Homily For Friday Twenty-Third Week in Ordinary Time Year A, 15th September, 2023. The Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows

Readings: Tim. 1:1-2.12-14;  Ps. 16; John 19:25-27

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

 

LEARN TO BEAR YOUR SORROWS OF LIFE PATIENTLY LIKE OUR MOTHER MARY

 

In life, we encounter ugly events and challenges that cause us sorrows and tears. And often we don't know how to manage those moments. For just yesterday we celebrated the exaltation and triumph of the Holy Cross, today we are celebrating the sorrows of our Blessed Mother, who experienced a feeling of great sorrow at the suffering and death of her Son who suffered grievously for the sins and faults of others and the sake of the redemption of all humanity.

 

So as we commemorate our Lady's greatest sorrows: beginning with the prophecy of Simeon in the temple, her flight into Egypt with the infant Jesus, the loss of Jesus at the age of 12 in Jerusalem, Mary's encounter with her son Jesus on his way to Calvary, his crucifixion, death and burial. In fact, our Gospel passage today tells us that Jesus seeing his mother and the disciple he loved standing near her, said to his mother, ‘Woman, this is your son. Then to the disciple, he said, ‘This is your mother.’

 

Thus from that moment, the disciple made a place for her in his home. This very action may seem so easy for those who have not experienced the painful torture that comes from witnessing the suffering of your loved ones. But for those who have experienced such torture, especially our good mothers, we will understand better that it is harder to watch the pains and suffering of your loved ones than to bear our own pains. Hence, we can now understand the situation and condition our Lady was passing through for the sake of obedience to God’s will as she watched Jesus suffer for our redemption. 

 

Dear friends, I don’t know what kind of sorrow you are carrying in your heart. Is it the sorrows caused by the ugly situation in your life, your family, your place of work, or your inability to achieve your goals and dreams in life? Or is it sorrows caused by other people or caused by mistakes of your past ugly ways of life? Whatever and however deep the sorrows are, today we are called to learn how to bear our sorrows of life patiently like our Mother Mary by linking them to the will of God.

 

Let us learn how to present our sorrows and problems to God in prayer by raising up our minds and hearts to him and since he promised that he will teach us the way we should go; instruct us and advise us. This is what St. Paul experienced in our first reading today when he said: I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, and who judged me faithful enough to call me into his service even though I used to be a blasphemer and did all I could to injure and discredit the faith. Because until I became a believer I had been acting in ignorance; but the grace of our Lord filled me with faith and with the love that is in Christ Jesus.

 

Therefore,  let us listen to what God is calling us to do and ensure we do them just like our Mother Mary because the Lord Jesus speaks to us from the depths of our hearts and he desires that we listen to him whenever we pray and associate our sorrows with his own just like Mary our mother.

 

LET US PRAY: Heavenly Father, there are so many sorrows in our lives and people are doing all they can to overcome them. Through the intercession of Our Lady of Sorrows, may we experience your love and help us to know the best ways to bear our sorrows patiently. We asked this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Our Lady of Sorrows, Pray For Us.