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
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
MEMORIAL OF OUR LADY OF SORROWS
Lectionary: 446/639
Reading 1 1 COR 15:1-11
I am reminding you, brothers and sisters,
of the Gospel I preached to you,
which you indeed received and in which you also stand.
Through it you are also being saved,
if you hold fast to the word I preached to you,
unless you believed in vain.
For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received:
that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures;
that he was buried;
that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures;
that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve.
After that, he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once,
most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.
After that he appeared to James,
then to all the Apostles.
Last of all, as to one born abnormally,
he appeared to me.
For I am the least of the Apostles,
not fit to be called an Apostle,
because I persecuted the Church of God.
But by the grace of God I am what I am,
and his grace to me has not been ineffective.
Indeed, I have toiled harder than all of them;
not I, however, but the grace of God that is with me.
Therefore, whether it be I or they,
so we preach and so you believed.
Responsorial Psalm PS 118:1B-2, 16AB-17, 28
R. (1) Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
Let the house of Israel say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
R. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
“The right hand of the LORD is exalted;
the right hand of the LORD has struck with power.”
I shall not die, but live,
and declare the works of the LORD.
R. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
You are my God, and I give thanks to you;
O my God, I extol you.
R. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
Sequence (Optional) - Stabat Mater
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.
***********************************
GOD WANTS TO EMBRACE YOU IN YOUR SORROWS
What’s the purpose of your tears when you cry? Usually, my tears mean I want something to change and I’m not going to be happy until it does change. But that only results in swollen eyes and messy tissues.
But turn it into a prayer and our sorrow becomes very valuable!
It’s healthy to get emotional and pour our sadness into a conversation with God. Our tears are not bullets that shoot our frustrations heavenward in order to force God to hurry up and make things better — even though it can feel that way. In our sorrows, each tear is itself a prayer. When you’re tired of using words, just cry.
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 a place of joy, where there is no more sorrow? Yet, Mary cries because people are being hurt by sin in the world. She cries for you when you turn away from her Son. She cries with you when you cry because of the sins of others.
Tears shed during prayer time are valuable to God because this is a moment of surrender. We’ve quit trying to change what we cannot change. We might still want to, but while we’re crying we have stopped trying. In that humble surrender, we give God clearance to move in and comfort us.
When the Father heard his Son’s prayers in the Garden of Gethsemane, he didn’t change what Jesus would have to endure, but he did comfort him. He embraced his Son with tender compassion and sympathy. He sent angels to him for additional support. This gave Jesus the strength to choose obedience and say, “Your will be done, not mine” and to endure his sufferings.
Jesus knew from the Psalms, which he had memorized as a boy, that God would rescue him. Now he also knew it in his heart while he cried. The resurrection would come, the promises would be fulfilled, and by surrendering to the Father’s comforting strength, Jesus would be able to travel the path of pain that would eventually lead to the promised victory.
In the Gospel reading today, we see this comforting embrace repeat itself in the relationship between Mary and the disciple John. This was Mary’s moment of greatest sorrow; she grieved with a heartbreak that only mothers can know. John grieved with Our Lady of Sorrows over the suffering and loss of his dearest friend. And Jesus, despite his own sorrow-filled pain, passed his Father’s inheritance of comfort on to his mother and friend by permanently unifying their mutual embrace into a bond of supportive friendship.
It’s in Christian community that we receive God’s comfort. He is giving you caring friends who will embrace you with his love. If you don’t know who these comfort-companions are, look closer and reach out wider; they are here for you. God wants to embrace you through them to give you his tender compassion and sympathy.
Today’s Prayer
Jesus, I give you each of my tears through the hands of Your Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary. May not my will but Yours be done in my life. Amen.
God Bless You.....
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