When things become overwhelming and spiral out of control, I find myself saying, “I surrender everything at the foot of the Cross.” But sometimes, because the phrase has become so familiar, I say it without truly meaning it. 

What does it really mean to surrender to the Cross? In today’s Gospel, we witness Jesus in one of the scenes in His crucifixion. Even in His intense physical and emotional suffering, He didn’t forget others. He remembered His mother. Seeing her deep distress, He entrusted her to the care of John, His beloved disciple.

Let this remind you today that God sees you and cares for every single detail in your life. He thinks of what you worry about. He cares about the things you care about. He loves the people you love.

Look at the Cross and know that the mighty love of Jesus for you knows no limit. 

Ruby Albino (r_jean07@yahoo.com)

reflect

What are you carrying in your heart today? Say a prayer of surrender and place your cares at the foot of the Cross. 

Lord, grant me a heart that rests in quiet trust in You. Help me remember that every good gift in my life flows from Your hand. May I find true peace only in You, as I look to the Cross—my source of strength, hope, and unshakable peace. Amen.

Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us.

First Reading | 1 Corinthians 12:12-14, 27-31 (or Hebrews 5:7-9) 

Today, we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. This feast is not meant to lead us into despair over the suffering caused by sin, but to remind us that embracing our own suffering can be redemptive. Let us never allow despair to enter our hearts. Let us remain positive in our suffering, like our Blessed Mother Mary does.

¹² Brothers and sisters: As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ. ¹³ For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one Body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit. ¹⁴ Now the body is not a single part, but many. ²⁷ Now, you are Christ’s body and individually parts of it. ²⁸ Some people God has designated in the Church to be, first, Apostles; second, prophets; third, teachers; then, mighty deeds; then, gifts of healing, assistance, administration, and varieties of tongues. ²⁹ Are all Apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work mighty deeds? ³⁰ Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? ³¹ Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts.

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 100:1-2, 3, 4, 5 (or Psalm 31:2, 3, 3-4, 5-6, 15-16, 20)

R: We are his people: the sheep of his flock.

¹ Sing joyfully to the Lord, all you lands; ² serve the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful song. (R) ³ Know that the Lord is God; he made us, his we are; his people, the flock he tends.(R) 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, his courts with praise; give thanks to him; bless his name. (R) ⁵ For he is good, the Lord, whose kindness endures forever, and his faithfulness, to all generations. (R) 

Gospel | John 19:25-27 (or Luke 2:33-35)

I sometimes wonder what went through the heart and mind of Mary as she stood at the foot of the cross and gazed upon her Son. Did she realize that the cross of her Son was the means to redeem the world? I think Mary would have been confused and asked, “What does all this mean?” But she didn't despair and embraced her life as one filled with mystery.

Gospel Acclamation

Blessed are you, O Virgin Mary; without dying you won the martyr’s crown beneath the Cross of the Lord.

²⁵ Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdalene. ²⁶ When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.” ²⁷ Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

Reflect

“Love draws all the pains, torments, sufferings, sorrows, and wounds of the passion, cross, and even death of our Redeemer into the heart of His most Holy Mother.” (St. Francis de Sales)

Read the Bible in one year! Read PSALMS 106 - 110 today.

Mary’s Heart: Pierced Yet Faithful

The image of Our Lady of Sorrows depicts Mary’s heart to be pierced with seven sorrows or with a sword. Would you be able to identify these seven sorrows of Mary? 

We begin with Simeon’s words to Mary in Luke 2:35: “And a sword will pierce your own soul . . .”—deemed to be the first sorrow of the Blessed Mother. Mary and Joseph’s flight into Egypt is said to be Mary’s second sorrow. In Mary’s third sorrow, we recall how the Child Jesus went missing for three days, when they were in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. The fourth sorrow of Mary was when she met His Son on the way to Calvary. Mary’s fifth sorrow is noted explicitly in today’s Gospel passage from John, which tells us that the mother of Jesus was present right there at the foot of the cross. The sixth sorrow, although with no specific Scriptural reference, must have been part of the events after the death of Jesus. It is the traditional and heart-rending scene from the Stations of the Cross—the Pieta where Jesus is finally taken down from the cross. Lastly, Mary’s seventh sorrow is recorded in all four Gospels—Jesus is laid in the tomb. This was a painfully sad moment for a mother to lay eyes on her Son for the last time.

In all these sorrowful moments in Mary’s life, she remained most trusting in God. She may not have understood everything, but she always pondered everything in her faith-filled heart. In moments of sorrow and despair, we turn to Mary, whose heart was battered by one sorrow after another. Yet, she did not waver in her faith. She remained focused on Jesus, even if her eyes were blurred by the searing pain of each sorrowful episode. She used each piercing, painful experience to strengthen her faith in God. 

Fr. Ricky Montañez, AA

reflection question

How do you respond to pain and loss—do you, like Mary, turn to God with trust even when you do not understand?

Our Lady of Sorrows, we pray that we may have pondering hearts like yours to accept with serenity and hope whatever God wills for us in our lives. Amen.

Today, I pray for: ___________________________________