Homily: Our Lady of Sorrows (John 19:25-27)
Our Lady of Sorrows (John 19:25-27) “Where Does Mary Suffer Today?”
Recent events in Afghanistan have been very disheartening. The death of American military personnel is distressing. Another thing that has been sad is the difficulties that women will face in the immediate future. Afghan women had hoped for a better future. Young girls were going to school. Other women were able to take part in government leadership. Now there are stories that women are being brutalized.
Medical care is also going backwards in Afghanistan. The number of live births had been climbing. Now children will be victims of starvation and disease. Many a mother is going to be grieving a lost child.
Women will also suffer when families are displaced. Many Afghans are fleeing beyond the borders of their country seeking refuge where they can find it. Many mothers will be looking for a place of safety. They will have to worry about the future of their children.
Women have been caught up in such suffering throughout the centuries. The Blessed Virgin Mary was a poor young woman. She was displaced when her family fled into Egypt to escape an evil tyrant (King Herod). Mary lost her husband and had to rely on the charity of others. She also had to witness Jesus being arrested and executed even though he had done nothing wrong.
Today we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. Mary is an intercessor for all mothers who grieve around the world. Women throughout Christian history have identified with the Blessed Virgin. They have felt her empathy, and this has been a great consolation.
On this feast day we pray that Mary will be with oppressed women throughout the world. Especially, we ask for intercession for the women of Afghanistan. May they not be forgotten, but may they be a symbol of the aspirations of all women everywhere.
- Is Mary someone to put on a pedestal and admire for her virtue or is she someone to pattern our life after? How do I view Mary as a perfect saint or as a woman I might know?
- How do I experience what Mary did? What would I ask her to pray for today?
Dear Parishioners,
Our TTT campaign is progressing well. We have received a number of large donations in the past couple weeks. We now have pledges of over 2.6 million dollars. The goal of collecting 3 million dollars for the Sacred Hear portion of the TTT campaign seems very achievable. When you are invited to attend one of our campaign meetings, I hope you can come. Those who have participated so far, have asked good questions, and seem to be enthused about the gathering center we would like to construct.
If we all pull together, we can meet as well as exceed our goal. This is very important as building costs continue to grow because of COVID and the natural disasters that cause a shortage of building materials. Let’s pray that our building campaign will help us serve the cause of Christ in the Moline community.
May Our Lady and All the Angels and Saints watch over you.
Fr. Mark