Today, the Roman Catholic Church commemorates the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady, and/or Our Lady of Sorrows, Beata Maria Virgo Perdolens. The Seven Sorrows of Our Lady are: The Prophecy of Simeon, The Flight into Egypt, The Loss of Jesus in the Temple, The Meeting of Jesus and Mary on the Way of the Cross, The Crucifixion, The Taking Down of the Body of Jesus from the Cross, and Jesus laid in the Tomb. source
On February the 16th of this year, I wrote a post titled, Remembering Their Sorrows, which noted the reasons why Catholics recall the sorrows and sufferings of Our Lord, and of His Mother; and the traditional response to remembering their sacrifices, which is gratitude. The following is the text of Remembering Their Sorrows:
Some days it is good to remember how much God has given to the world in the noble persons of the Blessed Virgin Mary and her son, Jesus Christ. That there was once two hearts beating on this spinning planet that beat for no other cause than to do the will of the Father, and who suffered so that man might gain eternal life, is not a cause for lamentation, shame or guilt. Rather it is cause to feel springs of unending gratitude and delight.
Old time Catholics have been accused of being morbid by meditating on the sorrows of Our Lord and of Our Lady, but it is not morbid to recall the great deeds and sacrifices of ancestors, to put up monuments to their victories, to write of them in books, and to thank them in songs and poetry. The Cross was the victory of God over sin and death.
It sounds simple and basic, but the simple things often startle when they are looked at again, and taken with a dose of gratitude. G.K. Chesterton summed up this taking a second look, and seeing with gratitude when he said (in Evening):
Here dies another day
During which I have had eyes, ears, hands
And the great world round me;
And with tomorrow begins another.
Why am I allowed two?The great joy of the Christian can be felt even in the throes of the Lenten fast.
It is good to remember the sorrows of Our Lord, to meditate on the sorrows of Our Lady, and to end with the words: thank you. (end of the February post)
•Image: the Blessed Virgin Mary with depictions of her Seven Sorrows, source
•More information on Our Lady of Sorrows: link
