Today, the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother, celebrate their patronal feast, the feast of the Sorrowful Mother. The Gospel reading for this feast is John 19: 25-27. Mary stands beneath the cross as her only Son, Jesus, is crucified, mocked, and dies the cruel death of a criminal. Following His condemnation to die by crucifixion, He had been brutally beaten and crowned with thorns. Having lost a significant amount of blood in the scourging, Jesus falls three times as He carried His cross up the hill to Calvary, where He would be put to death for the sins of humankind! It was the sins of humankind, in fact, your sins and mine, that crushed Jesus, killed Him.
Mary stands at the foot of the cross watching her Son's agony and hearing Him say: "Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing." Standing beneath that cross, Mary, no doubt, realized what the prophet Simeon meant when he prophesied that her heart would be pieced with a sword, the sword of suffering.
It was from the cross, that Jesus gave us Mary as our mother. We are as much her sons/her daughters, as Jesus was her Son. She feels for us, as she felt for her Son. And, just as she stood beneath the cross of her Son and supported Him in his agony, so, too, does she stand with each of us in our moments of suffering. She could not stop the pain her Son, nor can she stop the pain we are in. However, she intercedes for us, as she interceded for Jesus. She wipes away our tears as she wiped away the tears of her so many times in His life time. And beneath that cross, she gave Him the strength He needed to suffer on our behalf, showing us the infinite love God has for us!And she gives us the strength we need, as well!
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