Mater Dolorosa...

As what often happens to me, I am a day late in posting about a subject that is near and dear to my heart...having a busy day and with this idea in the back of my mind for hours, and yet being unable to sit down to write, I can finally take advantage in the lull in my time.

Of all the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady's most Immaculate Heart, there is one that continually stands out in my mind. 

For the first, The Prophesy of Simeon ~ how must She have been feeling, to hear that Her only Son, Her sweet Baby, was to go on to be the reason so many would rise or fall...and what would become of those who fell, eh? She must have been so sad, thinking that Her Son would be the cause of anyone's suffering and worse yet, they would be the cause of His.

For the second, The Flight into Egypt ~ how sad to think that, here He was, still a tiny Babe, and already the object of a massive search and destroy mission, ordered by the very king of Judea himself! To have to run away in the middle of the night, at the command of an Angel (probably St. Gabriel, by all reports) and go far away into a land where They were not known, supported or appreciated. I would be terrified. And what of all those mothers who lost their own babies at the hands of Herod?!? How Our Lady must have cried for them!

For the third, Losing Jesus in the Temple, She must have gone through those three days with Her Heart in Her throat. I know from personal experience, that to have to search for a missing child is absolutely the scariest feeling a parent can go through; I can well identify with Her there, but happily for me, my children were always found within a few minutes...

For the fourth, Meeting Jesus on the Way of the Cross, I have to put myself in Her position...and wonder how badly I would feel for Him while watching Him on His way to Calvary? All I have to do here is imagine that it was one of my own children, and the thought of that gives me nightmares! Yes, this is the Sorrow that stands out in my mind, almost more than any of the others. Not because it is any worse ~ certainly the Crucifixion would qualify for that title ~ but knowing that the worst is yet to come and I can do nothing to stop it. Knowing that it is God's will for this to happen, that we must be resigned to His will and that, no matter how afraid or sad we are, we must obey.

For the fifth, Standing at the Foot of the Cross, how Her very Immaculate Heart must have broken into a million pieces, and yet, how She stood firm, courageous and resigned, sorrowing and obedient, just like Her Son...feeling every bit of the pain and humiliation that He was forced to feel ~ and for nothing that They did, but for everything that we did, and continue to do!

For the sixth, Taking Jesus Down from the Cross, how crushed was Her Heart, as they placed the dead Body of Her only Son into Her waiting arms! She must have felt completely devastated, heart-broken and abandoned by everything and everyone good in Her life. To feel what no parent should ever feel ~ the loss of a child ~ and to be without even the comforting arms of a husband...

For the seventh, The Burial of Jesus, the absolutely cruelest of all...the burial of a son or daughter is unimaginable to me, and yet, She did this for us. She kept Her faith til the very last moment of Her Sons' life and even beyond, never giving up hope that it was for the best, that He would come to Her again. Even if She had to wait until She died Herself, She would do it all over again, just so we could be saved.

How sorrowful must be the Heart of our Blessed Mother, that on the Feast of the Seven Sorrows, there are so many who do nothing to commemorate the loss She suffered! I say we all mark this day on our personal calendars and together, from this year on, we commit to at least one completely loving and unselfish act every day ~ not because we have to do anything at all, or because we are commanded to carry our own crosses ~ but because we love Her, the Mother who suffered so much...and most especially, because we love the Son for Whom She did it all.