Thought for the day:

"Give me grace to amend my life, and to have an eye to mine end, without grudge of death, which to them that die in thee,
good Lord, is the gate of a wealthy life."
St. Thomas More

THREE THINGS

"Three things are necessary for the salvation of man; to know what he ought to believe; to know what he ought to desire; and to know what he ought to do."
St. Thomas Aquinas

Rights of Man?

"The people have heard quite enough about what are called the 'rights of man'. Let them hear about the rights of God for once". Pope Leo XIII Tamesti future, Encyclical

Eternity

All souls owe their eternity to Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, many have turned their back to him.


Saturday, March 4, 2017

Sorrowful Mother

As we begin the Lenten season, let us remember the sorrows that our Blessed Mother endured during the Passion.

Via Matris Dolorosa

The Way of the Sorrowful Mother


Devotion to the Mother of Sorrows is as old as the Cross. From the throne of the Cross, the Savior focused the world's attention on his Mother: "Behold your Mother," Jesus said. The Via Crucis and the Via Matris are closely associated. Christ prophesied: "And, if I be lifted up will draw all unto myself." His Mother, standing at the foot of the Cross, also draws all unto herself. No argument as to which "way" is greater or more fruitful. Both center on the same Subject, but one as seen through the eyes of his Mother. God-inspired Simeon in the temple prophesied about the child Jesus and laid the direct biblical foundation for the Via Matris, encouraging Christians to contemplate Mary in her sorrows. "And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his Mother, 'Behold, this child is destined for the fall and for the rise of many in Israel, and for a sign that shall be contradicted. And your own soul a sword shall pierce, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.'" The reason Simeon gave was not founded on the fact that Mary was Immaculate or the Mother of Jesus, not that she was to be Queen of heaven and earth, but specifically as a tender object of meditation for all future ages "that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."

The Via Matris, depicting the seven main sorrows of Mary, is set up in churches and chapels that Christians may meditate, be inspired, and be encouraged while dwelling on Mary's sword-pierced heart.

Like the Via Crucis, the history and origin of the Via Matris lie buried in the obscurity of the Middle Ages. The Franciscans initiated the Way of the Cross, and the Servants of Mary (Servites), founded like the Franciscans in the 13th century, brought the Way of the Mother in its present form before the public. Although the devotion was practiced for centuries in Servite churches, it was not until 1937 when the Sorrowful Mother Novena was established that the devotion became popular in the United States.



Since we are into the Penitential season, this Order has something to emulate. Following are those Dolors of our Blessed Mother:

The Seven Dolors of Mary 1. The Prophecy of Simeon.
2. The Flight into Egypt.
3. The Loss of the Child Jesus
4. The Meeting of Jesus and Mary on the Way of the Cross.
5. The Crucifixion
6. Jesus' body Struck by a Lance, Taken Down from the Cross
7. The Burial of Jesus.

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