Collect taken from the memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows.
Collect: O God, who willed that, when your Son was lifted high on the Cross, his Mother should stand close by and share his suffering, grant that your Church, participating with the Virgin Mary in the Passion of Christ, may merit a share in his Resurrection. Who lives and reigns…
“O God, who willed that, when your Son was lifted high on the Cross, his Mother should stand close by and share his suffering,”
– We are all familiar with Mary’s presence at the foot of the Cross. This was no accident, but an important part of God’s plan for redeeming us. Mary shares in Christ’s suffering in order to model such participation for the rest of us. This is the reason we celebrate the fact that Mary was sorrowful.
“grant that your Church, participating with the Virgin Mary in the Passion of Christ, may merit a share in his Resurrection.“
– So, we pray to more fully participate in Christ’s passion in order to more fully participate in God’s glory in heaven.
Questions & Advice: How do you understand sorrow and suffering? Do you see it as a chance to share in the cross or as an evil thing to be avoided at all costs?
Even though we’ve read it before, go back to the role of “participation” in the Catechism (618). Spend some of your daily prayer time reading Luke 2:33-35 and reflecting on whether or not you allow the sword of sorrow to pierce your own heart. Or, you could pray the seven sorrows rosary.
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| Sancta Maria, Mater Dolorosa, ora pro nobis! |