Thursday, September 15, 2016

Thursday, September 15 2016 Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows


Reading 1 1 Cor 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 Ps 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. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
“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. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
You are my God, and I give thanks to you;
O my God, I extol you.
R. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.

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 Savior 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

R. 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 Jn 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.

Gospel Lk 2:33-35

Jesus’ father and mother were amazed at what was said about him;
and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother,
“Behold, this child is destined
for the fall and rise of many in Israel,
and to be a sign that will be contradicted
and you yourself a sword will pierce
so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

REFLECTION 

OUR LADY OF FORGIVENESS

"Near the cross of Jesus there stood His mother." –John 19:25

Because Mary is honored as our Lady of Sorrows, she is our Lady of Forgiveness. She forgave the innkeeper who refused to give her a room in which to have her Baby and forced her to give birth in a stable (Lk 2:7).

Our Lady of Sorrows forgave Herod for attempting to kill her Baby and forcing her and her family to flee to Egypt in the middle of the night (Mt 2:13-14).

Mary forgave Joseph for his sins. Everyone in the Holy Family was sinless except for Joseph. Mary, like many wives, might have felt that the family problems were always Joseph's fault. In her case, she would have been right.

Our Lady of Sorrows forgave her relatives for rejecting Jesus and saying He was out of His mind (Mk 3:21).

Mary forgave Jesus' apostles for abandoning Him, Peter for denying Him three times, and Judas for selling and betraying Jesus. Mary forgave Pontius Pilate and the religious leaders who hated Jesus and had Him crucified.

As she stood at the foot of the cross, Our Lady of Sorrows forgave the bad thief and those who mocked Jesus as He hung in agony. Our Lady of Sorrows has forgiven us for being accomplices to Jesus' death through our sins.

Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, mercy!
PROMISE: "Son though He was, He learned obedience from what He suffered; and when perfected, He became the Source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him." –Heb 5:8-9
PRAISE: "At the cross her station keeping. Stood the mournful Mother weeping. Close to Jesus to the last."


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