The Lenten Journey with Mary & the 7 Sorrows

Our Lady of 7 Sorrows

As we begin Lent tomorrow, with Ash Wednesday, I can't help but think of Mary's journey through her life. I was recently given a "7 Sorrows Rosary (Chaplet)" and have prayed it once and found it very moving. I prayed it while at Adoration, and I know that had an affect on things, but to meditate upon all that Mary went through was moving.

···•°···

But Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart. [Luke 2:19]

The amazing part for me is that she took everything into her heart, because of her fiat, her "YES!" She could of at any time fought against these things, but she continued to say 'Yes' along the way. Her 'Yes' was in her mind, a 'once-for-all' choice and didn't represent little mini-choices along the way. I think she knew ahead of time, what her choice meant – not only pain and suffering for her Son, but also for herself.

···°•···

why doesn't we mirror our model?

Mary is referred to as the "Mirror of Justice" but why then do we not model that with ourselves? Why do we resemble a "Mirror of Ashes"? I want to work this Lent on wiping away my ashes [my sins, my penance, my shame] and create myself to be a Mirror of Justice for Our Lady. I want to reflect that which she reflects - Justice and Truth.

···•°···

that image is burned into my mind

You know the image I am talking about. The scene from "The Passion of Christ" where Mary, the Mother of God, and Mary Magdelene are wiping up Christ's Sacred and Holy Blood. I think of it every time I get ashes. I think about how it symbolizes so much of what Mary did, and so little of what we do. We are so "me" focused that we wouldn't dare think of doing something like that. Now that scene doesn't have a biblical or a traditional explanation but I always think of it as Mary's way of protecting the Precious Blood. It was her way of caring for her Son, in a way that none of us understood yet. It was almost as if that scene is saying: "Lest we never dishonor His Blood again, He shed it for us, so that we may be forgiven. Let us never spill another drop, but Honor and Adore it forevermore."

Let us pray that we have a Holy and Sorrowful Lent - Let us keep Mary in our hearts as we journey towards HIM.

†††††††