“Great souls who live for God alone are usually silent and solitary even in the midst of the maddening crowd’s ignoble strife. They are in the world, but not of the world. Fully dedicated to the service of God, they are dead to the world and dead to themselves.”
For Reflection: What does it mean to be “dead to the world and dead to themselves?” How is this exemplified by Our Lady? To what extent have I sought to live in this way? In what one way am I currently engaged in attaining the virtue of loving God above all else?
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“Mary’s surpassing sanctity flowed from the permanent dedication of herself to God at the moment of reason and her constant correspondence with actual grace thereafter.”
For Reflection:
Sanctifying grace flowed into my heart at my baptism. But, tainted by concupiscence, I have not corresponded perfectly with this grace throughout my life. Today, I will seek to do so as best I can and journal about these events at the end of my day.
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“With Mary’s aid, we will be ever on our guard against the treacherous cunning of all the enemies of our soul. We will meet their full assaults with intrepid determination and their hostile charges with fearless courage. We will be devoted to the service of God.”
For Reflection: What makes Mary’s aid so effective in the spiritual battle? Which battle in my life most needs her assistance? In what one way can I enlist her help more effectively today?
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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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