September
15Saints of the Day
September
15
Saints of the Day
For a while there were two feasts in honor of the Sorrowful Mother: one going back to the 15th century, the other to the 17th century. For a while both were celebrated by the universal Church: one on the Friday before Palm Sunday, the other in September.
The principal biblical references to Mary's sorrows are in Luke 2:35 and John 19:26-27. The Lucan passage is Simeon's prediction about a sword piercing Mary's soul; the Johannine passage relates Jesus' words on he Cross to Mary and to the beloved disciple.
Many early Church writers interpret the sword as Mary's sorrows, especially as she saw Jesus die on the cross. Thus, the two passages are brought together as prediction and fulfillment.
St. Ambrose in particular sees Mary as a sorrowful yet powerful figure at the cross. Mary stood fearlessly at the cross while others fled. Mary looked on her Son's wounds with pity, but saw in them the salvation of the world. As Jesus hung on the cross, Mary did not fear to be killed but offered herself to her persecutors.
There are Four reasons for Suffering in the Bible
The "sufferings of co-Redemption",
of Colos.1:24 is the third reason, the reason of the
sufferings of Jesus, Mary and all good Christians:
Because every Christian is another Christ... they
are the sufferings of Jesus... and of all the Saints, starting with Virgin Mary
in Egypt and Calvary, St. Peter crucified, St. Paul beheaded, the other apostles
martyred...
"I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my
flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of
his body, the church" (Colos.1:24).
In this sense,
every pain or sorrow is an individual cross, the
best weapon to help relatives and friends to go to Heaven. Jesus did not redeem
us with his beautiful sermons, nor with his miracles, but with his cross!... and
our daily cross is our best way to be evangelists, co-redeemers with Christ, to
help our relatives and friends to go to Heaven, as Paul puts it:
A crippled old Christian lady at home is not a burden for the family, but
the best treasure of that home... she is another Christ helping all her
relatives and friends to go to Heaven... and Heaven is our home!.
"Suffering" is the greatest wealth of a Christian, not money nor honors nor
power, suffering!... we should be looking for sufferings like the greedy is
looking for money... that's what Jesus is telling us in the
Sermon on the Mount,
that's what Paul cries out in Colos.1:24 just
mentioned, and that's what Peter and James claim in the Bible:
- "For it has been granted to you on behalf of
Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him" (Phil.1:29).
- "Rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you
may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed." (1Pet.4:13).
- "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many
kinds" (Jam.1:2).
- "I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to
others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize" (1Cor.9:27).
He who knows the value of the Cross of Christ and of his own
cross knows everything, he who doesn't know it knows nothing.
http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/SaintOfDay/default.asp?id=1139
Virgin Mary at the Cross
The Redemption of the
Suffering Servant in Isaiah
Saints of September 15:
http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0915.htm
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