St. Bridget was once told by our Sorrowful Mother of God, "No matter how numerous a person's sins may be, if he turns to me with a sincere purpose of amendment, I am prepared forthwith to receive him graciously, for I do not regard the number of sins he has committed, but look only on the dispositions with which he comes to me: for I feel no aversion in healing his wounds, because I am called and am in truth the Mother of Mercy."
For Reflection:
How comforting is this! Although the Church observes September 15 as Our Lady of Sorrows, how can we not daily, especially during our lenten journey and the Stations of the Cross, ponder our Lady's sorrows? There are numerous indulgences attached to the Rosary of the Seven Dolors and other devotions to the Mother of Sorrows. These are the SEVEN PROMISES that God grants to those who honor The Blessed Virgin Mother daily by saying seven Hail Mary's while contemplating her tears and sorrows during her life. This devotion was passed on to us by St. Bridget.
1. "I will grant Peace to their families."
2. "They will be enlightened about the Divine Mysteries."
3. "I will console them in their pains and I will accompany them in their work."
4. "I will give them as much as they ask for as long as it does not oppose the adorable will of my Divine Son or the sanctification of their souls."
5. "I will defend them in their spiritual battles with the infernal enemy and I will protect them at every instant of their lives."
6. "I will visibly help them at the moment of their death, they will see the face of their mother."
7. "I have obtained (This Grace) from my Divine Son, that those who propagate this devotion to my tears and dolors, will be taken directly from this earthly life to eternal happiness since all their sins will be forgiven and my Son will be their eternal consolation and joy."
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“The Virgin Mary, who believed in the word of the Lord, did not lose her faith in God when she saw her Son rejected, abused and crucified. Rather she remained beside Jesus, suffering and praying, until the end. And she saw the radiant dawn of His Resurrection. Let us learn from her to witness to our faith with a life of humble service, ready to personally pay the price of staying faithful to the Gospel of love and truth, certain that nothing that we do will be lost.”
- Pope Benedict XVI
For Reflection: In what way do these words of the Holy Father speak to you today? Are we willing to face the moments of our life, from this second forward in persona Maria? How have Mary’s dolors encouraged you and strengthened you to do so?
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“It is not a slight consolation for lifelong mourners to know that our Blessed Lady was a lifelong mourner too. Let us be of good cheer. Let us look our great sorrow in the face, and say to it, “You have made up your mind not to part with me till I go down to the grave: be, then, a second guardian angel to me, be a shadow of God, hindering the heat and glare of this world from drying up the fountains of prayer within my heart.’”
- Father Frederick Faber
For Reflection: Often, it is not only the death of a loved one we mourn. In addition to Jesus’ death, what else do you think constituted Mary’s lifelong mourning? What are the mournings of your life? What is the temptation regarding them that this quote alludes to? How can our mournings become a “second guardian angel” to us? How can they become meritorious for ourselves and for others?
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“The everlasting God has in His Wisdom foreseen from eternity, the cross He now presents to you as a gift from his innermost heart. This cross He now sends You He has considered with His all-knowing eyes, understood with His divine mind, tested with his wise justice, warmed with His own hands to see that it not be one ounce too heavy for you. He has blessed it with His holy Name, anointed it with His grace, perfumed it with his consolation, and taken one last glance at you and your courage – has sent it to you from heaven, a special greeting from God to you, an alms of the all merciful love of God.”
- St. Francis de Sales
For Reflection: How do you think Mary would have responded to these words of St. Francis de Sales? How do you respond? Reflect on this quote in light of Mary and her seven dolors. Reflect on it in light of the sufferings you have borne and ones you may be bearing now. Record your insights, thoughts, inspirations, or reflections.
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From the beginning of the victim’s torture until after his death, crucifixion was a nasty and brutal affair. It was rare that the criminal was buried after he died. Most typically, the body was left to be devoured by beasts and birds of prey. One exception, however, applied to Jews. Because their religious law required a person accused of a capital offense to be buried on the same day as his death (see Deut. 21: 22-23), the Romans permitted the body to be removed for burial – usually for a price. Since death from crucifixion could take up to three days, this usually required a hastening of the dying process. Soldiers would often kindle a fire under the crucified, or let hungry beasts attack them, or break their bones with an iron mallet to induce suffocation. Fortunately for Our Lord, none of this was necessary thereby fulfilling Scripture (Exodus 12:46).
For Reflection: Read the account of Jesus’ burial in Mark 15: 42-47. What parallels do you see between it and today’s GraceLine? Though the Blessed Mother is not specifically mentioned, it was customary for the family members of the deceased to prepare the body for burial and then proceed to the burial site in a procession of lamentation and mourning. Picture Our Lady performing these last acts of love for her Son. What does Mary do? What words come to mind to describe the quality of her actions? What thoughts do you think played at her memory? What emotions did she experience? Journal your reflections.
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“One cannot speak of the tragedy of Calvary because there can be no tragedy in relation to Jesus or Mary. The fulfillment of God’s will can never be tragic.”
--Federico Suarez
For Reflection: What great insight! How does this impact your perspective of your own cross? Remember, God’s will is expressed through His perfect will as well as His permissive will. Since nothing happens to us without God’s knowledge, our sorrows are permitted for a greater good to be manifested. What greater good have you seen come from past sorrows? What greater good might God be working through your current dolor of the heart?
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“No one can suggest that God did not love the Blessed Virgin. Nevertheless, He did not exempt her from Calvary, or from making her participate in the Cross to a fuller extent than anyone else in the world except her Son. It would be foolish – to think that if God really loves us, as He does, He will exempt us from the Cross, the sign of the Christian.”
-Federico Suarez
For Reflection: Christian thinking has always posited the Cross as the consummate sign of victory. We even celebrate a feast day in celebration of it – September 14, The Triumph of the Cross. How was Calvary and the Cross, Jesus greatest triumph? Mary’s? How does the Cross, then, speak of God’s love for us -- first, in reception of the fruits it has gained for us; and second, in the entrustment of the cross we carry? To what extent does this insight lighten the burden?
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“The well-spring of Mary’s joy is the possession of Jesus.”
--Sister Mare Eugenie of Jesus
For Reflection: Both the Pieta and the poem from yesterday portray a serene and composed image of the Blessed Mother. In both, Mary is “in possession” of Jesus, physically, spiritually, and eternally. How can this moment be for Mary, then, a well-spring of joy? Ponder this and record your reflections. How does this inspire you?
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Tradition has it that Jesus’ body was placed in His mother’s arms after he was taken down from the Cross. This touching scene became the subject of artistic renderings around 1300, with the most famous of all being Michelangelo’s sculpture in white marble. The
Pieta has been housed in St. Peter’s Basilica since the early 18
th Century. Today’s
For Reflection captures in verse what Michaelangelo’s sculpture captures in marble – a deepening insight into the mystery of Mary, Virgin and Mother, whose Son was her Savior and her God, and Whose suffering was mystically her own.
To Mary: At the Thirteenth Station
You are the priest tonight:
The paten of your lap holds sacrifice.
You are the priest tonight,
Offering Peace and its price.
Star candles burn palely bright;
John is your faithful acolyte.
You are the priest tonight.
---Raymond Roseliep
M. Thérèse. I Sing of a Maiden: The Mary Book of Verse.
New York: Macmillan, 1947.
For Reflection: How is this scene almost para- liturgical? Read Paragraphs, 783 and 1546 in the Catechism of the Catholic Church in light of the poem. Do you think the description of Mary as priest is an apt one? What deeper insights does this give you into the mystery of Mary, her union with her Son and His sacrifice, and the suffering they shared in common?
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“Only the joy that stands the test of pain and is stronger than afflictions is authentic.”
Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI)
For Reflection:
Consider the paradox of joy and pain co-existing. What joy might Mary have been experiencing at the foot of the Cross even in the midst of her great suffering? How might this joy help her to stand there? Recall a time when you were experiencing a suffering marked with an underlying joy. How did it help you to stand there – actually or metaphorically? Can you identify the joy in her current sorrow – what is it? How does it help you to stand?
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