OUR LADY OF SORROWS (MEMORIAL)

Behold, your mother. 

Television shows and movies love to portray characters who experience great challenges and tragedies but who find a way to keep going and reach goals that seemed unimaginable. Stories like these can be very inspiring.

Today’s feast of Our Lady of Sorrows can connect with us in the same way. As a young woman, Mary agreed to be mother to the Son of God. From the moment she accepted this mission, she endured great hardship and sorrow but succeeded in fulfilling all that God had planned for her to do.

It’s hard to imagine how painful her experience must have been, especially as she watched her only son endure torture and the agony of crucifixion. After his death and resurrection, no one would have blamed her if she had decided to go back home to her relatives to rest and heal her wounded soul. But she didn’t do that. Instead, she stayed with the disciples. She was there when the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles at Pentecost, and she became a vital part of the new Church the Spirit brought to life.

Mary’s role after Jesus’ resurrection reflects Paul’s words in today’s first reading: “All the parts of the body, though many, are one body” (1 Corinthians 12:12). Each of us is an integral part of the body of Christ. We all have gifts and talents that build up the Church. But like Mary, we also experience times of pain, doubt, and suffering. Reflecting on Mary’s reaction to her sufferings can encourage us to stay close to the Lord through them all.

Mary encountered many sorrows, but she never stopped caring for the people around her, the people who would one day make up the Church.

Today, as we meditate on Mary as Our Lady of Sorrows, we can also honor her for continuing to say yes to God despite the difficulties she faced—and the difficulties that were still awaiting her. We can also make a commitment to imitate Mary while undergoing our own sufferings and continue to care for the people around us.

“Holy Mary, Mother of God, accompany me in my sufferings and help me be more like you.”

1 Corinthians 12:12-14
Psalm 100:1-5