Prayer obedience and sorrow

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary on the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows invite us to contemplate the sorrow that pierced the heart of Mary in her struggle with the events of Jesus life that were in tension with the tradition of her culture.

St Mary in the midst

The Letter to the Hebrews describes the obedience of Jesus to the will of the Father.

In the Gospel of Luke, Mary hears the prophecy that will confirm her life will contain sorrow and struggle as Jesus grows.

* [2:35] (And you yourself a sword will pierce): Mary herself will not be untouched by the various reactions to the role of Jesus (Lk 2:34). Her blessedness as mother of the Lord will be challenged by her son who describes true blessedness as “hearing the word of God and observing it” (Lk 11:27–28 and Lk 8:20–21).

Ginny Kubitz Moyer quotes John Paul II on the obedience of Mary in faith.

When Mary and Joseph bring the infant Jesus to the temple, Simeon tells Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many may be revealed – and a sword will pierce your own soul, too.” (Luke 2:34-35) These words warn Mary that she will suffer along with her son as he fulfills God’s work. Pope John Paul II, in his encyclical letter Redemptoris Mater, explains it this way: “While this announcement on the one hand confirms [Mary’s] faith in the accomplishment of the divine promises of salvation, on the other hand it also reveals to her that she will have to live her obedience of faith in suffering, at the side of the suffering Savior, and that her motherhood will be mysterious and sorrowful.

Friar Jude Winkler reminds us that the heart was the centre of thinking in Jesus time, so the sorrow in Mary’s heart was accompanied by tension between Jesus as Son of God and the Jewish daily recognition in the Shema Israel that God is One. The Gospel of Luke recognizes Mary as the model disciple, Friar Jude notes.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, explains Hesychasm, a contemplative prayer of rest, that has its roots in the desert fathers and mothers and the Eastern Orthodox tradition. Bishop Kallistos Ware (born 1934), drawing from John Climacus (c. 579-649) writes:

The hesychast, in the true sense of the word, is not someone who has journeyed outwardly into the desert, but someone who has embarked upon the journey inwards into his [or her] own heart; not someone who cuts himself off physically from others, shutting the door of his cell, but someone who “returns into himself,” shutting the door of his mind.

Our heart like that of the model disciple, Mary, requires prayer to resolve the tensions that obedience to the will of God generate.

References

(n.d.). oremus Bible Browser : Hebrews 5.7-9. Retrieved September 15, 2018, from http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=151525449
(n.d.). Luke chapter 2 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved September 15, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/bible/luke/2:33
(2011, February 21). At the Presentation, why does Simeon say that a sword will pierce .... Retrieved September 15, 2018, from https://bustedhalo.com/questionbox/at-the-presentation-why-does-simeon-say-that-a-sword-will-pierce-mary%E2%80%99s-heart
(n.d.). Daily Meditations Archives - Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved September 15, 2018, from https://cac.org/category/daily-meditations/