Good morning. Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows. There are two options for the Gospel readings for today. One is from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 2, verses 33-35, which is “Simeon’s prediction about a sword piercing Mary’s soul”: 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." The other is from the Gospel of John, chapter 19, verses 25-27, which we just heard proclaimed. The former is the prediction of Jesus’ death on the Cross, the latter the fulfillment of Simeon’s prediction.
Mary was a “sorrowful yet powerful figure” as she stood by her Son while he hung on the Cross. Saint Ambrose said that “[his] mother stood before the Cross, and, while the men fled, she remained undaunted . . . She did not fear the torturers . . . His Mother offered herself to his persecutors.” Mother Mary prayed, “lifting up holy hands, without anger or argument,” as Saint Paul wrote in his letter to Timothy, today’s second reading. In Mary, our Lady of Sorrows, we learn that even in the midst of our own sorrows, hurt, and pain, we are called as Christian to respond from a place of love, not fear, and certainly not from a place of anger or hate. When we respond in the same way that Mary responded to the torture and death of her beloved Son, we come to realized that “[this] is good and pleasing to God our savior, who wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth.”
This is why, as Christ hung on the Cross, he gave his Mother to us and us to his Mother through Saint John the Evangelist as he said to them and us: "Woman, behold, your son." and “Behold, your mother." In their grief, Jesus did not leave them to themselves. He gave them to each other. Christ does the same for us, calling us to be in communion with each other as God is a communion of Three Persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - God. In this way, we comfort one another in times of sorrows while Jesus consoles us, through his Mother Mary and through his Real Presence in the Eucharist. And so, my sisters and brothers in Christ, when we come up in a few moments here, to the altar of the Lord, to receive our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, at Holy Communion, let us be like Mary and leave our sorrows, hurt, and pain at the foot of the Cross of Christ and trust that he will console and heal us, giving us the strength and courage we need to move forward with faith, hope, and love in merciful and loving God.
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