Lady of Sorrows |
Our Lady of Sorrows
September 15
His Mother stood by the Cross
From a sermon by Saint Bernard, abbot
Prophesy of Simeon |
The martyrdom of the Virgin is set forth both in the
prophecy of Simeon and in the actual story of our Lord’s passion. The holy old man said of the infant Jesus: He has been established as a sign which will
be contradicted. He went on to say:
And your own heart will be pierced by a
sword.
Truly, O blessed Mother, a sword has pierced your
heart. For only by passing through your
heart could the sword enter the flesh of your Son. Indeed, after your Jesus—who belongs to
everyone, but is especially yours—gave up His life, the cruel spear, which was
not withheld from His lifeless body, tore open His side. Clearly it did not touch His soul and could
not harm Him, but it did pierce your heart.
For surely His soul was no longer there, but yours could not be torn
away. Thus the violence of sorrow has
cut through your heart, and we rightly call you more than martyr, since the
effect of compassion in you has gone beyond the endurance of physical
suffering.
Christ gives His Mother to John |
Or were those words: Woman,
behold your Son, not more than a sword to you, truly piercing your heart, cutting
through the division between soul and spirit?
What an exchange! John is given
to you in place of Jesus the servant in place of the Lord, the disciple in
place of the Master; the son of Zebedee replaces the Son of God, a mere man
replaces God Himself. How could these
words not pierce your most loving heart, when the mere remembrance of them
breaks ours, hearts of stone and iron though they are!
Do not be surprised, brothers , that Mary is said to be
martyr in spirit. Let him be surprised
who does not remember the words of Paul, that one of the greatest crimes of the
Gentiles was that they were without love.
That was far from the heart of Mary; let it be far from her servants.
Perhaps someone will say: “Had she not known before that He
would not die?” Undoubtedly. “Did she not experience Him to rise again at once?” Surely.
“And still she grieved over her crucified Son?” Intensely. Who are you and what source of your wisdom
that you are more surprised at the compassion of Mary than the passion of Mary’s
Son? For if He could die in body, could
she not died with Him in spirit? He died
in body through a love greater than anyone had known. She died in spirit through love unlike any
other since His.
Father,
As your Son was raised on the cross,
His mother Mary stood by Him, sharing His sufferings.
May Your Church be united with Christ
In His suffering and death
And so come to share in his rising to new life,
Where He lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
One God, for ever and ever.
Taken from Liturgy of the Hours, Our Lady of Sorrows
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