The Seven Sorrows  of the Blessed Virgin Mary

September 15

The Virgin Mary in the Kingdom of the Divine Will

Day 23

 Lesson of my Celestial Mama:   “…My dear child, do not move from my side; follow Me everywhere. Forty days from the birth of little King Jesus are about to sound when the Divine Fiat calls us to the temple in order to fulfill the law of the Presentation of my Son. So, we went to the temple. It was the first time that we went out together with my sweet Baby. A vein of sorrow opened in my Heart: I was going to offer Him as victim for the salvation of all. We entered the temple, and first we adored the Divine Majesty; then we called the priest, and placing Him in his arms, I made the offering of the celestial Baby to the Eternal Father – offering Him in sacrifice for the salvation of all. The priest was Simeon, and as I placed Him in his arms, he recognized that He was the Divine Word and exulted with immense joy; and after the offering, assuming the attitude of prophet, he prophesied all my sorrows. Oh, how the Supreme Fiat sounded over my maternal Heart – thoroughly, with vibrating sound, the cruel tragedy of all the pains of my little Son! But what pierced Me the most were the words that the holy prophet spoke to Me: “This dear Baby will be the salvation and the ruin of many, and will be the target of contradictions.”

If the Divine Will had not sustained Me, I would have died instantly of pure pain. But It gave Me life, and used it to form in Me the Kingdom of sorrows, within the Kingdom of Its Will. Therefore, in addition to the right of Mother which I had over all, I acquired the right of Mother and Queen of all Sorrows. Ah, yes, with my sorrows, I acquired the little coin to pay the debts of my children, and also those of the ungrateful children.

Now, my child, you must know that in the light of the Divine Will I already knew all the sorrows I was to suffer – and even more than that which the holy prophet had told Me. But in that act, so solemn, of offering my own Son, in hearing it being repeated to me, I felt so pierced that my Heart bled, and deep lacerations opened in my soul.

Now, listen to your Mama: in your sufferings, in the painful encounters which are not lacking for you, never lose heart; but with heroic love let the Divine Will take Its royal place in your pains, that It may convert them into little coins of infinite value, with which you will be able to pay the debts of your brothers – to ransom them from the slavery of the human will, and make them enter again, as free children, into the Kingdom of the Divine Fiat.

The soul:  Holy Mama, in your pierced Heart do I place all my pains; and You know how they pierce my heart. O please, be my Mama, and pour the balm of your sorrows into my heart, that I may share in your same destiny of using my pains as little coins in order to conquer the Kingdom of the Divine Will.

Ejaculatory Prayer:   My Mama, pour your sorrow into my soul, and convert all my pains into Will of God.

Mary, who believed in the word of the Lord, did not lose her faith in God when she saw her Son rejected, abused and crucified. Rather she remained beside Jesus, suffering and praying, until the end. And she saw the radiant dawn of His Resurrection. Let us learn from her to witness to our faith with a life of humble service, ready to personally pay the price of staying faithful to the Gospel of love and truth, certain that nothing that we do will be lost.

— Pope Benedict XVI, Angelus – September 13, 2009

Collect:

Father,
as Your Son was raised on the cross, His mother Mary stood by Him, sharing His sufferings. May Your Church be united with Christ in His suffering and death and so come to share in His rising to new life, where He lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.