20260915 SHARING IN JESUS AND MARY’S SPIRITUAL MARTYRDOM
15 September 2026, Tuesday, Our Lady of Sorrows
First reading | Hebrews 5:7-9 |
He learned to obey and he became the source of eternal salvation
During his life on earth, Christ offered up prayer and entreaty, aloud and in silent tears, to the one who had the power to save him out of death, and he submitted so humbly that his prayer was heard. Although he was Son, he learnt to obey through suffering; but having been made perfect, he became for all who obey him the source of eternal salvation.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 30(31):2-6,15-16,20 |
Save me, O Lord, in your love.
In you, O Lord, I take refuge.
Let me never be put to shame.
In your justice, set me free,
hear me and speedily rescue me.
Save me, O Lord, in your love.
Be a rock of refuge for me,
a mighty stronghold to save me,
for you are my rock, my stronghold.
For your name’s sake, lead me and guide me.
Save me, O Lord, in your love.
Release me from the snares they have hidden
for you are my refuge, Lord.
Into your hands I commend my spirit.
It is you who will redeem me, Lord.
Save me, O Lord, in your love.
But as for me, I trust in you, Lord;
I say: ‘You are my God.
My life is in your hands, deliver me
from the hands of those who hate me.’
Save me, O Lord, in your love.
How great is the goodness, Lord,
that you keep for those who fear you,
that you show to those who trust you
in the sight of men.
Save me, O Lord, in your love.
Sequence |
Stabat Mater
At the cross her station keeping
stood the mournful Mother weeping,
close to Jesus to the last;
through her heart, his sorrow sharing,
all his bitter anguish bearing,
now at length the sword had passed.
Oh, how sad and sore distressed
was that Mother highly blessed
of the sole begotten One!
Christ above in torment hangs;
she beneath beholds the pangs
of her dying glorious Son.
Is there one who would not weep,
whelmed in miseries so deep,
Christ’s dear Mother to behold?
Can the human heart refrain
from partaking in her pain,
in that Mother’s pain untold?
Bruised, derided, cursed, defiled,
she beheld her tender child
all with bloody scourges rent;
for the sins of his own nation
saw him hang in desolation,
till his spirit forth he sent.
O you Mother, fount of love!
Touch my spirit from above,
make my heart with yours accord:
make me feel as you have felt;
make my soul to glow and melt
with the love of Christ our Lord.
Holy Mother, pierce me through;
in my heart each wound renew
of my Saviour crucified.
Let me share with you his pain
who for all our sins was slain,
who for me in torments died.
Let me mingle tears with you,
mourning him who mourned for me
all the days that I may live:
by the cross with you to stay,
there with you to weep and pray,
is all I ask of you to give.
Virgin of all virgins best,
listen to my fond request:
let me share your grief divine;
let me to my latest breath,
in my body bear the death
of that dying Son of yours.
Wounded with his every wound,
steep my soul till it has swooned
in his very blood away;
be to me, O Virgin, nigh,
lest in flames I burn and die
in his awful judgement day.
Christ, when you shall call me hence,
be your Mother my defence,
be your cross my victory.
While my body here decays,
may my soul your goodness praise,
safe in paradise with you.
Gospel Acclamation |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Happy is the Virgin Mary,
who, without dying,
won the palm of martyrdom
beneath the cross of the Lord.
Alleluia!
Gospel | John 19:25-27 |
'Woman, this is your son'
Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. Seeing his mother and the disciple he loved standing near her, Jesus said to his mother, ‘Woman, this is your son.’ Then to the disciple he said, ‘This is your mother.’ And from that moment the disciple made a place for her in his home.
SHARING IN JESUS AND MARY’S SPIRITUAL MARTYRDOM
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Hebrews 5:7-9; Ps 31: 2-6, 15-16, 20; John 19:25-27 OR Luke 2:33-35]
Yesterday, we celebrated the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. On this feast, we were reminded that the cross is not to be seen as a curse or a shame. Rather, the cross is the wisdom of God displaying His love for us. St. Paul, writing to the Corinthians, says, “We proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.” (1 Cor 1:23-25) In the cross, we see the depth of God’s love for us. As St. John puts it succinctly, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” (Jn 3:16)
In today’s First Reading, we are given a more graphic image of how much Christ went through in His passion. The author of Hebrews describes the human suffering of Christ: “During his life on earth, Christ offered up prayer and entreaty, aloud and in silent tears, to the one who had the power to save him out of death.” We can only imagine how much Jesus suffered before His death, especially while undergoing His agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. All three synoptic Gospels describe the anguish He endured while praying to His Father to take the cup away from Him. The fear and pain Jesus carried within Himself was not just physical, but also the emotional pain of being cut off from His fellow human beings through division and death. Above all, however, it was the anguish of spiritual pain–coming directly to grips with the sins of the world and their consequences, and most of all, being cut off from communion with God because of our sins.
However, Hebrews also says, “He submitted so humbly that his prayer was heard.” What was the prayer that was heard by the Father? Surely not to have His suffering and the cross taken away from Him! On the contrary, He was to carry His cross until the end. So how was His prayer heard? In His obedience to the Father’s will when He said, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done.” (Lk 22:42) His prayer was one of surrender and obedience. By doing so, the prayer to make the Kingdom of God a reality on earth was fulfilled, for in the Lord’s Prayer, He taught us to say, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Mt 6:9-10) In doing God’s will, we show that God is the King of our lives. Obedience to the King is how God rules over us.
Jesus therefore showed Himself to be the true Son of God because, as Son, He renders the Father’s love to us through His self-sacrifice and death on the cross. It shows how truly one Jesus is with the Father, for He shared with us: “All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” (Mt 11:27) Jesus knew the heart and mind of His Father. When we know the Father’s heart and mind, it becomes easier for us to carry our own cross with meaning, purpose, and joy in our hearts. This is why the Lord invites us to come to Him, saying, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Mt 11:28-30)
Consequently, the author of Hebrews could conclude by saying, “He learnt to obey through suffering; but having been made perfect, he became for all who obey him the source of eternal salvation.” The prayer of Jesus was truly heard because He could now lead us to salvation. He is our leader in salvation because He shows us the path of obedience and submission to the Father’s will, trusting in His divine wisdom and providence. Above all, His suffering and death are a prelude to the Resurrection and victory over sin and death. As the psalmist says, “Save me, O Lord, in your steadfast love. You will free me from the snare they set for me, for you are my refuge. Into your hands I commend my spirit; You will redeem me, O Lord, O faithful God. But my trust is in you, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my God.’ In your hands is my destiny; rescue me from the clutches of my enemies and my persecutors.”
Today, as we celebrate the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows, we are struck by the way Mary shared so intimately in the suffering and passion of Christ. While it is true that Mary did not suffer physical martyrdom like our Lord, her pain and suffering were no less intense, as she suffered emotionally, affectively, and spiritually. Mary is the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ. She carried Him in her womb for nine months and lived with Him for thirty years. The bond between Mary and Jesus would have been deep over all those years in Nazareth.
From the time Jesus was born, and particularly during His ministry and His final days on earth, the grief and pain Mary carried quietly must have been overwhelmingly heavy. The one we love most is the one who can cause us the greatest suffering because of the bond of love. Mary understood and experienced both the joys and the sorrows of motherhood as she journeyed with Jesus, her Son, through the thirty-three years of His life. The spiritual suffering of Mary was foretold on the day she presented her Son in the temple to be offered to God. Simeon forewarned her: “You see this child: he is destined for the fall and for the rising of many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is rejected–and a sword will pierce your own soul too–so that the secret thoughts of many may be laid bare.”
Indeed, Mary, being a contemplative at heart, pondered and remembered what Simeon had said. She did not expect a life of ease and glory with Jesus the Messiah; rather, she knew she would have to carry the cross alongside her Son. From the moment of His birth, they were persecuted by King Herod and had to flee to Egypt as refugees, not knowing when they could return to their homeland. Yet we never hear a word of complaint from them; it was quietly borne in obedience and faith in God’s wisdom and providence. Later, during the ministry of Jesus, when He was misunderstood because of His zeal for the Father’s house, His relatives thought He was losing His mind and asked Mary to bring Him home. Mary bore the pressure and embarrassment alongside our Lord, yet she remained firm and supportive of her Son’s mission.
Most of all, the spiritual suffering of Mary reached its climax during the Passion of Christ. We can only imagine what Mary went through as she followed and watched her Son being scourged, mocked, ridiculed, humiliated, stripped naked, paraded, and nailed to the cross. No parent could easily bear watching their beloved child suffer in such a cruel manner. Even Judas, seeing Jesus condemned, was overcome and hanged himself. Peter was so terribly grieved when he saw Jesus bound and led away that when Jesus looked at him, “Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, ‘Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times.’ And he went out and wept bitterly.” (Lk 22:61-62) How much more painful must it have been for Mary, watching her only Son!
Where did she find the strength to suffer with her Son? Only when we love Jesus as much as He loves us will we find the strength to endure our own spiritual martyrdom each day. When we love someone, we are united with them in mind, heart, and will. That was true of Mary with Jesus. If we want to carry our cross in union with Jesus and Mary, we too must identify ourselves with them. Knowing Jesus and Mary, and understanding their love for God and for humanity, we will be able to suffer with them when we are misunderstood, betrayed, taken for granted, cheated, abused, or marginalised. Let us ask for the grace to share in His obedience to the Father’s will for us.
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
