I have often heard that we can’t reach the joy of Easter Sunday without the sorrow of Good Friday. We are reminded of the prophesy of Simeon in Luke 2:34-35 Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted (and you yourself a sword will pierce) so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
Jesus said to his mother, ‘Woman, this is your son.’ Then to the disciple he said, ‘This is your mother.’ And from that moment the disciple made a place for her in his home. No person or no home is all sorrow or all joy. I remember holidays when I was a child and some were great and joyous and others were not. Sometimes a family member would act up.
How do we handle the sorrow in our lives?
One of my relatives was recently in the emergency room visit with intense pain. (This relative is always in a crisis.) Nothing helped. Turns out half the pain was from the pain meds that she was taking, and the meds were making her constipated. The other part was an injection in her hip to relieve her pain. I am happy she found relief.
We think of Mary at the foot of the Cross, but what about the Birth of Jesus, the joy of the Resurrection or the decent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.
We can’t live our lives focusing on the things that make us sorrowful. We have to focus on the joy. So many people that I know, suffer from depression. I can’t fix that, but I do understand. We all need to magnify the joy of Jesus in our hearts and know that amid that joy there will be some sorrow.
Mary is the model for handling sorrow. She had loss but she trusted her son, Jesus and so should we. “Let it be done to me according to thy word.” That statement took faith and grace.
I am sure that both Jesus and Mary were happy people. Jesus couldn’t have inspired His follows with a sorrowful demeanor. Yes, they had sorrow in their lives. I sure both were sorrowful when Saint Joseph died. As humans we can’t avoid sorrow. Neither could Mary. My point is that neither Jesus nor Mary were always sorrowful. We are not defined by the sorrow in our lives.
Mother Terresa of Calcutta once said that we can do no great things. Only small things with great love.
I am not sure how to overcome depression or sorrow but there are so many people in my life that suffer from it. All I can do is help them focus on the joy. Saint Paul writes of the “race” toward heaven. Along the way there maybe sorrow just like the Blessed Virgin. She is sorrowful when we sin. She is now our mother too. A mother is always looking out for her children. Mary is our Mother. Look to her is times of sorrow.
God Love You Always
Bob Burford
PS: Please Pray for Cancer victims and their caregivers. Pray for the conversion of Russia and the salvation of the Ukrainian and Russian people and their soldiers. Pray for peace!
