MARY, YOU YOURSELF A SWORD WILL PIERCE
Introduction
People who want to carry out their mission in life have often a high price to pay. Jesus continued his mission of love of doing the Father’s will to save us and was nailed to the cross for it. Mary had been told by Simeon that she would suffer for and with her Son. When a child suffers, also the mother suffers. Yet she too, was faithful to her mission of giving Jesus to the world. The closer one is to the Lord, the closer one often is to his cross.
Opening Prayer
Lord God,
we know that sorrow and pain
are inescapable in this life
for those who follow your crucified Son.
Give us enough trust in you
to remain faithful to you
and to believe and hope in your love,
even in the depth of suffering.
Give us the courage
to face the hardships of life
and to bear one another’s crosses
in union with Mary, our sorrowing Mother,
in the service of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen!
1 Reading – 1 CORINTHIANS 15:1-11
I am reminding you, brothers and sisters, of the Gospel I preached to you, which you indeed received and in which you also stand. Through it you are also being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures; that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. After that he appeared to James, then to all the Apostles. Last of all, as to one born abnormally, he appeared to me. For I am the least of the Apostles, not fit to be called an Apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective. Indeed, I have toiled harder than all of them; not I, however, but the grace of God that is with me. Therefore, whether it be I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
Responsorial PSALM 118:1B-2, 16AB-17, 28
R. (1) Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
Let the house of Israel say,
“His mercy endures forever.” R.
“The right hand of the LORD is exalted;
the right hand of the LORD has struck with power.”
I shall not die, but live,
and declare the works of the LORD. R.
You are my God, and I give thanks to you;
O my God, I extol you. R.
SEQUENCE (OPTIONAL) – 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 sweet Mother! font 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, my 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 blest!
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 judgment day.
Christ, when you shall call me hence,
Be your Mother my defense,
Be your cross my victory.
While my body here decays,
May my soul your goodness praise,
Safe in heaven eternally.
Amen. (Alleluia)
Alleluia
Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are you, O Virgin Mary;
without dying you won the martyr’s crown
beneath the Cross of the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel – JOHN 19:25-27
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.
Commentary
At the Foot of the Cross
A disconcerting phenomenon I have observed in many modern churches around the world is that the body of Christ on the Cross has little blood! We have sanitized his body, left just a few little stains of blood here and there, and made him look pleasing to our eyes. However, in reality, his was a bloody death. The scriptures tell us that there was nothing attractive or majestic about him (cf. Is 53:2). His blood would have drenched Mother Mary standing at the foot of the Cross. It is in being drenched in his blood that Mary found consolation and meaning for her suffering. We must also stand beneath the Crucifix, with Mary at our side, with Christ’s sanctifying blood pouring on us. We will then find meaning and grace in the moments of worst suffering in our lives as well. Our sorrows would be holy sorrows, as of Mother Mary.
Our Lady of Sorrows – Pray for Us!
Intentions
– That the community of God’s people may be a source of peace, of forgiveness and reconciliation, of new opportunities for tomorrow, we pray:
– That we may be gentle in our judgment of others, aware that anew every day we too, are in need of forgiveness, we pray:
– That in our families and communities, we may be attentive to the good that is done and not be discouraged by each other’s shortcomings, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
God of our happiness,
with our human wisdom,
we seek happiness without pain,
glory without sacrifice.
But in your divine wisdom,
or foolishness as Paul calls it,
give us here your Son, Jesus Christ,
to teach us again the value of the cross.
With Mary, we want to serve him
who is our Lord who died and rose again,
and our Saviour for ever. Amen!
Prayer after Communion
Our living and loving God,
in this holy meal, we have celebrated
the death and resurrection of Jesus, your Son
and proclaimed suffering and death
as a painful, but necessary way
to lasting glory and happiness.
Let this Eucharist be our strength
to carry the burdens of life
and to learn from Mary
to stand by the side of all
in whom suffers your Son and hers,
Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen!
Blessing
The words of Jesus have been spoken to us too, “Your sins are forgiven.” May it be said of us too that we show great love, both of God and of people. May Almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!