Our Lady of Sorrows

Today the Church celebrates the memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows. We recall how Mary suffered with her Son at the foot of the Cross. This was predicted by Simeon at the Presentation of the Lord: "And you yourself a sword shall pierce." (Luke 2:35) Imagine her sorrow at seeing her Son stripped, beaten, mocked, scourged, crucified and killed. Imagine the pain in her heart as the spear drove through the Sacred Heart of Christ. Imagine her holding her dead Son in her arms, looking upon His bloody face, and recalling when she cradled Him at Bethlehem at looked upon His face for the first time. Does not this sorrow also pierce our hearts? And that is the point of this feast- we are all called to share in the sufferings of the Cross. To unite our pain with Christ's pain, to suffer with Him. Why? Does God like to watch us suffer? Of course not. Christ wants us to love as He did. But true love always involves sacrifice. A love that is not willing to suffer for the beloved is not really love at all. That is what this feast is about. If we unite our sufferings with those of Christ, as Mary did, we are united with Him in love. And remember: after the Cross comes the Resurrection. So to love Christ in this way is to enter into new life in Him.