The Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows is celebrated the day after the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross (September 14). Eight days after Mary’s birth (September 7) her sorrows are recalled, her lifelong sorrows.
The old man Simeon spoke of her lifelong sorrows when he told Mary a sword would pierce her heart when Jesus was born. Her greatest sorrow, of course, came when she stood beneath the Cross of her Son.
What, then, were her lifelong sorrows? The gospels indicate some of them, but perhaps more important was Mary’s experience of the sorrow every human being experiences. An infant cries as it enters this world. “Our life is over like a sigh. Our span is seventy years, or eighty for those who are strong. And most of these are emptiness and pain.” (Psalm 90) Everyone experiences the human sorrow the psalms describes. Mary experienced that human sorrow.
The sword of sorrow struck Mary most deeply at the death of her Son. Some of Jesus followers stood at a distance when he was crucified. But John’s gospel describes Mary as the first of those standing close by, beneath the cross itself. “Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.”
Mary stands by the Cross of Jesus, close by, not at a distance. She’s not absorbed in her own suffering, not afraid to see. Her closeness to the Cross is significant. She enters the mystery of her Son’s suffering through compassion.
She stood by him. Compassion doesn’t experience another’s suffering exactly, and it may not take another’s suffering away. Compassion enters suffering to break the isolation suffering causes. It helps someone bear their burden. The sword, the spear, the sorrow, pierces both hearts, in different ways.
Our prayer for today’s feast says that when her Son “was lifted high on the Cross” his mother stood by and shared his suffering. “Grant that your Church, participating with the Virgin Mary in the Passion of Christ, may merit a share in his Resurrection.
For a commentary on John’s Gospel see here.
For a study on Mary on Calvary see here.
For readings for the feast and the Stabat Mater see here.
The Victor's Place 
Your Cross
When a heavy cross
anticipated or unexpected
is thrust upon you
the One who loves you
will give you strength
to bear your burden
and you will take up your cross
and walk
But should you stumble
on your way
the One who loves you
will send a Simon from the crowd
to take your cross and bear it
so that you may once again
stand upright
And when the splinters
of your heavy cross
gouge your flesh
and rip into your very heart and soul
the One who loves you
will send tender hands to bind your wounds
And you will feel the presence of God
Gloria Ziemienski
September 2002
LikeLike
Always good to hear your wise, experienced words, Gloria. FV
LikeLike
“his cross hers through compassion, which breaks suffering’s isolation and offers to bear its burden”
Well said !! Compassion a lesson we learn from Mary is the ultimate human emotion. To share another’s pain. To console another in pain. Pain..physical or mental..isolates people from each other. Isolation is devastating. Jesus felt it when the apostles fell asleep while he prayed. It’s all clear now through Jesus and Mary’s passion why God didn’t just create his son. He gave him a mother. A mother’s job is to feel compassion for her child, to comfort her child when he is isolated. It’s a hard job that’s why God have it to mothers!!
LikeLike
A thrill to hear your message, Lynn
LikeLike
Our Blessed Mother not only takes care of us now, she has done it always! Think of the disciples back in the Upper Room after Jesus’s death. Who do you think brought consolation to them and gave them the incentive to go on? I am positive it was Mary! She knew what it was like to suffer and survive. She taught them ,I’m sure, that if it was God’s will it was meant to be and all must be left in His hands. Thank you Jesus for sharing Your Mother with us! It’s just one more gift that You gave us!
LikeLike
To enter The Mystery of the Passion through compassion, and to stand not at a distance but close by, not afraid to see, not absorbed in my own suffering, not disengaged from Jesus or his suffering. Grant this, O Lord, I pray. Thank you, Father Victor, for giving me ways that speak to my heart for praying the Mystery of the cross.
LikeLike