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...)

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)

Second Sorrow of Mary
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)