If there is one person we can ask to help and accompany us on our Lenten journey, it would be the one who was closest to Jesus, and that would be His mother, Mary. One of the many titles for the Blessed Virgin Mary is “Our Lady of Sorrows,” since she was there at the foot of the cross of her Son, Jesus, up until He breathed His last breath and died.
By Fr. Angelo Casimiro, MIC
Lent is a time we set aside to spiritually prepare for the two most important days of the liturgical year — Good Friday and Easter. For the 40 days of Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday (Feb. 14) and goes right up to Easter (March 31), we are called to penance by means of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.
If there is one person we can ask to help and accompany us on our Lenten journey, it would be the one who was closest to Jesus, and that would be His mother, Mary. One of the many titles for the Blessed Virgin Mary is “Our Lady of Sorrows,” since she was there at the foot of the cross of her Son, Jesus, up until He breathed His last breath and died.
Our Lady’s Sorrows
The principal biblical references to the sorrows of Mary can be found in two passages:
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” (Luke 2:34-35).
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 (John 19:26-27).
A popular Marian devotion related to Our Lady of Sorrows is the Seven Sorrows Rosary, which was originally revealed to St. Bridget of Sweden in the 14th century.
The devotion regained popularity due to the apparitions of Our Lady of Kibeho in Rwanda in 1981, where Mary urged people to pray this Rosary.
Our Lady promised, “If you say the Rosary of the Seven Sorrow and meditate on it well, you will find the strength you need to repent of your sins and convert your heart. Pray my Seven Sorrows to find repentance.”
The devotion consists of praying seven sets of an Our Father and seven Hail Marys while meditating on the Seven Sorrows of Mary:
- The prophecy of Simeon (Luke 2:34-35)
- The flight into Egypt (Matthew 2:13-14)
- The loss of the Child Jesus in the temple (Luke 2:43-45)
- The meeting of Jesus and Mary on the Way of the Cross
- The Crucifixion
- The taking down of the Body of Jesus from the Cross
- The burial of Jesus.
Mourning a mother
When I consider Mary under her title of Our Lady of Sorrows, I think back to the time of the death of my mom, Susie, in December 2009. During that time, I felt like Our Lady was with me at the foot of the Cross, supporting and sustaining me through my grief. When I prayed the Rosary for and with my mom as she was dying, it was like Mary was holding both our hands.
During Lent, as I meditate on Jesus’ Passion, death, and Resurrection, I often think of that memory, because each one of us will also experience death. The Blessed Virgin Mary was there for her beloved Son, Jesus, and she will be there for us and our loved ones. That is why we say in the Hail Mary, “Pray for us now and at the hour of our death.”
Pietà
One of my favorite works of art is the Pietà by Michelangelo (above). I have had the great privilege of seeing this masterpiece in person in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. The sculpture captures well the moment when Jesus’s body, taken down from the Cross, is given to His mother Mary.
When I contemplate this beautiful image of Mary, Mother of Sorrows, holding the dead body of her Son, Jesus, it not only reminds me of the great sacrifice Jesus made for me by dying for my sins on the Cross; it also reminds me of the sacrifice that Mary made through her fiat, her yes to God.
As we ask Our Lady to accompany us on our Lenten journey, let us pray that she intercedes for us as we also work to give our yes to God.
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