Today the Church celebrates the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. The first reading is for Thursday of the twenty-fourth week in Ordinary Time. In it, St. Paul refers to himself as “the least of the Apostles, not fit to be called an Apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God.”
The Church gives parishes an option of two different readings for the Gospel. The first is from John 19, the scene at the foot of the cross where Jesus gives his mother to John. The other is from Luke 2 where Simeon tells Mary, “you yourself a sword will pierce,” prophesying about her coming sorrows.
Perhaps the only thing harder than bearing hardships and sorrows ourselves is watching someone we love go through sorrow and pain. I know that if we could trade places and take our loved ones’ sorrows upon ourselves, we would do it in a heartbeat. This we cannot do. We all have our own journey. We can, however, comfort and pray for our sorrowing brothers and sisters. I know that this is how Mary feels about you. When you suffer, she suffers. Why? Because she is your Mother. Your sorrows are her sorrows. She suffered greatly, so she knows just what you’re going through. Let her comfort you today.
Father, we thank you for Mary, our Mother. May she always give us comfort in our sorrows. Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us. Amen.
Do Catholics worship Mary? Find the answer to that and many other questions about Catholicism in the A Minute in the Church series, available at www.GusLloyd.com.
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