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Yesterday we reflected on the pain and suffering and sacrifice of our Lord Jesus in the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. Today we remember Our Lady of Sorrows, the pain, suffering and sacrifice of our Mother, Mary, beneath the Cross. It is undoubtedly felt by the church that Mary is the first one to share the pain and the triumph of the Cross.
St. Ambrose in particular sees Mary as a sorrowful yet powerful figure at the cross. Mary stood fearlessly at the cross while others fled. Mary looked on her Son's wounds with pity, but saw in them the salvation of the world. As Jesus hung on the cross, Mary did not fear being killed but offered herself to her persecutors.
Theologians and professionals of the Church identify the ‘beloved disciple’ as the Church. Jesus offers Mary to be the mother of the beloved disciple in a moment of pain, during his suffering and death. Thus, Mary was given to the church during a crucial time. Even at the point of death, our Lord makes sure that the Church, which was weak and vulnerable, had a Mother who is strong and powerful.
This also implies that Mary’s part in the redemption of humankind is not over with the death and resurrection of Jesus; rather it is the renewal of the Servant Motherhood of Mary. Our Pope in Lourdes yesterday said that Mary shows people the way to come to God. "She teaches us to approach him in truth and simplicity," he said. "Thanks to her, we discover that the Christian faith is not a burden: it is like a wing which enables us to fly higher, so as to take refuge in God's embrace. The grace of the Immaculate Conception is not given to Mary as a merely "personal grace," but is rather "a grace for all, a grace given to the entire people of God."
The Church has a mother today and this gift of the Mother invites us to take part in the suffering of Jesus since Jesus accepted suffering and death to conquer sin and bring salvation to all. If we aspire to be saved by Christ, we, accompanied by Mary, must go along the road less travelled, take up our crosses and follow Him. He will lead us to the resurrection.
Lord Jesus, we now implore, both for the present and for the hour of our death, the intercession of the most Blessed Virgin Mary, Thy Mother, whose holy soul was pierced at the time of Thy passion by a sword of grief. Grant us this favor, O Saviour of the world, Who liveth and reigneth with the Father and the Holy Ghost, forever and ever. Amen. (Prayer of the Servites)
Fr. Antony is a MSC priest from India who currently lives and works with the MSC community in California. His blog, Ametur, includes homilies for weekdays, Sundays, and Feast days.
Article edited by MSC Staff
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