20210915 ACCOMPANIMENT IN SORROWS
15 September, 2021, Wednesday, Our Lady of Sorrows
irst 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.
ACCOMPANIMENT IN SORROWS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Heb 5:7-9; Ps 31: 2-6, 15-16, 20; Jn 19:25-27 OR Lk 2:33-35]
Yesterday, we celebrated the triumph of the Holy Cross. Today we celebrate Mary, our Lady of Sorrows to accompany us so that our sufferings will also result in triumph over sin and death. The key to sharing in the triumph of the Holy Cross is humble submission to our sufferings, just as our Lord and our Blessed mother did, “During his life on earth, he submitted so humbly that his prayer was heard.” We too must carry our cross after our Lord. Just because we pray does not mean that God will take away our crosses. God did not spare Jesus from His passion and crucifixion. So too, He does not always take away our pain but He gives us the strength to endure it.
However, we do not carry it alone. That is why prayer is so necessary to find strength in the Lord. We need to depend on God just as Christ did on the cross. “Christ offered up prayer and entreaty, aloud and in silent tears, to the one who had the power to save him out of death.” Christ sought strength from His Father so that He could find the courage to do His will. In fact, throughout His ministry, He would withdraw from His disciples to pray because He knew that His strength and power to complete His mission depended on His Father. But prayer is not enough because we need the support of our brothers and sisters. Even the Lord in His agony at the Garden said to His apostles, ‘Pray that you may not come into the time of trial.’ When he got up from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping because of grief, and he said to them, ‘Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not come into the time of trial.'” (Lk 22:40, 45f)
Indeed, we must never allow people to suffer alone. We are reminded to carry it with others. This was what the Lord said about being His disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” (Mt 16:24) We carry our cross with Jesus and with Mary as well. This is why at the cross, we see mother and son supporting each other. When Jesus was suffering tremendously alone on the cross, Mary was there with Jesus in His last moments. She was carrying the pain of our Lord and His forgiveness towards His enemies in her heart. She never abandoned the Lord in bad times. Her presence would have consoled our Lord because even His closest apostles abandoned Him when He was in agony in the Garden of Gethsemane.
As Christians we too are called to support each other in our suffering. At the cross, St John wrote, “Seeing his mother and the disciple he loved standing hear 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.” The act of calling Mary, “Woman”, and the unnamed disciple, is John’s way of allowing Mary to be the Mother of the Church, symbolized by the unnamed disciple, the one that Jesus loved. At the same time, the unnamed disciple represents all Christians whom the Lord loves. In other words, by giving the Church to Mary, and Mary to the Church, it is a reminder that the new community of Christians, which is no longer defined in biological terms but in our common relationship with the Lord, must now care for each other as their own. Indeed, we must always support each other in times of suffering, illness, grief and bereavement.
But in order for us to support each other effectively, we must not look at suffering as if it is outside of us. The letter of Hebrews says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin.” (Heb 4:15) Christ became man so that He could suffer with us and not just for us. Suffering brings about solidarity with our fellowmen. When we begin to feel what others are going through, we learn compassion and forgiveness. This is why we can turn to Jesus who is “the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb 4:16)
Just as we turn to the Lord, the Church also invites us to turn to Mary because no one other than Mary would have suffered so muchin seeing her only Son humiliated, scourged and crucified in the most shameful manner. Although she did not suffer physically, she was a martyr in spirit, and she would have united her suffering with that of our Lord. This is the reason why the Church has traditionally addressed Mary as the Co-redemptrix. Mary had accompanied Jesus in the work of redemption even until the cross, sharing with Him His suffering and death for the salvation of the world. Of course, this is not to say that salvation is wrought through Mary equally with our Lord. Only our Lord could save us from sin by His death on the cross. The term co-redemptrix is used analogously to that of Jesus as our redeemer, but this does not discount her role in the work of redemption.
In this context, when we celebrate the Memorial of our Lady of Sorrows, traditionally, the Church invites us to reflect on the seven sorrows of Mary so that we feel accompanied in our pain and grief, and we are not alone in our suffering. In the first place, we recall the prophecy of Simeon when our Lady presented Jesus at the Temple, offering Him to God. His prophecy foreshadowed both the suffering of her son and herself. “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.” Mary as the co-redemptrix suffered with her Son in His life from the time He was born right until the cross. His birth in a manger was followed by the flight of the Holy Family into Egypt when they faced persecution at home and had to take refuge in a foreign land hostile towards the Jews. After returning to Nazareth where Jesus grew up, at the age of Twelve, He was lost at the Temple for three days, anticipating the paschal mystery, His passion, death and resurrection. Just as Mary “treasured all these things in her heart” (Lk 2:19), she too remained in continuous contemplation at her Son’s passion, death and resurrection.
Most of all, Mary’s suffering climaxed at the passion of her Son. She followed Jesus carrying His cross upon His bruised shoulders to Mount Calvary. He was humiliated and treated mercilessly by the soldiers. At Mount Calvary, she saw how they nailed her Son to the cross and the unspeakable suffering that He went through in pain and in thirst. Upon His death, Mary took Him down from the cross to clean up His wounds and later entombed Him. It must have been such a sorry sight to hold the body of her crucified Son to her bosom as she did when Jesus was a child.
Indeed, when we reflect on the seven sorrows of Mary, we wonder where she got the strength to carry all these pains in her heart. The answer lies in love. She carried her pain with the love of God in her heart. When there is love for God and for her fellowmen, including her enemies, she could accept the innocent and unjust suffering of her Son. She knew that the suffering she carried with her Son would not be carried in vain but for the greater good of humanity. So too, when we suffer, we should not suffer for ourselves but for others and for the salvation of souls. We can embrace suffering and the will of God, knowing that our suffering can bring hope to humanity and point them to the love of God.
Love leads to obedience. The letter of Hebrews says, “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.” Because Jesus “submitted so humbly that his prayer was heard”, not in the sense that He was delivered from physical suffering but God gave Him the strength to obey His divine will. It was His obedience that saved us all. If we want to accept our crosses and submit humbly, we too must pray earnestly like our Lord, growing in intimacy with Him, feeling His love and presence in our lives. Only then can we find the strength like our Blessed Mother to surrender ourselves to the will of God. Like Mary, in His will is our peace.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment