Blessed Mother of Sorrows, pray for us, who have recourse to thee…
There is an ode that we say to commemorate the sacrifice of the soldiers during war, and we say it on ANZAC Day in recognition of their commitment to their country…
And the ode goes like this…
“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them. Lest we forget.”
And I have been reflecting on that many times over the years.
When my little baby died before he was even born, my greatest concern in all the world was that he would be forgotten. I could not even begin to fathom how to communicate to the world how valuable and important his soul was when it seemed that I was the only person in all the world who really really wanted to welcome him here…
In the depths of my grief, I would repeat these words of the ode to myself, “At the going down of the sun and in the morning I will remember him. Lest I forget.”
And I genuinely wanted to think about him a lot and talk about him a lot and remember him a lot. The only problem with that is that because he died it made other people very uncomfortable to talk about and listen to a sad story about a little baby who I would never see in this lifetime.
It made other people very uncomfortable to see how much I was hurting. And so – out of love for me – they tried their best to help me, by changing the topic and talking about other things instead. But though their intentions were genuine, their approach just made everything worse because in my mind, being able to speak about that child was being able to remember him. And that was very important to me.
And I have been thinking about that today as I reflect on the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and my Blessed Mother. You see, Her Son died – not once – some years ago – but eternally in the eternal sacrifice that we celebrate in the Mass. And Our Blessed Mother stands at the Foot of the Cross eternally – then, two thousand years ago – and now, today.
And I have been thinking about her pain in that. You see, I felt such terrible pain because people tried to distract me from speaking about my beloved child who had died… And now, I consider the magnification of the PAIN of the Blessed Virgin, who will witness people trying to turn away from and change the subject when she wishes to speak about her Beloved Son who died for us.
And when I compare the pain that she must feel with the terrible pain I felt, I can begin to fathom why hers is the most beloved soul of God’s creatures. For He knew – before the world was made – what terrible suffering she would endure for my sake. And knowing what she sacrificed through her love of Him for LOVE OF ME, God surely could not love any soul more – for there was no greater sacrifice than the ternal sacrifice of God Himself…
And so, I pray for the Grace to remember… “At the going down of the sun and in the morning I will remember HIM. Lest I forget.”
Blessed Mother of Sorrows, pray for us, who have recourse to thee…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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