Our Lady of Sorrows

Many years ago members of our community decided to look up the date of their actual baptism in order to celebrate each year the anniversary of this momentous event. It was exciting as individuals discovered that they were baptized on a certain saint’s feast day… ”oh great, I was baptized on the feast day of St. Peter , or of St. Francis, or of St. Catherine of Sienna, or of St. Therese, the Little Flower.”

I discovered that I was baptized on September 15^th …… the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows. It initially took me back a bit; I would have preferred a happy, cheerful, more colorful saint like Don Bosco or Thomas Aquinas or St. Nicholas. Over the years I’ve begun to try and understand a bit more about this great memorial and how it might be connected to my life. 

“The Our Lady of Sorrows memorial commemorates the profound union of heart that existed between the Mother of the Redeemer and the Savior, through which she experienced many interior sorrows as a consequence of His Mission, but particularly during His Passion and Death.

Traditionally, the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows commemorates the seven sorrows in the Heart of Mary as recorded in Scripture:

1. The prophecy of Simeon (Luke 2:33-35)
2. The flight into Egypt (Mt. 2:13-15)
3. Loss of the Child Jesus for three days (Luke 2:41-50)
4. Mary meets Jesus on His way to Calvary (Luke 23 & John 19) 
5. Crucifixion and Death of Jesus (John 19:25-30)
6. The body of Jesus being taken from the Cross (Luke 23 & John 19)
7. The burial of Jesus (Isaiah 53, Luke 23,John 19, Mark 15)

A common prayer to Our Lady of Sorrows goes: “Beloved mother, so stricken with grief, help us to bear our own suffering with courage and love. 

But would I consider myself a “man of sorrows”? Has my life been characterized by extraordinary sorrow? No, I really can’t say that. I’ve had some sorrow, but I think of my life as being so blessed; God has blessed me so very much.  At the same time I had a pretty good run of sorrow when I was younger, especially from around 9 years old to my mid-20’s …. the sudden loss of my father, move to another city, my mother’s ongoing struggles with alcoholism, lots of confusion in a pretty dysfunctional family. I do have a sense that Our Lady kept me from going off the cliff during those years and guided me back to her son before things went too far south. I believe her intercession has certainly helped us these past years ….. raising a family, trying to serve the Lord. She kept me from bitterness over the sorrows I did experience. I’m sure she was much more present during those difficult years than I realized. 

I pray to understand and experience her care even more in the days to come. I look forward to one day seeing her in heaven where her magnificent beauty and holiness will be completely obvious to all. In the meantime, let us pray,  “Beloved mother, so stricken with grief, help us to bear our own suffering with courage and love so that we may relieve your Sorrowful Heart and that of Jesus. In doing so, may we give glory to God Who gave you and Jesus to humanity. As you suffered, teach us to suffer silently and patiently. Amen.