Too often I need to remind myself that in my struggles I must turn to Jesus first, for He is my greatest consolation.

On this Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows, I’m especially reminded of Mary’s suffering as she stood at the Cross of Jesus. How could she give the violence of her sorrow to her dying Son while He endured His own agonizing Passion?

Mary viewed her Son’s suffering with intense grief, yet in it she saw our salvation. Our Lady’s sorrows are embodied in the prediction and fulfillment of today’s Gospels; first, in Simeon’s prophesy of a sword piercing her heart, and second, in Jesus’ words to her and the beloved apostle, John, “Behold your son.” (John 19:26) “Behold your mother.” (John 19:27)

When Jesus gave Mary to John, He gave her to us as well. Now we, as members of the Mystical Body of Christ, share God’s Mother as our own – a Mother whose obedient and loving heart was pierced for the deliverance of our souls.

Elizabeth

http://elizabethtichvon.wordpress.com