SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY : Wednesday - September 15, 2021

Wednesday - September 15, 2021

Strive to acquire the virtues you think your brothers lack, and then you will no longer see their defects, because you yourselves will not have them.

-- St. Augustine

September 15, 2021

Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows
Lectionary: 445

 

Reading 1                                                     1 Tm 3:14-16

Beloved:

I am writing you,

although I hope to visit you soon.

But if I should be delayed,

you should know how to behave in the household of God,

which is the Church of the living God,

the pillar and foundation of truth.

Undeniably great is the mystery of devotion,

 

    Who was manifested in the flesh,

    vindicated in the spirit,

    seen by angels,

    proclaimed to the Gentiles,

    believed in throughout the world,

    taken up in glory.

 

Responsorial Psalm                                              111:1-2, 3-4, 5-6

 

R.    (2) How great are the works of the Lord!

 

I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart

    in the company and assembly of the just.

Great are the works of the LORD,

    exquisite in all their delights.

R.    How great are the works of the Lord!

Majesty and glory are his work,

    and his justice endures forever.

He has won renown for his wondrous deeds;

    gracious and merciful is the LORD.

R.    How great are the works of the Lord!

He has given food to those who fear him;

    he will forever be mindful of his covenant.

He has made known to his people the power of his works,

    giving them the inheritance of the nations.

R.    How great are the works of the Lord!

 

Sequence                                                    

At the cross her station keeping,

Stood the mournful Mother weeping,

Close to Jesus to the last.

 

Through her heart, his sorrow sharing,

All his bitter anguish bearing,

Now at length the sword had passed.

 

Oh, how sad and sore distressed

Was that Mother highly blessed

Of the sole begotten One!

 

Christ above in torment hangs,

She beneath beholds the pangs

Of her dying, glorious Son.

 

Is there one who would not weep,

‘Whelmed in miseries so deep,

Christ’s dear Mother to behold?

 

Can the human heart refrain

From partaking in her pain,

In that mother’s pain untold?

 

Bruised, derided, cursed, defiled,

She beheld her tender Child,

All with bloody scourges rent.

 

For the sins of his own nation

Saw him hang in desolation

Till his spirit forth he sent.

 

O sweet Mother! font of love,

Touch my spirit from above,

Make my heart with yours accord.

 

Make me feel as you have felt;

Make my soul to glow and melt

With the love of Christ, my Lord.

 

Holy Mother, pierce me through,

In my heart each wound renew

Of my Savior crucified.

 

Let me share with you his pain,

Who for all our sins was slain,

Who for me in torments died.

 

Let me mingle tears with you,

Mourning him who mourned for me,

All the days that I may live.

 

By the cross with you to stay,

There with you to weep and pray,

Is all I ask of you to give.

 

Virgin of all virgins blest!

Listen to my fond request:

Let me share your grief divine.

 

Let me to my latest breath,

In my body bear the death

Of that dying Son of yours.

 

Wounded with his every wound,

Steep my soul till it has swooned

In his very Blood away.

 

Be to me, O Virgin, nigh,

Lest in flames I burn and die,

In his awful judgment day.

 

Christ, when you shall call me hence,

Be your Mother my defense,

Be your cross my victory.

 

While my body here decays,

May my soul your goodness praise,

Safe in heaven eternally.

Amen.(Alleluia).

 

Alleluia                                                                     

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Blessed are you, O Virgin Mary;

without dying you won the Martyr’s crown

beneath the Cross of the Lord.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

Gospel                                                                       Jn 19:25-27

 

Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother

and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas,

and Mary Magdalene.

When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved

he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.”

Then he said to the disciple,

“Behold, your mother.”

And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

 

OR:                                                                                                            Lk 2:33-35

 

Jesus’ father and mother were amazed at what was said about him;

and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother,

“Behold, this child is destined

for the fall and rise of many in Israel,

and to be a sign that will be contradicted

and you yourself a sword will pierce

so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

 

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Your Tears are Precious to God 

Tears that are cried during prayer are very valuable, like droplets of diamonds. There's nothing wrong with getting emotional and pouring our sorrows upon God. When your heart is heavy with grief over any loss, any worry, or any hurt, Jesus expects you to share the burden with him. Give yourself permission to really let it all out, from deep within. God does not throw these diamonds away. He cherishes them. He cries with you.

 

If tears were not prayer-diamonds, why would our Blessed Mother cry in heaven? Why would she be Our Lady of Sorrows? Isn't heaven supposed to be a place of joy, where there is no more sorrow? Yet, she cries because of sin in the world. She cries for you when you turn away from her Son. She cries when someone sins against you. She cries with you when you cry, and so does Jesus.

 

Crying seems to be a female trait; because of the way we are made biologically, women cry more often than men. Scientists explain that men's hormones channel their grief into anger, and yet Jesus -- fully a man -- cried for others when he saw them weeping over the death of Lazarus, and he cried for Jerusalem when he foresaw its destruction, and he cried for himself when he faced crucifixion.

 

God appreciates our tearful prayers, because they mean we're being honest with him and with ourselves. Such prayers come from a passion deep within. Not only are they offerings of grief, like precious diamonds for God, but they are also an act of surrender. We have reached the end of our ability to be strong, happy, and accepting of life's hardships. In that humble surrender, God has room to move in and comfort us and give us his own strength to continue onward.

 

Have you ever felt the hug of God? One of the scriptural names for the Holy Spirit is the Comforter, but how can we feel the embrace of a God who's invisible and intangible? Often our tears come from being unable to feel his touch when we need it most. So, we have to look for the various ways that he makes himself known to us. Throughout the day, Jesus is at our side doing little and large favors for us. Usually, however, we let our pain distract us from noticing his gifts.

 

In today's Gospel reading, the comforting embrace of God is made tangible between Mary and the disciple John. While he grieved over the suffering and loss of his dearest friend, she grieved with a heartbreak that only a mother can know. And Jesus, in the midst of his own pain, gave the gift of comfort to his mother and friend by giving them both to each other.

 

It is through community -- the gift of each other -- that we find comfort. There is no greater pain than suffering alone. God does not want you to suffer alone, ever. He's providing you with friends who will give you his embrace, just like he did for Mary and John. If you don't know who these comfort-companions are, look closer, look in new directions; they are already there for you.

 

Today's Prayer

 

Lord, Open my heart and knock down the walls in it, so I can discover those people You have placed in my path, to share Your wonderful love. Amen.

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God Bless You.....

The Rosary Family

The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”