As we remember the suffering of the Blessed Virgin Mary on this Sept. 15th, it is also fitting for us to contemplate upon Her sorrowful face as we continue in our cleanup efforts after the storm. Here in north Florida we fared far better than those down south…and those in Houston….Here at least, the flood waters have receded, and the street lights are again changing from red to green … the power has been restored to most of the area. There is a bit of normalcy returned when you see store fronts lit up and people out and about, carrying on with their day to day living. Although I am sure that other places will be suffering for far longer than we can imagine…their pains a constant reminder of everything they have lost. As Faithful Catholics, we must remember them. We are obligated to pray for the suffering. Also, as Catholics we have been blessed by the Holy Mother Church, in such a way as to honor The Blessed Virgin Mary today, as Our Lady of Sorrows…We have been afforded a great grace in being able to unite our pains with her pain and meditate on Jesus’s death on the Cross…  By doing so, we are able to unite ourselves to Christians throughout the world who are suffering….in whatever capacity.

As we gaze into Her eyes…we find they are filled with unspeakable grief…the pain of a Mother’s heart which has been pierced by a sword…the pain of a Mother who has lost her Son…Who has lost her everything...watching as her Dear Son is hung upon the wood of the Cross…

As I was reading the Magnificat magazine at Mass today, I came across this beautiful meditation on the Sorrowful Mother:

 “As other women bring to the dying the luminous gift of supreme tenderness, [Mary] brought a mother’s heart to the death agony of God. And she alone realized the immensity of the tragedy which centered all human history in the crucifixion of Love.
“God died and he was her Son: and she was his mother.
“The one being who could be with him, she stood erect in her inviolable solitude, offering her innocence as a witness to his, making all his opprobrium wholly her own, stricken with all our denials, suffering the pain of all his wounds.
“He looked upon her. He saw her sorrowing in all his sorrows, pierced through with his distress, bearing in all her being the wound of Love piteously condemned. In a creation rebellious from its beginning, she at least was wholly his.
“And he gave her to us: Behold your Mother.“ -Father Maurice Zundel

As I close today, I would like to remind you of the devotion of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Mother… the meditation upon the Seven Swords that pierced the heart of the Blessed Virgin. It is a beautiful way to unite yourself to our Dear Mother and her suffering. As we make our way through our days… carrying the burden of whatever crosses God has placed in our path….let us unite our hearts with hers… We will find our peace there, in the arms of the one who loved Him most…in the arms of the one who cradled Christ…. His Mother….Our Mother…Let our Faith unite us…as Christians...as brothers and sisters, redeemed by the blood of Christ.

The Seven Sorrows Devotion

SEVEN SORROWS

• The prophecy of Simeon. (St. Luke 2:34, 35)
• The flight into Egypt. (St. Matthew 2:13, 14)
• The loss of the Child Jesus in the temple. (St. Luke 2: 43-45)
• The meeting of Jesus and Mary on the Way of the Cross.
• The Crucifixion.
• The taking down of the Body of Jesus from the Cross.
• The burial of Jesus.