"My daughter, tears shed for My Passion are dear to Me; but as I loved My Mother Mary with an immense love the Meditation on the torments which she endured at My death is even more agreeable to Me." -Jesus to Blessed Veronica of Binasco.
"I look around at all who are on earth, to see if by chance there are any who pity me, and meditate upon my sorrows; and I find there are very few..." Mary to St. Bridget
St. Albert the Great, O.P. (who's feast is was two days ago) said "that as we are under great obligations to Jesus for His Passion endured for our love, so also are we under great obligations to Mary for the martyrdom which she voluntarily suffered for our salvation in the death of her Son. Voluntarily since, as St. Agnes revealed to St. Bridget, 'our compassionate and benign Mother was satisfied rather to endure any torment than that our souls should not be redeemed."
We begin to understand why Mary, Mother of God, is Mary, Mother of all! Only to mothers does this innate, unconditional love come as natural. I would say for men and fathers, it is second nature. But to women! First!
"The grief of Mary was so great that, were it divided amongst all men, it would suffice to cause their immediate death."1
After meditating on this one line, we can begin to appreciate why she is so important. Why she has earned the title Co-Redemptix.
"While other martyrs suffered by sacrificing their own lives, the Blessed Virgin suffered by sacrificing her Son's life - a life that She loved far more than Her own; so that she not only suffered in her soul all that her Son endured in His body, but moreover the sight of her Son's torments brought more grief to her heart than if she had endured them all in her own person."2
OK, that was a little weird. What does that say on the surface? Shouldn't a mother rather give herself up than her Child? After meditating and contemplating on how could someone be selfless by giving up someone she loved, we find why she is so worthy of our compassion and our gratitude. Why? because her martyrdom started when Christ was born to die! Her soul was martyred for 33 consecutive years. Her soul, which is not the body. The martyred saints gave their body up for a brief period. We all know pains in the soul hurt much worse.
The Seven Sorrows of Our Lady
The First Sword- St. Simeon's Prophecy- "Behold, this Child is a sign of contradiction. And Thine own soul shall be pierced by a sword."
The Second Sword- The Flight of Jesus into Egypt- Three hundred miles on donkey with a delicate newborn child to feed and protect. What shelter could she offer her Child when they entered Egypt as strangers?
The Third Sword- The Loss of Jesus in the Temple- O! The desolation our Mother Mary must have felt as she lost the Divine Presence for three days. Job was tormented by losing all God had given him, but he did not lose God Himself.
The Forth Sword- The Meeting on the Way to Calvary- She hardly could recognized the bloody face of the man who met her in the streets. And when Jesus wiped away the clotted blood from His eyes, Their looks became as so many arrows to pierce the hearts which loved each other so tenderly.
The Fifth Sword- The Crucifixion and Death of Christ- When so many would faint at the deplorable sight of their naked son executed as a criminal, Our Lady stood.
The Sixth Sword- After being lanced in the side, Jesus is placed in the arms of Our Lady- Our Lord's body received the lance but he was dead. Our Lady's heart felt the pain that was doubled as she first touched her dead Son.
The Seventh Sword- The Burial of Jesus- Who had to tell Mary it was time to seal the tomb? After Our Mother told her son the last good bye she left her heart in the tomb to be sealed as well. Mary was so sad that while she returned home all who encountered her was moved to tears.
1- St. Bernadine of Sienna
2- St. Antoninus, O.P.
Today is the Order of the Servants of Mary's All Souls day.
May those souls, and all souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in Peace.
Our Lady of Sorrows, Pray for us.
St. Alphonsus de Liguori, Pray for us.
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