Word to the Wise
Saturday, September 15, 2007 - Feast of the Sorrowful Mother
[1 Timothy 1:15-17 and John 19:25-27 or Luke 2:33-35]Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalen.....
The scene in the Gospel of John (one of two possibilities for this feast) has been the subject of tremendous works of art and music. Many, if not most, of these pieces would be referred to as a STABAT MATER, from the Latin meaning, the mother was standing. It is a scene of sorrow. Given the Jewish cultural mores of the time, Mary has lost not just her son, but she would be losing her only means of support. By entrusting her to the apostle, John, Jesus assures her of a future! It is the final act of his filial duty to her as her major male relative! The celebration of the feast of the Sorrowful Mother is an extension of the meaning of the feast of the Holy Cross from the day before. The "impersonal" symbol of the cross (which Jesus says we must all bear if we are to be his disciples) becomes very personalized in the form of his mother and her companions at the foot of the cross. Perhaps this is an assurance that if we do take up the cross, the Lord will see that we are cared for. Perhaps the sorrow of the mother of Jesus reminds us of the individual impact of Jesus' death on real persons at the time. Each of us will have to enter into the scene and decide how we feel. AMEN
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