OUR LADY OF FORGIVENESS
“Near the cross of Jesus there stood His mother.” –John 19:25
Mass Readings: September 15
First: Hebrews 5:7-9; Resp: Psalm 31:2-6,15-16,20; Gospel: John 19:25-27
Because Mary is honored as our Lady of Sorrows, she is our Lady of Forgiveness. She forgave the innkeeper who refused to give her a room in which to have her Baby and forced her to give birth in a stable (Lk 2:7).
Our Lady of Sorrows forgave Herod for attempting to kill her Baby and forcing her and her family to flee to Egypt in the middle of the night (Mt 2:13-14).
Mary forgave Joseph for his sins. Everyone in the Holy Family was sinless except for Joseph. Mary, like many wives, might have felt that the family problems were always Joseph’s fault. In her case, she would have been right.
Our Lady of Sorrows forgave her relatives for rejecting Jesus and saying He was out of His mind (Mk 3:21).
Mary forgave Jesus’ apostles for abandoning Him, Peter for denying Him three times, and Judas for selling and betraying Jesus. Mary forgave Pontius Pilate and the religious leaders who hated Jesus and had Him crucified.
As she stood at the foot of the cross, Our Lady of Sorrows forgave the bad thief and those who mocked Jesus as He hung in agony. Our Lady of Sorrows has forgiven us for being accomplices to Jesus’ death through our sins.
Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, mercy!
PROMISE: “Son though He was, He learned obedience from what He suffered; and when perfected, He became the Source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him.” –Heb 5:8-9
PRAISE: “At the cross her station keeping. Stood the mournful Mother weeping. Close to Jesus to the last.”
