Like most of you, I
have a set prayer life. My day starts with prayer before I even get out of bed.
I follow with daily Mass, the Rosary, the Angelus at Noon, the Chaplet of
Divine Mercy at 3 pm, another evening Rosary and I end my day with the Chaplet
of the Seven Sorrows of Mary. Why do I save this for the end? Well, this
chaplet brings me much comfort and allows me to fall asleep in great peace. It
shows me many things. First of all, many of Mary’s joys were mixed with great
sorrow. Imagine taking your blessed baby to be baptized and having the priest
tell you this child will suffer greatly and your heart will be pierced with a
sword! Immediately a joyful mystery turns into one of the seven sorrows of
Mary! Again, you find Mary getting ready to return home and share her baby with
her parents and family, only to be told she had to flee because soldiers wanted
to kill him. Even worse, she had to go to a strange land where no one would wait
to welcome her and lavish love on her new son. There is a joyful mystery which
has us share Mary’s joy in finding Jesus in the temple, but the seven sorrows
reminds us of the anguish Mary felt when she discovered her son was missing,
and she was in agony for three days wondering if he was safe. Isn’t this so
much like our own lives? Sometimes we experience an event which brings us such
joy, only to have it turn into a source of sorrow. Sometimes we anticipate a
wonderful, peaceful time in our lives, only to have family illness or crisis
turn it on its head. Here is the second lesson I have learned from Mary as she
proceeded through her joy coupled with sorrow. I see Mary doing exactly what we
must do: put one foot in front of the other; look no further than we can see;
place all of our trust and faith in God, and then act in love. That’s all. We
can’t become obsessed with worry over terrorists or financial crises or family
members living in sin or even the weak and failing members of our families. We
must follow Mary as she spent time listening to God in prayer, seeking His will
in all things. Then we step ahead, one foot at a time, in complete faith and
trust. Mary could not spend time wondering if it was really necessary to go to
Egypt; she went. She could not cave into worry about all that could have
happened to Jesus while not in her care; she trusted in God and searched for
Him. That is Mary. She followed her Son to Calvary even though the pain was
intense. She stood with Him as He died, and held Him until He was placed in the
tomb. So must we embrace our sorrow, and know that joy will return. Jesus died,
but He rose. We may be crushed, but we will be whole again. Have faith, and let
Mary lead the way.
Below are the
seven sorrows of Mary:
The prophecy of
Simeon (Luke 2:25-35)
The flight into
Egypt (Matthew 2:13-15)
Loss of the Child
Jesus for three days (Luke
2:41-50)
Mary meets Jesus on
his way to Calvary (Luke
23:27-31; John 19:17)
Crucifixion and
Death of Jesus (John 19:25-30)
The body of Jesus
being taken from the Cross (Psalm
130; Luke 23:50-54; John 19:31-37)
The burial of Jesus (Isaiah 53:8; Luke 23:50-56; John 19:38-42;
Mark 15:40-47)
I end with one of my favorite poems:
“The rain to the wind said,
You push and I'll pelt.'
They so smote the garden bed
That the flowers actually knelt,
And lay lodged--though not dead.
I know how the flowers felt.”
To Our Lady of
Sorrows
O most holy Virgin,
Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ: by the overwhelming grief you experienced when
you witnessed the martyrdom, the crucifixion, and death of your divine Son,
look upon me with eyes of compassion, and awaken in my heart a tender commiseration
for those sufferings, as well as a sincere detestation of my sins, in order
that being disengaged from all undue affection for the passing joys of this
earth, I may sigh after the eternal Jerusalem, and that henceforward all my
thoughts and all my actions may be directed towards this one most desirable
object. Honor, glory, and love to our divine Lord Jesus, and to the holy and
immaculate Mother of God. Amen
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