Luke 2:33-35 – Our Lady of Sorrows

September 15 Our Lady of Sorrows
Hebrews 5:7-9
Luke 2:33-35

• Began by the faithful as early as the 14th century
• Granted to the Order of Servites in 1668
• Extended to the universal church in 1814 by Pope Pius VII that is why we are celebrating it today

A. Text/Context

• Devotions to the Most Holy Mother are really borne out of love and they are usually started by the faithful just like the Our Lady of Sorrows
• It becomes official when it is concretized by the laws of the Church through a papal declaration
• If the Franciscans have the 7 Joys of Mary, the Order of Servites have the 7 Sorrows of Mary under the title of the Our Lady of Sorrows in English, Mater Dolorosa in Latin or the Madre Dolorosa in Spanish
• This is a devotion to the Most Holy Mother Mary commemorating the sad or the sorrowful events of her life
• According to tradition Mary has experienced terrible sorrows in bearing with her son Jesus and they are 7
• 1st – is the prophecy of Simeon, the content of the gospel today. Imagine the great shock of Mary to be told by the prophet Simeon that a sword shall pierce in her. How would we bear such a shocking news? Mary kept it in her heart in silence and it was slowly revealed to her as the events of her son’s life slowly unfolded
• 2nd – the flight into Egypt another terrible suffering the Holy Family traveled 300 miles from Nazareth to Egypt by foot or by camel with the infant passing through the wilderness in the desert
• 3rd – the loss of the boy Jesus when they were on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, for 3 days Mary and Joseph were looking for the lost child. Imagine a parent losing a child
• 4th – is the encounter of Mary with Jesus carrying his cross on the way to Calvary. We can only imagine how Mary felt of the horrible sight of his son full of blood. According to traditions Mary collapsed many times as if she was already dead
• 5th – is the crucifixion of her son on the cross. Imagine that you cannot do anything while you have seen before your very own eyes that your own son is brutally murdered in front of you. The most painful thing that can happen to us is that we see the crime committed in front of us and we are helpless about it
• 6th – the taking down from the cross. For the last time the sorrowful mother carried the dead Jesus in her lap. This is what we call the Pieta in the sculptural arts and paintings
• 7th – the last is the burial. The last time that Mary could see the physical body of her son
• So this is the background of today’s celebration

B. Human Situation

• In our lives as Christians, there is what we call the law of opposites
• We have 7 sorrows, we also have 7 joys
• The life of the BVM is full joys and sorrows at the same time, but her life is not only on sufferings and sacrifices
• Mary also experienced great joys and one of them is the appearance of her son Jesus coming back to life after the resurrection
• So what does it mean to our life as Christians? There is always hope and glory after all the hardships in this world. We can always transcend from the life of sorrow to a life full of joy and happiness
• For sure, we have a lot of problems, and some of them are really devastating
• But we are very sure that the sadness or the sorrows that we experience will not be permanent it will just be temporary and it will soon fade away

C. Challenge

• Today, we are reminded that in our life here on earth there are 2 facets: joys and sorrows
• And we are reminded that God does not want us to suffer because we do not have a God who loves to see us suffer
• We have a loving God who wants us to live happily in this world
• But we cannot escape sorrow because it becomes part of our life because of sin
• That is why suffering is still part and parcel of our Christian life
• In our suffering, we are not alone because God suffers with us, and lest we forget suffering sanctifies the soul
• And in our joy we fulfilled our vocation to live happily in this world, let us not be disheartened with our sufferings and pains
• God sends them for a purpose in order to purify our souls, to test our faith
• I myself as a priest would not be very happy preaching in the pulpit encouraging the people to sacrifice or to suffer because God wants us to be happy
• But in any event that suffering will really descend into our lives as Christians, there is only one secret to make it more bearable: we have to accept it with joy, we have to accept it as a cross
• Because whether we like it or not, God is the author of joy, he is also the author of sadness and sorrow. Mary experienced more than what we do
• God gives suffering to us not without any purpose; it is to make our soul strong and formidable to withstand the test of time
• If Mary did it, we too are invited to share in the sufferings of our Lord