This special Marian devotion is gaining popularity with the teaching of this beautiful prayer to the seer Marie Claire in Kibeho, Rawanda. This Marian apparition, approved by the Church, is relatively recent so the devotion to the Seven Sorrows Rosary is somewhat new.
In a series of posts over the next few days or weeks I'm going to share each decade with appropriate reflections.
The first mystery of the Seven Sorrows of Mary is the Prophecy of Simeon; found in the Gospel of Luke 2:22-35. This was the basis for our recent celebration of the Feast of the Presentation.
Here is the reflection for this first mystery: The Blessed Virgin Mary took Jesus to the temple as tradition demanded. The temple priest, Simeon, held the baby Jesus in his hands and, filled with the Holy Spirit, realized that Jesus is the Messiah. He thanked God for allowing him to see with his own eyes the promised Messiah. Simeon proclaimed that "let your servant go in peace" and he also declared to Mary, "a sword of sorrow will pierce your heart".
The Blessed Mary must have known that she did indeed give birth to the Savior of the world. Her heart was both thankful but troubled for she knew what awaits the Messiah. She knew he would suffer and thus would suffer greatly too.
We pray then with Mary to teach us to suffer with her help and with love, to accept all suffering. We offer you Mary our suffering so it will matter more and atone for the sins of the world. We ask that you join our sorrows to your own and to those of the Lord Jesus Christ, then offer them to God the Father!
Thanks for this post, Mike! The Rosary is a great way to meditate on the Gospel and the Life of Jesus & Mary. Another great source is "The City of God" by Ven. Mary of Agreda. It fills in all the blanks!
ReplyDeleteI'm a retired deacon from New York living in Florida (where else!) Follow me on Twitter as 'traddeacon' or Facebook as Deacon John Giglio.