Monday, February 27, 2012

Mary, Mother of Sorrows

Mary, Mother of Sorrows:  When Mary and Joseph presented Jesus in the Temple, Simeon prophesized that Mary’s heart would be pierced with sorrow, as her Son would be the cause of the rise and fall of many in Israel.  He’d be a sign of contradiction. Imagine Mary hearing these words.  They certainly do not contain a message you’d want to hear at the baptism of your infant son/daughter.  But what if the priest uttered such a prophesy about your child on that occasion.  Would you not return home heartsick, worried, confused.

Mary, Mother of Sorrows!
As a mother, she knows the pain every parent, both mother and father, goes through when devastating news is delivered to them about their child: a terminal illness, down syndrome, cerebral palsy, retardation, a mental illness, poor school performance, and, much worse, a kidnapping, sexual abuse by a relative or a stranger, a disappearance, and even murder.  Mary says to you: your pain is my pain.  She stands beneath the cross with you, as she stood beneath the cross of her Son.

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