Dear Parishioners,
The month of September is dedicated to the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Seven Sorrows are the various sufferings that Mary had to go through for the love of her Son. She is without any stain of sin and so she could love more than we could. On top of that, Our Lord Jesus was the most lovable person ever because He is love incarnate. Yet, He had to suffer for our sins. We could view these sufferings in a purely impersonal and academic way like it were just an historical event. But, our Blessed Mother invites us to experience these events through her own experience. We are all called to love the Lord with our entire hearts, minds and souls and we can learn something from the Virgin Mother of God.
You can experience praying with Mary in many ways. But, the simplest is to read the Seven Sorrows in scripture and to pray a Hail Mary after each one. For your reference, here is a list of those sorrows and where they can be found in the Bible:
- The prophecy of Simeon (Luke 2:25-35)
- The flight into Egypt (Matthew 2:13-15)
- Loss of the Child Jesus for three days (Luke 2:4150)
- Mary meets Jesus on his way to Calvary (Luke 23:27-31; John 19:17)
- Crucifixion and Death of Jesus (John 19:25-30)
- The body of Jesus being taken from the Cross (Psalm 130; Luke 23:50-54; John 19:31-37)
- The burial of Jesus (Isaiah 53:8; Luke 23:50-56; John 19:38-42; Mark 15:40-47)
(source: https://www.ncregister.com/blog/what-arethe-seven-sorrows-of-mary)
As we meditate with the Blessed Virgin Mary on her sorrows, may we always remember that she is there with us to help us through our sorrows as well.
God bless!
Fr. Carter
P.S. Just so everyone knows: I have moved confessions from the canopy to the chapel. The problem with having it under the canopy was that the wind kept blowing it over and destroying it. Now it is even impossible to buy a replacement because many were bought by people celebrating Labor Day. I am still maintaining the new time for confessions (2:30-3:30 pm on Saturdays) because many more people are coming to confession since I have moved it to that time slot.