Throughout its history, the People of God have bestowed many titles upon the Blessed Virgin Mary. Many of them are found in the windows of our church. Under the title of Our Lady of Sorrows, Mary is the co-patron of our parish as well as the “titular’ of this church, which is to say, she holds the “title” to this House of God, it bears her name.
At first thought, the title of “sorrows” does not appear very appealing or uplifting but it is the title that draws us closest to Mary. While most of her titles proclaim her unique privileges and glories that are beyond us, in her sorrows we find a close bond. Tradition points out seven sorrows, seven decisive events in Our Lady’s life that have inspired and comforted God’s people. They are depicted in her alcove or shrine.
The joy of presenting her Son in the Temple was quelled by Simeon’s prophecy of the sorrow to come that would be like a sword piercing her heart
Being uprooted and having to flee to Egypt to escape the clutches of Herod
The anxious search for a Son lost for three days
The agony of the Via Dolorosa, witnessing the Lord’s falls, his beatings and hearing the jeers of the crowd
Standing beneath the cross, to hear the pounding of the nails, to hear his last words, to witness his death and see the lance piercing his side
To hold his dead body in her arms and to lay him in the tomb
St. Luke tells us that Mary pondered all these things in her heart. She brought to these events and many others, her faith, her prayer, her trust, and constancy.
Our own life is a mixture of joys and sorrows. We delight in satisfactions and can also know anxieties, fear, and pain. Don’t we wonder at times about God’s plan for us? When we come to those moments Our Lady comes to us as our teacher and model. We too, must bring to those moments what she brought—faith, prayer, trust, and constancy.
When the sword pierces our hearts, we remember that this was Our Lady’s experience as well. Today’s feast does not celebrate Mary’s sorrows in and of themselves, but rather the faith, prayer, trust with which she faced them.
Fr. Henri Nouwen reflecting on Mary standing at the foot of the cross and wrote:
“Standing erect, holding our heads high, is the attitude of spiritually mature people in the face of the calamities of our world. The facts of everyday life are a rich source for doomsday thinking. But it is possible for us to resist this temptation and to stand with self confidence in this world, never losing our spiritual ground, always aware that ‘sky and earth will pass away’ but the words of Jesus will never pass away. Let us be like Mary, the mother of Jesus, who stood under the cross, trusting in God’s faithfulness, notwithstanding the death of her beloved Son.”
O thou Mother, fount of love! Touch my spirit from above, Make my heart with yours accord.
