The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary (CCCB selection) today resonate with our struggle with sorrow.
Prayer and Sorrow(https://www.michelangelo.org/images/artworks/pieta.jpg)
The reading from the Letter to the Hebrews states that ‘Jesus offered up prayers and supplications’.
* [5:6–8] The author of Hebrews is the only New Testament writer to cite Ps 110:4, here and in Heb 7:17, 21, to show that Jesus has been called by God to his role as priest. Heb 5:7–8 deal with his ability to sympathize with sinners, because of his own experience of the trials and weakness of human nature, especially fear of death. In his present exalted state, weakness is foreign to him, but he understands what we suffer because of his previous earthly experience.1
Psalm 31 is a prayer and praise for deliverance from enemies.
* [Psalm 31] A lament (Ps 31:2–19) with a strong emphasis on trust (Ps 31:4, 6, 15–16), ending with an anticipatory thanksgiving (Ps 31:20–24). As is usual in laments, the affliction is couched in general terms. The psalmist feels overwhelmed by evil people but trusts in the “God of truth” (Ps 31:6).2
In the Gospel of Luke, Mary learns of her sorrow in the presentation of Jesus in the Temple.
* [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).3
The Gospel of John shares her mission at the Crucifixion of Jesus.
* [19:26–27] This scene has been interpreted literally, of Jesus’ concern for his mother; and symbolically, e.g., in the light of the Cana story in Jn 2 (the presence of the mother of Jesus, the address woman, and the mention of the hour) and of the upper room in Jn 13 (the presence of the beloved disciple; the hour). Now that the hour has come (Jn 19:28), Mary (a symbol of the church?) is given a role as the mother of Christians (personified by the beloved disciple); or, as a representative of those seeking salvation, she is supported by the disciple who interprets Jesus’ revelation; or Jewish and Gentile Christianity (or Israel and the Christian community) are reconciled.4
Cindy Murphy McMahon concludes that Our God – Jesus, the Christ – knew unspeakable horror, and He conquered it. His Blessed Mother knew soul-crushing sorrow, and she survived through the grace of God. Their love and care for us knows no limits and shows us that nothing can fully console and heal us except faith, hope and love. And the greatest of these is love.
Still, my mind and heart go to what she must have been feeling, the intense pain and suffering that she endured, despite her immensely strong faith. And at this time, in this place in history, as images of the pain and suffering that thousands of people endured 20 years ago on Sept. 11, 2001, flood our televisions, radios, newspapers and online news outlets once again, and also in some ways anew, we see modern-day mothers and other family members awash in anguish. The mothers of the first responders who perished; the wives, husbands and children of the airline passengers; the friends, brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, and more, of those who had gone to work in the Twin Towers that fateful day – they knew, they still know, the excruciating pain of losing loved ones and the deep sorrow of injustice.5
Don Schwager quotes “Mary stood at the cross with her Son Jesus,” by Ambrose of Milan, 339-397 A.D. He comments that Jesus, in his grief and suffering, did not forget his mother. He entrusted her care to John, as well as John to her. No loss, no suffering can keep us from the love of Christ (Romans 8:35-39). Paul the Apostle says that love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things (1 Corinthians 13:4-13).(copyright © 2021 Servants of the Word, source: dailyscripture.net, author Don Schwager).
"Nor was Mary below what was becoming the mother of Christ. When the apostles fled, she stood at the cross and with pious eyes beheld her Son's wounds. For she did not look to the death of her offspring but to the salvation of the world. Or perhaps, because that 'royal hall' [Mary as bearer of the divine King] knew that the redemption of the world would be through the death of her Son, she thought that by her death she also might add something to that universal gift. But Jesus did not need a helper for the redemption of all, who saved all without a helper. This is why he says, 'I am counted among those who go down to the pit. I am like those who have no help' (Psalm 88:4-5). He received indeed the affection of his mother but sought not anothers help. Imitate her, holy mothers, who in her only dearly beloved Son set forth so great an example of maternal virtue. For neither have you sweeter children, nor did the Virgin seek the consolation of being able to bear another son." (excerpt from LETTER 63.109-11)6
The Word Among Us Meditation on John 19:25-27 comments that Mary was no stranger to sorrow when she received the lifeless body of her son on Good Friday, and Michelangelo’s sculpture, the Pietà , captures this familiarity beautifully. For Mary had learned the secret to sorrow and grief—that it is not permanent. Her near divorce ended with Joseph deeply committed to her and her son. In the cave, she was surrounded by shepherds telling of angelic choirs. When Jesus left to preach and teach, she found a new role in a large family made up of everyone who “does the will of God” (Mark 3:35).
Somehow Mary knew—she believed—that her son’s death on the cross was not the end. So even as she grieved all that he had endured, even as she felt each of his pains as if it were her own, she trusted that God would not leave her and that her grief would eventually turn to joy. So will yours. And as you wait, you can lean on Mary as your own tender, compassionate Mother. “Holy Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us!”7
Friar Jude Winkler comments that the Letter to Timothy (USCCB selection) exhorts the community to act consistent with what they are. Mary and the beloved disciple, under the Cross, resonate with the Levirate marriage custom as the beloved disciple marries the Church (widow Mary) to raise up “children” for Christ. Friar Jude reminds us of the sword (the Work) that pierces the understanding of a young Jewish woman intimately familiar with praying the Shema.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Elizabeth Johnson, brilliant theologian, Sister of St. Joseph, and professor at Fordham University, who has written extensively about the universal nature of salvation— not only for humans, but for all creation. By focusing our religious conversations on the problem of human sin and “worthiness,” we have often lost sight of the strong scriptural evidence for the universal return of all of creation to God.
Biblical writers elaborated the good news using concepts of liberation, reconciliation, justification, victory over the powers, living in peace, fullness of life, being freed from slavery, adoption, and new birth as God’s children to name but a few. These long-untapped resources . . . open doors to understanding more varied dimensions of what is meant by the mystery of redemption. One result has been renewed awareness of New Testament texts about cosmic redemption that previously just flew by. These texts that extend the promise of a future to all of creation are few in number, but they are strong. . . . The great hymn in Colossians (Colossians 1:15–20) which draws on the Wisdom tradition and the history of Jesus in equal measure, is suffused with this insight.8
The Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows is an opportunity to bring our experience of sorrow to the Cross as the Spirit revives our faith, hope, and love.
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