our lady of sorrows

Today is the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows.  Only in recent times have I come to understand the sorrows of our Blessed Mother.

I've always felt kind of sorry for poor Joseph - the only sinful one in the Holy Family.  Anything went wrong - it must have been his fault.  There is the temptation to think that because Mary and Jesus were sinless that their lives must have been so much easier/better than ours.  But one doesn't have to look very hard to see that that certainly wasn't true.

Mary's sorrows - Simeon's Prophecy, The Flight into Egypt, Losing Jesus in the Temple, Meeting Him on the Road to Calvary, Standing at the Foot of the Cross, Receiving His Dead Body, Placing Jesus in the Tomb. After meditating upon these sorrows, it seems to me that the adage holds true for her, too - "Little children, little problems; big children, big problems."

It also points out the suffering that Mary endured.  What a strong woman she was!  But, as it should, her strength came from the Lord.  May we have the courage to endure the suffering that comes our way!