Our Lady of Seven Sorrows

Today is a feast day that we can all understand.  Even as Christians, we have sorrows that we must bear in this life.  The sorrow of a mother seems to be a deep pain.  Watching the suffering of a child is very hard, especially when we have no control over the cause.  Mary is the perfect example of a life of sorrow in spite of having God dwell with in her and around her.

This feast day represents her sorrows in life and dates back to the 12th century promoted by the orders of Cistercians and the Servites.  The entire Church began contemplating the meaning of Mary's sorrows on various feast days throughout the years; however, in 1913 Pope Pius X set the feast for this day.

When looking at her life in the Bible readings, we can often relate to her sorrows because of events in our own lives.  This was Mary's way to a spiritual martyrdom-suffering along side her son and showing repentance among the evils of this world.  Let us remember to also seek her guidance in how to respond to these sorrows.  She always turned closer to God in these moments.

The fulfillment of all the prophecies of old, come true in the suffering servant.  Mary was told that she would be "pierced by a sword" (Luke 2:34-35).  She "pondered these things in her heart" (Luke 2:19) at this moment and throughout her life ending with her at the foot of the Cross on which Jesus hung and continuing until her own dormition.

These are the traditional seven sorrows:

• The prophecy of Simeon (Luke 2:25-35)
• The flight into Egypt (Matthew 2:13-15)
• Loss of the Child Jesus for three days (Luke 2:41-50) 
• Mary meets Jesus on his way to Calvary (Luke 23:27-31; John 19:17)
• Crucifixion and Death of Jesus (John 19:25-30)
• The body of Jesus being taken from the Cross (Psalm 130; Luke 23:50-54; John 19:31-37)
• The burial of Jesus (Isaiah 53:8; Luke 23:50-56; John 19:38-42; Mark 15:40-47)