Our Lady of Sorrows
For
a while there were two feasts in honor of the Sorrowful Mother: one
going back to the 15th century, the other to the 17th century. For a
while both were celebrated by the universal Church: one on the Friday
before Palm Sunday, the other in September.
The principal biblical references to Mary's sorrows are in Luke 2:35
and John 19:26-27. The Lucan passage is Simeon's prediction about a
sword piercing Mary's soul; the Johannine passage relates Jesus' words
to Mary and to the beloved disciple.
Many early Church writers
interpret the sword as Mary's sorrows, especially as she saw Jesus die
on the cross. Thus, the two passages are brought together as prediction
and fulfillment.
St. Ambrose (December7) in particular sees Mary
as a sorrowful yet powerful figure at the cross. Mary stood fearlessly
at the cross while others fled. Mary looked on her Son's wounds with
pity, but saw in them the salvation of the world. As Jesus hung on the
cross, Mary did not fear to be killed but offered herself to her
persecutors.
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