Word to the Wise
Thursday, September 15, 2022 - Sept. 15 - Our Lady of Sorrows
[Heb 5:7-9 or 1 Cor. 15:1-11; [opt. Sequence: Stabat Mater]; John 19:25-27 or Luke 2:33-35,710]Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son." Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother." And from that hour the disciple took her into his home. [John]
The feast of Our Lady of Sorrows fits in with the theme of suffering that yesterday's feast of the Exaltation of the Cross featured. There are seven "sorrows" featured in the observance: Simeon's prophecy at the presentation in the temple [cr. the alternate gospel for today from Luke], the flight into Egypt, the search for Jesus in Jerusalem, the road to Calvary, the crucifixion, the removal of Jesus' body from the cross [cf. Michelangelo's sculpture, the Pieta', and last, the placing of Jesus' body in the tomb. I would guess that the observance most familiar to Catholics is the "sequence" called the Stabat Mater, which is sung on this feast but also as part of the Stations of the Cross in Lent.
Almost every day I read a "blog" entitled MIGHTY IS HER CALL (<mightyishercall.com>) that is written by mostly Catholic moms for Catholic moms. The anxieties and joys of motherhood are on full display. In the case of Mary, the mother of Jesus, her situation after the death of Jesus would have been perilous because he was her principal male relative. By placing her in the case of the Beloved Disciple, Jesus ensured her future.
Although this feast points back to Jesus' sufferings by being placed the day after the Holy Cross observance, the profound experience of the challenges of motherhood deserves prayerful attention. There's an old expression: "If Mama ain't happy, nobody's happy." AMEN