The Face of Our Sorrowful Mother
Contemplative Meditations on the Seven Sorrows of Mary
Sunday, January 10, 2021
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
3rd Sorrow of Mary: The Loss of Jesus in Jerusalem
"My heart is restless until it rests in You"
Luke 2:41-52
(Our Father...)
When we become immersed in the
world, as Mary and Joseph were immersed in the caravan traveling back to
Nazareth from Jerusalem, it is easy to lose sight of Jesus. What a terrible
loss!
(1st
Hail Mary...)
Mary and Joseph lost Jesus, but
Jesus was not lost, since He was in His Father's house, sharing His
understanding and wisdom with the teachers. Even when we temporarily lose sight
of Jesus, as long as we do not fall out of grace through unconfessed mortal
sin, He remains in His Father's house in the little heaven of our soul. Thanks
be to God!
(2nd
Hail Mary...)
When His Mother and His Foster
Father Joseph found Him in the temple, His Mother said, "Son, why have You
treated us so? Behold, Your father and I have been looking for You
anxiously." When we are faced with loss, we sometimes ask God the same
question: "Why have You treated me so?" In this world we will never
have full understanding of our suffering, but, if we "keep all of these
things in our heart," maybe we will receive a glint of understanding about
the meaning of our suffering.
(3rd
Hail Mary...)
Jesus answered: "How is it
that you sought Me? Did you not know that I must be in My Father's house?"
Blessed Mother, did you sometimes forget that Jesus was God's Son before He was
Incarnated as yours? Was His Incarnation at that time still a mystery to you,
as it is to us at this time?
(4th
Hail Mary...)
"The Boy Jesus stayed behind
in Jerusalem." The name "Jerusalem" means "city of
peace." Jesus' Heart drew Him to His Father's house, where He experiences
His deepest peace. St. Augustine said, "My heart is restless until it
rests in You." Mary's heart was anxious until she was reunited with her
Son. In our world of so many wars, so much violence, God is the Peace we have
lost.
(5th
Hail Mary...)
Jesus is "the Way, the
Truth, and the Life," and He is also a Mystery. The teachers in the temple
were amazed at His understanding and His answers. His Mother and His Foster
Father Joseph were astonished that, at the age of twelve, He was already
teaching the teachers. They didn't understand why He acted the way He did.
"Did you not know that I must be in My Father's house?" His bond, His
Union with God His Father was too compelling to resist. Even to His Mother He
was in many ways a Mystery.
(6th
Hail Mary...)
Jesus was obedient to God His
Father for those three days in the temple, and when it was time for Him to
leave the temple, "He went down with them and came to Nazareth," His
earthly home, and was obedient to His Mother and St. Joseph as He grew into
manhood. Jesus teaches us to be obedient in all things: first and foremost to
God Our Father, and also to all with God-given authority over us on this earth.
(7th
Hail Mary...)
Friday, October 4, 2019
1st Sorrow of Mary: Simeon's Prophecy
Luke 2:22-35
Jesus the Light in the darkness
The Scripture does not say much about the human
infant Jesus. He is presented to the Lord, like every other Jewish male infant.
"A Light that shines in the
darkness."
Yes, He is a human male infant, but He is also
much more. In that circle of people: His Mother, His Foster Father Joseph, the
Prophet Simeon, and others...He is the Light that every one, including His
Mother, contemplates. As Simeon says:
"...mine eyes have seen Thy
salvation
...a Light of revelation to the
Gentiles
and a glory for Thy people
Israel"
("Our
Father...")
His Mother was immaculately conceived, without
original sin, and yet her radiance is only a reflection of the Light of her
Son, who is also her Lord.
"My soul magnifies the
Lord..."
(1st
Hail Mary)
With each new revelation of her Son, she adores
Him more and more. It is through her Immaculate and Sorrowful Heart that we can
see the Light of Christ most clearly.
(2nd Hail Mary)
Then Simeon speaks of the darkness that will
also be revealed in His Light:
"Behold, this Child is destined
for the fall and for the rise of many in Israel, and for a sign that shall be
contradicted.
And thy own soul a sword shall pierce,
that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."
The Light of Christ shines on everything,
including our hearts, to show us both our goodness ("made in the image of God") and our sin, which damages
God's image in us.
(3rd
Hail Mary)
Mary's loving, maternal Heart embraces her Son,
comforting Him, as He experiences the coldness of the world. Surely, when she
left the temple that day, she held Him more closely, more tenderly, than ever
before that day. Likewise, she holds tenderly close each of her children who
are abused, assaulted, even murdered by the evil in the world and in our
hearts.
(4th Hail Mary)
Simeon the Prophet was given the light by the
Holy Spirit, along with His parents, to see that Jesus is the Messiah of the
Jews and the Savior of the world. In a temple full of people, they were a tiny
circle of Light in the darkness. In union with Our Lord, in the Sorrowful Heart
of His Mother, we are called to be a part of a small circle of Light in the
world's darkness. Our prayer is that the circle of Light and Love--the Flame of
Love--will become ever larger until it consumes the darkness.
(5th Hail Mary)
The Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Sorrowful Mother,
cared for and protected by St. Joseph, her chaste spouse, carried her Son Jesus
from the temple into the greater darkness of the world, where He shone, even
most brightly in His Passion and Death.
(6th Hail Mary)
The Holy Family, whose center is Jesus, is a
circle of Love that radiates Love to the world, like the sun light and heat
upon the earth. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, please teach us, and pour out God's
grace upon our families, that we may spread Your Love to the world.
(7th Hail Mary)
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Second Sorrow of Mary
The Flight into Egypt
and the Killing of the Holy Innocents
The Flight into Egypt
and the Killing of the Holy Innocents
Matthew 2:13-18
"A Spiritual Battle, A Holy
Journey!"
It was a spiritual battle between
the army of God and the army of Satan.
(Our
Father)
Satan, through King Herod, was
determined to kill the Infant Jesus, the One who was born to save souls. But
God was not ready for His Son to die, so He sent an angel to warn Joseph to
flee with Mary and Jesus to Egypt. The forces of God worked silently to save
the Holy One. (Hail Mary)
The Blessed Mother Mary said
"yes" to this suffering--in prompt obedience, active faith, and
deepest humility--as she promptly arose, got their few belongings together, and
with tender protectiveness, carried her Son (God's Son), with Joseph, to Egypt.
Sorrowful Mother, please give us the graces of obedience, faith, and humility,
to live more fully in God, who lives most fully in Your Immaculate and
Sorrowful Heart.
(Hail
Mary)
Herod, when he realized that he
had been tricked by the Magi, flew into a demonic rage and sent his soldiers to
kill all of the boys in and around Bethlehem under the age of two. Satan, when
he realized that the Holy Child would escape, took revenge on the Holy
Innocents. (Hail
Mary)
"A voice was heard in Rama, weeping and loud lamentation; Rachel
weeping for her children, and she would not be comforted, because they are no
more." Sorrowful Mother, you wept with
those mothers, inconsolable because they lost their precious little sons so
violently. You continue to weep and lament for the murdered innocents and for
their mothers. Merciful Father, please increase the Light of Your Son in this
dark world. Compassionate Mother, please "spread the effect of grace of
thy Flame of Love (Jesus) over all of humanity. (Hail
Mary)
The Blessed Virgin Mary,
Immaculately Conceived, free from original sin, through the grace with which
God filled her, remained sinless all of her life. Yet, she grew in virtue
throughout her life. She and St. Joseph both wore the armor of God described in
Ephesians 6:10-20. "Put on the armor of God, so that you may be able to
stand against the wiles of the devil. They wore the belt of truth, the truth
that the Infant Jesus is not only the Son of Mary; He is also the Son of God.
He rested safe in the bosom of His Father. They wore the breastplate of
righteousness, growing in faith, trust, and obedience. They walked in the peace
of Christ, whom His Mother carried in her Heart, as well as in her arms.
(Hail
Mary)
It was a long journey from
Bethlehem to Egypt, with little comfort and no conveniences. It was perhaps an
even more difficult spiritual journey, with their faith, hope, and charity
repeatedly tested during this time of suffering and sorrow.
(Hail Mary)
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph please
carry God's people throughout the nations out of the darkness and sin that has
covered the world, into the Refuge of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus and the
Immaculate and Sorrowful Heart of Mary.
(Hail Mary)
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