Wait For One Another

September 15, 2008

Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows

By Beth DeCristofaro

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. (1 Corinthians 11:27, 33)

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 (Luke 2:34-35)

Piety

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior. For he has looked upon his handmaid's lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed. The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is from age to age to those who fear him. He has shown might with his arm, dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart. He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly. The hungry he has filled with good things; the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped Israel his servant, remembering his mercy, according to his promise to our fathers, to Abraham and to his descendants forever. (Luke 1:45-55)

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/091508.shtml

Mary Mother, Our Lady, pure, complete, faith-filled and infused with love; the seven sorrows attributed to you speak to us today:

• the prophecy of Simeon; the parent who is told “Your infant has a genetic defect”
• the flight into Egypt; refugees traveling by night across the Sudanese desert in fear of the Janjaweed militia
• having lost the Holy Child at Jerusalem; relatives digging through the rubble of a family compound bombed in war
• meeting Jesus on his way to Calvary; watching a child descend into drug or other addiction
• standing at the foot of the Cross; someone contemplating organ donation of their brain-dead loved one
• Jesus being taken from the Cross; a parent identifying the murdered body of her/his adult child found in the street
• at the burial of Christ; villagers, exhausted and starving, gazing at the mud-covered village and their neighbors, buried during a hurricane

And your steadfastness can inspire us today, Mary. We can imagine you, Mary, shocked and numb at the foot of the cross, whispering to yourself: My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; …and Holy is His Name. You do not vilify those who wronged you and your Son. You do not refuse those who ask for your help or those who come to be with you. You, in love, wait for “the other” as well as the friend, no matter the cost to yourself, because of your “yes” to God.

Action

Pope Benedict says, “Mary is a symbol of the beauty and tenderness of God.” From the Cross, Jesus gave Mary as Mother to John and thus to us all. Our sorrows as well as our joys make us one community. Our worship unifies us as children of God. How do we respond to the sorrows we see around us? How do we attend to the sorrows within ourselves? Our Mother sorrows with us and leads us to the beauty and tenderness of God. Ask her for the strength to stand at the foot of the cross with someone who is in need. Find acceptance and solace in her to bear your own cross. Use her courage to wait for one another or to answer another’s need.