When Jesus saw the Mother, and the disciple whom he loved, he said to the Mother,
“Woman, this is your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “There is your mother.” And from
that moment the disciple took her to his own home.

Reflect

It never fails. I tear up every time I read the news article or social media post of so many
sorrowful mothers (and fathers). Parents lose their children (of all ages) to drugs and violence,
illness and starvation. Children are separated from parents, often for years, by migration as
the parents leave the home country to find work or as the children are sent away for safety.
Parents suffer the loss of children through miscarriages and stillbirths. In the faces and
stories of these devastated parents, we see the image of Our Lady of Sorrows whom we
honor today.

Mary’s “yes” to God did not make her immune from suffering. In fact, Tradition recounts
seven particular sorrows that Mary experienced, beginning with Simeon’s prophecy in
today’s Gospel and ending with Jesus’ death on the cross and burial in a borrowed tomb.
As followers of Jesus, we are not immune from the sorrows of life, but we know that God
is with us, through good and bad, offering us compassion and mercy, calling us to share
them with our brothers and sisters whose lives may bring us to tears. Our Lady of
Sorrows, pray for us.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2023