By Father Rich Tomkosky
At first glance it may seem like an odd topic to focus on as we celebrate a New Year, but in light of much division, hatred, and pride and spiritual obstinacy in our time, it is a good topic to put things in proper spiritual perspective.
As I said on Christmas, the shadow of the Cross was on Jesus from the moment He took his first breath on earth, so also it was with the Blessed Mother, the shadow of the Cross was on her as well and is on all of us humans, as well, right now all over the earth. How can meditating on the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady help us to respond properly to the challenges we face?
The Seven Sorrows:
1. The Prophecy of Simeon: Mary heard a very mysterious and striking comment from the old prophet Simeon when she and St. Joseph presented the baby Jesus into the Temple. Your own heart will be pierced with a sword of sorrow, so that the hearts of many men will be revealed as Jesus will be a sign of contradiction. To the worldly and spiritually indifferent, Jesus and His true message of conversion and holiness is not what they want to hear; and yet without conversion from sin and desire for holiness, the life of Jesus makes no sense and ppl don’t benefit from it in any way and are truly spiritually blind.
2. The Flight into Egypt: Our time is not the first time in human history where there is a lack of respect for human life and the dignity of each human being made by God – the worst current example of this is the reality of abortion and people who support that evil, including some people who claim to be devout Catholics. They have a role model in the evil King Herod, who with callous heart and poisoned mind sought to kill the baby Jesus and so killed all the baby boys surrounding Bethlehem two years and under, without blinking an eye or feeling any pity. What sorrow for our Lady not just having to flee into the “land of darkness” Egypt but also thinking about the other baby boys murdered in cold blood with their parents screaming in agony because of the madness of the earthly King Herod with his heart poisoned by so much sin who was threatened by Jesus.
3. The Loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple: Can you imagine the fear and anxiety Mary felt as she accidently lost Jesus for three days (a foreshadowing of the three days between His Death and Resurrection) during the Jewish Passover? And yet the Lord Jesus has revealed to different saints that he did it to teach Mary and Saint Joseph and all of us a most important spiritual lesson: God must be first in our life, no matter what the difficulties we face, and we must be detached from all the things of earth to grow in holiness. But the Lord never claimed it was easy to do; in fact, Mary has revealed to the saints that this sorrow was the greatest of the seven for her heart. Something to ponder.
4. Mary meets Jesus carrying His Cross: What sorrow Our Lady felt on a human level when she saw the price Jesus was paying for taking on the sins of the whole human race from the beginning to the end of time. When we struggle with our crosses and sufferings, remember Our Lady is there with us to help us unite them with Jesus on His Cross, under the mantle of her Spiritual & Motherly Love, so it is all for the salvation of souls.
5. Mary watches Jesus suffer and die on the Cross: Mary wants to be with us each step of our earthly journey to help us come closer to Jesus. She interiorly united herself with Jesus on the Cross in a martyrdom of love for souls. She especially wants to be there for us as we care for and pray for the dying and someday are called from this life ourselves. What amazing patience, charity, and forbearance our Lady showed as she stood under the Cross of Jesus and how she accompanies us during the mystery of death (see my saintly mom’s last day of agony on earth July 13, 2024 – amazing it was the anniversary of when Our Lady showed the three children at Fatima the terrifying vision of Hell and asked if they were willing to suffer, pray, and offer spiritual sacrifices to help save souls from ending up in Hell. We need to generously do the same like the Fatima children and my mom, Kathleen.
6. Mary receives the body of Christ from the Cross: As Our Lady held Jesus’ dead body in her arms, she accompanies us in each suffering and death we experience. Let us pray that she accompanies, along with Saint Joseph, her most chaste spouse, all the dying, the people we know and people we don’t know each day. Remember on average: There are 170,463 people who die each day in the world, that is 7,103 per hour, 118 per minute, and nearly two per second. How fragile human life is! And how we can help them with our prayers!
7. The Body of Jesus is placed in the tomb: On a human level, it would seem this is the end of Jesus, but we know from our faith that it is just a transition to a new Resurrected life, in which Jesus’s human body is no longer subject to pain, suffering, aging, or death again. That is our hope amid the difficulty of earthly death – someday we will share fully in Jesus’ Resurrected Life.
Let’s resolve in this New Year 2025 to pray Our Lady’s Seven Sorrows Rosary at least once a week, and preferably more if possible.
To end on a more joyous note: Mary makes some wonderful promises to those who pray her Seven Sorrows Rosary regularly. Again, seven graces to accompany the meditation on her seven sorrows:
1. I will grant peace to your families.
2. You will be enlightened about the Divine mysteries.
3. I will console you in your pains; and I will accompany you in their work.
4. I will give you as much as you ask for as long as it does not oppose the adorable will of my Divine Son or the sanctification of your soul.
5. I will defend you in your spiritual battles with the hellish enemy; and I will protect you at every instant of your life.
6. I will visibly help you at the moment of your death; you will see the face of your Blessed Mother.
7. I have obtained (this Grace) from my Divine Son, that you who propagate this devotion to my tears and dolors (sorrows), will be taken directly from this earthly life to eternal happiness since all your sins will be forgiven and my Son and I will be your eternal consolation and joy.
Not a bad spiritual deal! Have a Blessed 2025 in the Lord and under the mantle of our Lady. God bless you.
Father Rich Tomkosky is the Pastor of Saint Thomas the Apostle Parish in Bedford and the Pastor of Seven Dolors of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Beans Cove.
