by Deacon John Tempesco
Today’s feast of Our Lady of Sorrows is dedicated to the spiritual martyrdom of Mary, Mother of God, as she participated in the sufferings of her Divine Son.
In her suffering, she reminds us of the tremendous evil of sin and shows us the way of true repentance.
This feast has been celebrated for over 600 years in one form or another and commemorates the seven sorrows of the Blessed Mother outlined throughout the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John starting with the prophecy of Simeon in Luke’s Gospel and culminating with Mark, Luke, and John’s description of Mary placing her Beloved Son in the tomb.
The First Sorrow: The Prophecy of Simeon
Imagine young Mary’s amazement after the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple when Simeon takes Jesus from her arms and acknowledges him as the Messiah! Only through divine inspiration can Simeon know this. Simeon blesses them and says to Mary,
“And you yourself a sword will pierce.”
Mary had to have been shaken by these words as she held Jesus close to her breast while Joseph gently leads her out of the temple. Throughout her life, she would think back to this day and ponder these things in her heart.
The Second Sorrow: The Flight into Egypt
Her second sorrow soon followed as
“The angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.’”
Joseph hastily awakens Mary and relates his dream. She feels the sword’s sharpness as Simeon’s prophecy echoes in her heart. There is no time to worry—only time to pack a few essentials—as they prepare to flee Herod’s wrath through the lengthy and dangerous journey to Egypt under cover of darkness.
Although she is leaving everything familiar to her, she models the cooperation with grace she embraces throughout her entire life, hides her sorrow, and follows God’s will once again.
The Third Sorrow: Lost in the Temple
A decade or so later, Mary experiences the terror of any mother as she realizes that her 12-year-old child is nowhere to be found far away from home. And Luke tells us:
“After three days they found him in the temple, sitting amid the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, ‘Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.’”
Imagine the panic she must have felt, yet she speaks with such restrained gentle reproach for her son. Now the prediction of Simeon, the exile in Egypt, and the finding in the Temple begin to weave a sorrowful anxiety to her life of following God’s will.
The Final Sorrows: From the Upper Room to the Tomb
The remaining four sorrows are compacted into the final days of her Son’s life. Now widowed, she goes with Jesus to Jerusalem for His last Passover meal, she experiences and understands the significance of the First Eucharist, and then sees her Son arrested, scourged, condemned to death, and then meets Him on His way to Calvary where their eyes meet and volumes of love are exchanged in a frozen moment of sorrowful silence.
Her next sorrow comes as she courageously stands at the foot of the Cross, while others shrink away in fear, accepting all of humanity as her own and motherhood of the newly established Church as Jesus says,
“Woman behold your son.”
Then the sixth sorrow comes as she hears, “It is finished” as Jesus bows his head and dies. Mary remembers his words at the Passover meal: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you.” The dreaded time is now: the precious blood of her son is poured out for all humankind.
In her heart, Mary dies with Him, their hearts—one pierced with a spear, one pierced with sorrow—become united for all humanity as she accepts Jesus’ body as it is taken down from the cross and placed in her arms.
And her seventh and final sorrow comes as she tenderly washes her Son’s body with great reverence and wraps it in linen, packs it with fragrant spices, and places the burial cloth over His face fulfilling every Jewish tradition.
A Closing Prayer
Hail Mary full of grace, your sorrow turned to joy on the Third Day – pray for us that our sorrows will also be turned into joy when we see your Son in paradise.