Thursday, September 15, 2022

 Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows

(I Corinthians 15:1-11; John 19:25-27)

More than any other, this scene of Mary witnessing the death of her son qualifies her as “Our Lady of Sorrows.”  Any mother suffers when she comes face-to-face with the death of a son or daughter.  Knowing the infinite depth of Jesus’ goodness, Mary’s ordeal is limitlessly magnified. 

The Church does not call attention to this woman of sorrows so that people might pity her lot or even admire her courage.  Rather it offers Mary as an exemplar of sorrow to invite the faithful to ask her intercession when they feel depressed.  She knows what it is to lose what is most precious and will call on God to lighten the sadness of others suffering similar distress.

We need not hesitate to call on Mary when we are depressed.  Stories of her successful intercession are numberless.  As she was there for Jesus as he died on the cross, she will assist us in our darker moments.

Wednesday, September 15, 2021

 Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows

(I Timothy 1:1-2.12-14; John 19:25-27)

Mary appears in all four gospels.  She certainly has more prominent roles in Luke and John than in Matthew and Mark.  But all four emphasize not only that Jesus was her son but also that she had strong feelings about him.  Today’s reading illustrates how Mary suffered with Jesus hanging on the cross.  In naming the Beloved Disciple her son, Jesus assures that Mary does not suffer alone.

The disciple goes nameless.  He is often associated with John, Zebedee’s son, but this is a conjecture widely dismissed by scholars today.  He is both a singular person and representative of all Christians as he forms with Mary Jesus’ new family – the Church.  Mary, however, has greater importance.  Like an anchor holding down a ship, Mary’s presence assures us that God’s Son really became a human being.  He is not a mythological demigod that could die and could rise at will.  Jesus underwent death for human sins and was buried.  He would have stayed in the tomb if the Father had not raised him up. 

Like Jesus, Marty knows our pains.  She is ready to intercede for us before the Father.  We can see her at the cross and trust her with our deepest hurts, anger, and losses.  She will help us because she is also our loving mother.

Friday, September 15, 2017

Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows

(I Timothy 1:1-2.12-14; John 19:25-27)

When the son of an eighty-plus year-old man died, the father said that it was hard to describe the loss he felt.  Every day his son used to call him at noon.  With the son’s death noontime, like a bell without a clapper, rang completely hollow.  No doubt Mary feels some of this grief at the cross.  Far from glorying in her son’s triumph over sin, she experiences the emptying of her soul with his.

In the gospel Jesus entrusts his mother to his beloved disciple.  The act not only guarantees her welfare but in a more profound way represents the beginning of the Church.  Mary will form the heart of the community by both remembering Jesus’ earliest days and telling the significance of his mission.

Many old men and women sit alone in apartments and nursing homes.  Their physical needs may be provided for, but they long to hear the voices of people who care about them.  We can never replace a son or daughter who is no longer or perhaps never was there for them.  But like the beloved disciple to Mary, we may provide them some consolation.  

Thursday, September 15, 2016

Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows

(I Corinthians 15:1-11; John 12:25-27)

In both Matthew’s and Luke’s gospels Jesus calls those who mourn “blessed.”  Who these people are is not clear in either account.  Are they those who mourn their sins?  Or perhaps they share the sorrows of the people around them suffering loss of one kind or another?  Today we celebrate Mary, the woman of sorrows.  There can be little doubt why she grieves.  Her son Jesus has died on the cross.  No mother takes the loss of a child that she has birthed and raised easily.  Losing such a perfect son as Jesus is that much more difficult to bear.

We too have lost someone special at the cross.  We did not know him then but from all that we have learned about him since, our loss is also deep.  He was like an older brother who, if he were here in person, would guide our way and support our weakness.  Then how could Jesus tell us that our time to rejoice?  Can we sustain such contrary failings for long?

We are to rejoice because Jesus is actually among us.  As St. Paul proclaims in the first reading, he has risen from the dead.  He is present in the care we give to the poor.  He is present when we hear the gospels and all the thoughts which echo them.  Most of all, he is present in the Eucharist which gathers us in love to provide us his physical body and blood. 

The Christian perspective has a dual focus.  It misses seeing Jesus as he walked upon the earth and waits anxiously for his promised return.  At the same time it rejoices to find him present in many ways beneath the surface of everyday life.

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows

(I Timothy 3:1-13; John 19:25-27)

Most people think of Jesus in the gospel today as providing a home for his widowed mother.  Such understanding, however, ignores the fact that Jesus has brothers who advise him (see John 7:3-7).  Catholic dogma prohibits thinking of these men as Mary’s physical sons.  But it is quite possible that they would care for her just as they show a worldly concern for Jesus.  There must be another, deeper explanation for Jesus giving his mother to the disciple whom he loved.

It should be remembered that the “beloved disciple” is distinctive precisely for his faith in Jesus.  After Mary Magdalene tells Peter and him that Jesus’ body was not to be found in his tomb, the two race to investigate the situation.  Peter enters the tomb first and is said to have noticed Jesus’ burial cloths.  Then the disciple whom Jesus loved enters and is said to have seen and believed.

In today’s passage Jesus gives Mary to his beloved disciple.  He is said to have taken Mary into “his own.” Home is the interpretation most translators give, but the Greek is actually less precise.  It is quite possible that “his own” is his faith in Jesus as Lord which Mary now accepts.  She is physically a “mother of sorrows” because she has witnessed the death of her only son.  She is even more sorrowful because the Lord of Creation has died the most humiliating of deaths to redeem sinful humanity of its sins.

Faithful to the Gospel of John, we too believe in Jesus as Lord.  He has died so that we, accepting him as Lord and imitating his ways, may live with him in glory.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows

(I Timothy 4:12-16; John 19:25-27)

The son of an eighty-plus year-old man just died. The father says that it is hard to describe the loss he feels. Every day his son used to call him at noon. Now noontime, like a bell without a clapper, rings completely hollow. We can imagine Mary at the cross, far from glorying in her son’s triumph over sin, feels the emptiness of most parents of dead children.

In the gospel Jesus entrusts his mother to his beloved disciple. The act not only guarantees her welfare but also, in a more profound way, represents the beginning of the Church. Mary will form, in a sense, the heart of the community by not only remembering Jesus’ earliest days but also revealing the significance of his mission.

Many old men and women sit alone in apartments and nursing homes. Their physical needs may be provided for, but they need to hear the voices of people who care about them. We will never replace a son or daughter who is no longer or perhaps never was there for them. But like the beloved disciple to Mary, we may provide some consolation.

Homilette for Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows

(I Timothy 3:1-13; John 19:25-27)

It is tempting to hear these nearly final words of Jesus as an only son’s concern for his widowed mother after he dies. However, the context calls for a different and perhaps richer interpretation. Throughout John’s Gospel, Jesus does not look back to his childhood family but beyond to his divine one. Here we can see him giving his mother to his beloved disciple and his beloved disciple to his mother so that they too might be part of God’s eternal family. Their coming together will initiate the community called Church as they become adopted children of God and heirs of places in the heavenly household. When Jesus expires, John says that he “hand(s) over his spirit.” We may consider his mother and beloved disciple as the recipients of that spirit springing the Church into existence.

Yet Mary is still “the Mother of Sorrows.” Artists never depict this moment of church formation as a happy one. Rather they show Mary with tears in her eyes and, sometimes, John too distressed to show his face. It is not that they, or we in similar moments of loss, are too much part of the world to feel satisfaction that their loved one is heaven-bound. Rather, Jesus has loved them both so long and so well that being deprived of his presence will test their endurance. Thus, the scene provides us with a lesson about love. Worthy human love always makes us want to be united with the object of our love. Such love (eros in Greek) grows into divine love (agape in Greek or caritas in Latin) when God’s grace enables us to give the beloved back to God knowing He will reunite him or her to us forever.

Homilette for Monday, September 15, 2008

Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows

(John 19:25-27)

It is tempting to hear these nearly final words of Jesus as an only son’s concern for his widowed mother after he dies. However, the context calls for a different and perhaps richer interpretation. Throughout John’s Gospel, Jesus does not look back to his childhood family but beyond to his divine one. Here we can see him giving his mother to his beloved disciple and his beloved disciple to his mother so that they too might be part of God’s eternal family. Their coming together will initiate the community called Church as they become adopted children of God and heirs of places in the heavenly household. When Jesus expires, John says that he “hand(s) over his spirit.” We may consider his mother and beloved disciple as the recipients of that spirit springing the Church into existence.

Yet Mary is still “the Mother of Sorrows.” Artists never depict this moment of church formation as a happy one. Rather they show Mary with tears in her eyes and, sometimes, John too distressed to show his face. It is not that they, or we in similar moments of loss, are too much part of the world to feel satisfaction. Rather, they have both loved Jesus so long and well that being deprived of his presence breaks their hearts. Nevertheless, Mary and the beloved disciple provide us with a lesson about love. Worthy human love always makes us want to be with the object of our love. Such love (eros in Greek) grows into divine love (agape in Greek or caritas in Latin) when God’s grace enables us to let go of the beloved knowing that He will reunite him or her to us forever.