Our Lady of Sorrows

 I've been thinking about the state of the world lately, the good, the beautiful, the incredible and the inevitable to ignore heartbreaking. Naturally, in the beginning of September, the weather begins to turn to the right dial of perfect sunshine, a little cool at night and it makes you just want to find a nice place to sit in. So I have sat, and walked and thought a good deal about things. 

Like a bunny on a hot day lying next to a bottle of ice water.

What did I think about? Oh, well a little about everything. About Jane Austen and how I am sure Mother Mary would love her books, and the noise the crickets make when they're happy and how they rely totally on God.

 I thought about how useless traffic is. I thought about pain and suffering quite a bit and how it is so inevitable in this life. I thought of our call to joy as children of Christ but also of suffering within that call of joy. And in my thoughts I thought of my heavenly mother Mary. She suffered as a disciple of Christ in such a beautiful way that I think can point us to how to suffer or how to recognize the suffering Christ in different people and situations. Mary loves us so much as her children and with the heart of a mother who has suffered deeply for her Son she knows the pain that mother's have gone through.

Is that to discount from the experience of men? On the contrary, it is an invitation for men to seek to have the heart of Mary and her ardent desire for souls to turn to Jesus through her suffering. 

The most holy men have the pure heart of Mary and her courage to suffer.

Why focus on suffering?! Haven't we had enough of this in 2020 to last a lifetime? Sure! I am with  you on that. I would gladly toss 2020 to the birds.

Bentley is glad he won Coworker of the Year for 2020.

Who knew this would be not only recommended but fashionable. I like the origami style best.

 The truth of the matter is we are chosen. Yep. Handpicked people to be alive in this moment, in this insane situation, in this baffling days because God said "I have a mission for you" when He created you and when He created me. So we were chosen to live through this time when so many people suffer. When we return to God from our life on earth, from our mission of life, this whole journey will have more clarity than it does now. He chose to allow us to live through suffering, through sorrows and have us His Mother as an example on how to do so. 

Learn from Mama. I love the maternal relationship in elephant tribes.

How does one suffer like Mary? Well, I am not totally sure but I do know what she suffered for, and that she was present in her sorrows. She didn't look for a quick fix to be happy and have immediate results. Mary allowed herself to feel sorrows and felt her heart deeply pierced by the pain of seeing her child suffer. 

With the inspiration of the Sorrowful Heart of Mary, I am going to share my next Novena here. I will focus on praying for mother's who have experienced suffering from their children. Why does it matter? Because each person is precious and a child of God and a child of Mary, so they are our brothers and sisters. And some people might not have a mom to pray or care about them but your prayers and mine. I'll include a petition for a personal grace in my novena for us this round.

I'll start the Novena on Monday, September 6, 2021 and conclude it on the Eve of the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows on September 14, 2021.

Don't worry, there is joy in suffering. This won't be as melancholy or depressing as you think! We will help comfort others we don't know around the globe through our prayers, meeting them in their sorrows through this novena. It's like a Secret Santa gift, but much better. As others we don't know get better and receive comfort, our world becomes better. Imagine if the war in Afghanistan didn't happen and there were not terrorists or soldiers who killed people. Our prayers have the capacity to penetrate the most outrageous situations in ways political diplomacy never will. 

Our Lay of Sorrows, pray for us.

St. Pope John Paul II, pray for us.