bodily, through her obedience she conceived him in her heart. It was said to Mary: ‘And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son. He will be great and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David’ (Lk 1:31ff.). And she would hear from the mouth of the elderly Simeon: ‘A sword will pierce through your own soul’ (Lk 2:35). She would then recall the words of the prophets, words like these: ‘He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; he was like a lamb that is led to slaughter’ (Is 54:7). Now it all takes place. In her heart she had kept the words of the angel, spoken to her in the beginning: ‘Do not be afraid, Mary’ (Lk 1:30). The disciples fled, yet she did not flee. She stayed there, with a Mother’s courage, a Mother’s fidelity, a Mother’s goodness, and a faith which did not waver in the hour of darkness: ‘Blessed is she who believed’ (Lk 1:45). ‘Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?’ (Lk 18:8). Yes, in this moment Jesus knows: he will find faith. In this hour, this is his great consolation.”

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you bring those you love into the depths of sacrifice and suffering. You test and purify your followers. I want to be united to you more fully and humbly offer my life to you so that you may present it to the Father as a pleasing sacrifice.

Living the Word of God: Can I pray the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows today? Pray one Our Father, seven Hail Mary’s, and one Glory while contemplating each of Mary’s seven sorrows: 1) Simeon’s Prophecy; 2) Flight into Egypt; 3) Loss of Jesus in the Temple; 4) Meeting Jesus on the Way to Calvary; 5) The Crucifixion; 6) Receiving the Dead Body of Jesus; 7) The Burial of Jesus.