Proper
for the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows [1]
(includes Optional Sequence
– Stabat Mater)
Additional
information about Our Lady of Sorrows
 |
“The Pietà (Mary Lamenting the Dead Christ)”
by Baciccio, 1667. |
Readings
for Our Lady of Sorrows
Readings
from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
Readings and Commentary:[3]
For
this memorial, the gospel reading from the proper is used.
Reading 1: 1 Corinthians 12:12-14,
27-31a
Brothers and
sisters:
As a body is one
though it has many parts,
and all the parts
of the body, though many, are one body,
so also Christ.
For in one Spirit
we were all baptized into one Body,
whether Jews or
Greeks, slaves or free persons,
and we were all
given to drink of one Spirit.
Now the body is not
a single part, but many.
Now you are
Christ’s Body, and individually parts of it.
Some people God has
designated in the Church
to be, first,
Apostles; second, prophets; third, teachers;
then, mighty deeds;
then gifts of
healing, assistance, administration,
and varieties of
tongues.
Are all Apostles?
Are all prophets? Are all teachers?
Do all work mighty
deeds? Do all have gifts of healing?
Do all speak in
tongues? Do all interpret?
Strive eagerly for
the greatest spiritual gifts.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary
on 1 Cor 12:12-14, 27-31a
St.
Paul continues to exhort the Corinthian Christians to unity using the analogy
of the body which, while it has many parts, still has a unified purpose, each
part cooperating to a common goal. The apostle emphasizes that diversity of
function is necessary for the church, as well as the body: “Are all
Apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers?” His emphasis for the
individual is to strive for spiritual gifts, a discernment of roles within the
body of Christ which is the Church. (see also Romans 12:6-8; Ephesians 4:11).
CCC:
1 Cor 12:26-27 953; 1 Cor
12:26 1469; 1 Cor
12:27 1265; 1 Cor
12:28 1508; 1 Cor
12:30 1508
-------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 100:1b-2, 3, 4, 5
R. (3) We are his people: the sheep of
his flock.
Sing joyfully to
the LORD, all you lands;
serve the LORD with
gladness;
come before him
with joyful song.
R. We are his
people: the sheep of his flock.
Know that the LORD
is God;
he made us, his we
are;
his people, the
flock he tends.
R. We are his
people: the sheep of his flock.
Enter his gates
with thanksgiving,
his courts with
praise;
Give thanks to him;
bless his name.
R. We are his
people: the sheep of his flock.
For he is good,
the LORD, whose
kindness endures forever,
and his
faithfulness, to all generations.
R. We are his
people: the sheep of his flock.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary
on Ps 100:1b-2, 3, 4, 5
Psalm 100 is a communal song of thanksgiving in which the psalmist
invites the people to come to God with praise and thanksgiving for the wondrous
things he has done. In this selection the psalmist gives thanks for God’s favor
and his unending support in all good things. It affirms God’s saving grace
given to his sons and daughters through all generations. The song recalls God
the creator whose love and fidelity knows no bounds.
-------------------------------------------
Gospel:
First Option:
John 19:25-27
Standing by the
cross of Jesus were his mother
and his mother's
sister, Mary the wife of Clopas,
and Mary Magdalene.
When Jesus saw his
mother and the disciple there whom he loved
he said to his
mother, "Woman, behold, your son."
Then he said to the
disciple,
"Behold, your
mother."
And from that hour
the disciple took her into his home.
------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Jn 19:25-27
Here
is Jesus’ last address to his mother. Although the address sounds unnecessarily
formal ("Woman, behold, your son.") this would have been
considered a polite address in biblical times. The reference, “Woman,” is
possibly to Genesis
3:15 which describes the mother of the Messiah as the “woman”
whose offspring conquers the devil (CCC 726, 2618). [4] The Lord, nearing the end of his life, commends the care of
his mother to the disciple whom he loved. It is presumed this is done because
Jesus has no brothers or sisters, and his adoptive father, Joseph, has already
died.
In
this instance, while it can be assumed that the disciple referred to is St.
John, the author of the Gospel, the tender consignment of the care of the
Lord’s mother is seen as iconic. That is, she is given into the care of all of
the disciples, whom Jesus loves. Seeing her Son dying upon the cross is one of
the seven sorrows the Blessed Mother endured in faith.
CCC:
Jn 19:25-27 726, 2618; Jn
19:25 495; Jn
19:26-27 501, 964, 2605; Jn
19:27 2677, 2679
------------------------------------------------------
OR
Second Option: Luke 2:33-35
Jesus' father and
mother were amazed at what was said about him;
and Simeon blessed
them and said to Mary his mother,
"Behold, this
child is destined
for the fall and
rise of many in Israel,
and to be a sign
that will be contradicted
and you yourself a
sword will pierce
so that the
thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."
------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Lk
2:33-35
In this passage
we hear the prediction of Simeon, a man, we are told earlier, who “was
righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel.” Simeon was told
by the Holy Spirit that he would not pass away until he had seen the Messiah.
He has declared that this promise has been fulfilled, and then turns to Mary
and makes the prediction about the nature of Christ’s ministry, and the nature
of the sorrow she will endure: “and you yourself a sword will pierce.”
The sword indicates that Mary will have a share in her Son’s sufferings. Hers
will be an unspeakable pain which pierces her soul. Our Lord suffered on the
cross for our sins, and it is those sins which forge the sword of Mary’s pain.[5]
CCC: Lk
2:32 713; Lk 2:34 575, 587; Lk 2:35 149, 618
------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
Heavenly
Father, we humbly pray that those suffering from the coronavirus be returned
quickly to full health by the power of your Son’s healing presence, and those
in fear be calmed through the Holy Spirit.
In
Christ’s name we pray. – Amen.
Today we remember Mary the
Mother of God who followed her Son through his life and thereby suffered as
only a mother can suffer. The Church traditionally remembers seven specific
events in the life of Mary that are called her Seven Sorrows. (Note the Hebrew
numerological significance of the perfect number, seven (7).) It is noteworthy
that all of her Seven Sorrows were scriptural. They include:
1. The Prophecy of Simeon.
2. The Flight into Egypt.
3. The Loss of the Child
Jesus for Three Days.
4. Meeting Jesus on the Way
to Calvary.
5. The Crucifixion and Death
of Jesus.
6. Jesus Taken Down from the
Cross.
7. Jesus Laid in the Tomb.
Two of these events are
options for our Gospel today. In John we find Mary at the foot of the Cross as
Jesus is being crucified and in Luke, she is hearing the awful prophecy from
Simeon the mystic. While the Gospel of Luke predicts the sword of sorrow that
will pierce Mary’s heart, it is more wrenching to hear the story of that event
taking place in the Gospel of John.
Anyone who has had a child
badly hurt can get an idea of the suffering Mary went through at the Cross.
Only one who as lost a child in death can fully come to grips with Mary’s
anguish as she watches her Son slip into death on the Cross. We can feel her
pain as her “brave little soldier” has spikes driven through his hands and
feet. We can feel the hot tears as he is taken down from that place and laid,
dead, beyond help, in a stranger’s tomb.
It is because of her
humanness that we can so easily identify with her. It is at these moments in
her life, when pain and suffering threatened to overcome her, that Mary
demonstrates the virtue and strength of one who was worthy of the title Mother
of God. Mary always shows us the
strength of the Holy Spirit and the peace only faith in her Son can bring.
Today’s memorial is a
reaffirming event for us. The Son of God, who is True God and True Man had a
mother, Mary. His mother went through the same human trials that mothers from
the beginning of human history have endured. She has demonstrated for us the
fruits of faith and the strength of love that is our example of virtue.
Our prayer today is a simple
one. We take it from the hymn Stabat Mater Dolorosa:
Make
me feel as thou hast felt;
make
my soul to glow and melt
with
the love of Christ, my Lord.
In this strange year where many of us will not be able to receive
the Blessed Sacrament or celebrate as a community in our houses of worship, we
must be prepared to receive spiritual communion in prayer:
My Jesus,
I believe that You
are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.
I love You above all things,
and I desire to receive You into my soul.
Since I cannot at this moment
receive You sacramentally,
come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You
were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be
separated from You.
Amen.
Pax
[1]
The picture is “The Pietà (Mary Lamenting the Dead Christ)” by Baciccio, 1667.
[3]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible,
with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the
International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is
not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4]
Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, © 2010, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA. p.
198.
[5]
The Navarre Bible, Gospels and Acts, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2002,
p.363.
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