Our Lady of Sorrows
Our Lady of Sorrows
(From Conversation with God, Fernandez Carvajal)Jesus wanted to associate his Mother with the work of redemption and make her a participant in his supreme sacrifice. As we celebrate the co-redemptive suffering of Mary today the Church invites us to offer our many little difficulties and voluntary mortifications for the salvation of souls. Through union with the Lord's work of redemption Mary underwent the torments of any good mother who sees her son in the throes of death, but in addition her pain had the salvific quality of Christ's own Passion. She who is full of grace and the most pure handmaid of the Lord offers up all of her actions in intimate union with her Son. Their value, therefore, is virtually without limit.
We will never entirely comprehend Mary's immense love for Jesus which is the cause of her great suffering. The Liturgy applies the words of the prophet Jeremiah to the sorrowful Virgin as to Christ himself: All you who pass by the way, look and see, was there ever a sorrow to compare with my sorrow (Lam 1:12). The anguish of Our Lady is greater on account of her eminent holiness. Her love for her Son allows her to endure His sufferings as though they were her own: When the soldiers strike the body of Christ, it is as if Mary is subjected to every blow. When they pierce his head with thorns, Our Lady feels their sharp penetration. When the same men offer Him gall and vinegar, the Blessed Mother tastes all the bitterness. As they spread His body on the cross, Mary is torn from within. The more a person loves, the more he or she identifies with the pain of the beloved. A brother's death is more upsetting than a pet's. A son's dying is more trying than a friend's. To get a grasp of Mary's grief at the crucifixion we need somehow to appreciate the great extent of her love for her Son.
Christ's agony is greatest in Gethsemane. On account of his profound sensitivity to the malice of sin, that night also meant untold moral suffering. Sin is an offence against God, a wicked affront to His infinite holiness and the cause of the Passion. It is much more serious than a mere transgression. The Virgin realized this more than any other creature. On account of her own awareness of the enormous evil of sin, Mary was plunged in bitter grief on beholding its horrible consequences for her Son. Every one of us contributes in some way toward increasing the suffering of Christ. For this reasons, we should rejoice to be able to meditate slowly on sin's impact on the loving Hearts of Jesus and Mary. We will then accept our share in their suffering and make reparation gladly.