The Sorrows of Mary

Dearest Ones, Since Mary was the Mother of God, it would seem that she would have no sorrows. This is not true at all. Mary suffered all of the sorrows of Jesus because she was His mother - just as any mother suffers when she knows her child suffers. Why am I writing about the sorrows of Mary? It is not to make you feel sad but to help you understand just how much Mary was a part of the passion. She wants to be a part of our lives, too. Won't you let her? One of the last things Jesus did before He died was to give His mother to all of us as our own spiritual mother. This means we have a mother in heaven praying for us, whether we pray to her or not. The Bible tells us she stood by the cross of Jesus for three long hours, watching Him suffer. She didn't yell and scream or complain, although she was unable to do anything to relieve His suffering. I believe she suffered for you and me because she was like a partner to Jesus in all that He went through. For thirty-three years she saw Him rejected, enduring the mockery of the crowds, and even some of her own relatives considered Him a madman. She offered her suffering for us. For our sake she made sacrifices. She heard her Son accused of being possessed by a devil. How that must have hurt. We can only imagine how much the Mother of Jesus loved her Son, just as we can only imagine how much Jesus loved His Mother, which made it doubly hard for Him to see her suffer on His account. She stood at the foot of the cross and heard the jeering crowd. Jesus suffered seeing His Mother suffer. Jesus and Mary suffered because of all the hatred and false stories made up about Him. The crowd turned their backs on Him because He was not the kind of ruler they were expecting. Jesus saw the Pharisees pretending to be holy but all the time they were laying traps for Him in order to make Him look like a liar. They were false friends and true enemies. Mary knew about Judas and his plan to sell Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. How this must have hurt her. All the while he was pretending to be a friend of Jesus. While hanging on the cross, thinking He was abandoned by His own Father, He saw how few would be saved. He saw all down through the centuries, those who would betray Him and turn to false gods. How much this must have hurt Mary, too. Mary's sufferings were at times unbearable - her heart was broken when Joseph told her about his dream that Herod wanted to kill her Son and they were to go to Egypt in the middle of the night. I can only imagine the deep pain when 12-year old Jesus was lost for three whole days. Later, looking at her broken boy, the Holy Mother knew that His agonizing death was far worse than the torture reserved for the worst criminals. If anyone understands our suffering, it is Mary, after all she went through. Mary does not take the place of Jesus - that's the last thing she wants. Just as we ask our earthly Mothers to pray for us, why not ask our heavenly Mother to pray for us, too? I hope you all find out how much Jesus and Mary love you! It will change your life. Prayer: "Beloved Mother, teach us to do as Jesus did - to accept our cross with courage. Teach us to see God in all things and all situations, even in our suffering. Help us to follow in your Son's footsteps, and even be willing to lay down our lives for others. Mother Mary, please take our requests to Jesus." Love and prayers, Sister Francelle