The meaning of the celebration
+ On September 15, the day after the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the Church honors the suffering (or “sorrows”) of Mary, the Mother of Jesus. This memorial is based on a special feast of the Seven Sorrows of Mary first celebrated by the Servite Friars in the seventeenth century.
+ The Gospel of Luke tells us the story of the Presentation in the Temple when he was only a few weeks old. The devotions of Mary and Joseph were interrupted when Simeon, an elderly priest, took the Child in his arms and proclaimed that he was the fulfillment of the promises God had made to Israel.
+ Simeon also prophesied that Mary would have to share in the sufferings of her Son: “You yourself a sword will pierce so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed” (Luke 2:35). Years later, this prophesy was fulfilled as Mary courageously stood by and witnessed the execution of her Son (cf. John 19:25-27).
+ In art, the Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows, is often depicted with seven swords piercing her heart. These swords represent the traditional seven “sorrows” of Mary: the Prophecy of Simeon, the Flight into Egypt, the Loss of the Child Jesus, Meeting Jesus as he carried his Cross to Calvary, the Crucifixion, the Body of Jesus being placed in Mary’s arms, and the burial of Jesus.
For prayer and reflection
“She gave herself totally to the hurts associated with her son, but she also knew how to dip deeply inside and draw from the strength that the Holy One gave her. Mary’s life contained piercing hurts, but it also held a vast reservoir of faith.”—Joyce Rupp, O.S.M., Your Sorrow is My Sorrow
Spiritual bonus
On this day we also remember Blessed Wladyslaw Miegon. A priest of the military ordinariate of Poland, he was serving as a military chaplain at the time of the Nazi invasion of Poland. He was subsequently deported, imprisoned, executed in the Dachau concentration camp on September 15, 1942. Blessed Wladyslaw was beatified with other Polish martyrs of World War II in 1999.
Prayer
O God, who willed
that, when your Son was lifted high on the Cross,
his Mother should stand close by and share his suffering,
grant that your Church,
participating with the Virgin Mary in the Passion of Christ,
may merit a share in his Resurrection.
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.
(from The Roman Missal)
Saint profiles prepared by Fr. Silas Henderson, S.D.S.
And today we celebrate...