Churches of the Day

 Our Lady of Sorrows,  memorial
Mary, standing by the cross, suffered intensely with her only begotten son, Jesus
consenting with love to his offering of himself for our salvation.

Feast of the Day; Sept. 15 : Our Lady of Sorrows - a mother watches her watches he son die slowly.
C/f A short life story of this saint can be found below today’s Readings and Reflection.

FIRST READING

A reading from the letter to the Hebrews         5:7-9
He learnt to obey and he became for all who obey him the source of eternal salvation.

During his life on earth, he offered up prayer and entreaty, aloud and in silent tears, to the one who had the power to save him out of death and he submitted so humbly that his prayer was heard.

Although he was Son, he learnt to obey through suffering; but having been made perfect, he became for all who obey him the source of eternal salvation.

The Word of the Lord.     Thanks be to God

Responsorial Psalm    Ps 30:2-6, 15-16.20 R/v 17
Response                        Save me, O Lord, in your love.

1. In you, O Lord, I take refuge. Let me never be put to shame.
In your justice, set me free, hear me and speedily rescue me.                                         Response

2. Be a rock of refuge for me,  a mighty stronghold to save me,
for you are my rock, my stronghold, For your name's sake, lead me and guide me.   Response

3. Release me from the snares they have hidden for you are my refuge, Lord.
Into your hands I commend my spirit. It is you who will redeem me, Lord.                Response

4. As for me, I trust in you, Lord, I say: 'You are my God.
My life is in your hands, deliver me from the hands of those who hate me.'                Response

5. How great is the goodness, Lord, that you keep for those who fear you,
that you show to those who trust you in the sight of men.                                                Response

(Optional ) SEQUENCE
'Stabat Mater’, ‘The mother stood)

At the cross her station keeping
stood the mournful Mother weeping,
close to Jesus to the last;

Through her heart, his sorrow sharing,
all his bitter anguish bearing,
now at length the sword had passed.

Oh, how sad and sore distressed
was that Mother highly blessed
of the sole-begotten One.

Christ above in torments hangs;
she beneath beholds the pangs
of her dying glorious Son.

Is there one who would not weep
whelmed in miseries so deep,
Christ's dear Mother to behold?

Can the human heart refrain
from partaking in her pain,
in that Mother's pain untold?

Bruised, derided, cursed, defiled
she beheld her tender child
all with bloody scourges rent;

for the sins of his own nation
saw him hang in desolation,
till his spirit forth he sent.

O you Mother, fount of love!
Touch my spirit from above,
make my heart with yours accord:

make me feel as you have felt;
make my soul to glow and melt
with the love of Christ our Lord.

Holy Mother, pierce me through;
in my heart each wound renew
of my Saviour crucified:

Let me share with you his pain
who for all my sins was slain,
who for me in torments died.

Let me mingle tears with you,
mourning him who mourned for me
all the days that I may live:

by the cross with you to stay,
there with you to weep and pray,
is all I ask of you to give.

Virgin of all virgins best,
listen to my fond request:
let me share your grief divine;

let me, to my latest breath,
in my body bear the death
of that dying Son of yours.

Wounded with his every wound,
steep my soul till it has swooned
in his very blood away;

be to me, O Virgin, nigh,
lest in flames I burn and die
in his awful judgement day.

Christ, when you shall call me hence,
be your Mother my defence,
be your cross my victory.

While my body here decays,
may my soul your goodness praise,
safe in paradise with you.

Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia!
Happy is the blessed Virgin Mary who, without dying,
won the palm of martyrdom beneath the cross of the Lord.
Alleluia!

GOSPEL


The Lord be with you.                      And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to  John 19:25-27      Glory to you, O Lord.
Christ above in torments hangs; she beneath beholds the pangs of her dying glorious Son.

Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother and his mother's sister,
Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala.
Seeing his mother and the disciple he loved standing near her,
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.

The Gospel of the Lord.           Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

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Click here for details on this feastday:   https://www.catholicireland.net/saintoftheday/our-lady-of-sorrows/

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Gospel Reflection            Sept 15            Our Lady of Sorrows           Luke 2:33-35

The image of the sorrowing Mary has been immortalized in stone by Michelangelo’s Pieta.  (c/f image above right) The word ‘Pieta’ in Italian means ‘compassion’ in English. The English word ‘compassion’ suggests ‘suffering with’. Mary suffered with her Son, and her suffering with her Son was never more intense than when she stood by the cross and received his broken body after he was taken down from the cross.

The beautiful Latin hymn, ‘Stabat Mater’ begins, ‘At the cross her station keeping, Stood the mournful Mother weeping, Close to Jesus to the last’. There is no sorrow like the sorrow of a parent, of a mother, for her deceased son or daughter. There are no words that can ease such suffering. To love is to suffer and there is a sense in which it is true to say that the more we love the greater the suffering. Jesus was the most loving person who ever lived; he was God’s love in human form. Because his love was great, his suffering was great. In the words of today’s first reading, ‘he offered up prayer and entreaty, aloud and in silent tears’ to God.

Mary’s deep love for Jesus meant that the suffering of Jesus impacted upon her in a unique way. Although there is no mention of it in the gospels, the risen Lord must have appeared to his mother. She is there with the other disciples praying in preparation for the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Easter transformed her sorrow to joy. The risen Lord continues to shine his glorious light upon all of our sorrows, so that we have hope even in darkest sorrow. As Paul says in one of his letters, we do not grieve as people who have no hope.

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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd. and used with the permission of the publishers.  http://dltbooks.com/
The Scripture Reflection is made available with our thanks from Reflections on the Weekday Readings : Your word is a lamp for my feet and light for my path by Martin Hogan and published by Messenger Publications , c/f www.messenger.ie/bookshop/

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Feast of the Day; Sept. 15 : Our Lady of Sorrows

The scriptural  basis for this memorial is found in the Gospel of John, especially where Jesus hands over Mary and John into each other's care (Jn 19:25). Processions with the statue dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows are still extremely popular in Malta and in Spain. 

Patrick Duffy takes up the story.

The Servite Order
The Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order in Florence are credited with starting the devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows in AD 1239. This devotion must also have been inspired by the plaintive Latin hymn Stabat Mater dolorosa, (See english version below) commonly attributed to Franciscan friar, Jacopone da Todi (1230-1306):

Stabat mater dolorosa
iuxta crucem lacrimosa,
dum pendebat filius.

(At the cross her station keeping,
                                             stood the mournful mother weeping,
                                         close to Jesus to the last.)
[ Full text of this hymn is quoted above c'f the Mass Sequence.]

The Seven Dolours
The different sorrows of Mary have been honoured in the Church’s history, but since the 14th century these seven have commonly been regarded as the seven dolours (sorrows) of the Blessed Virgin Mary:

[caption id="attachment_50847" align="alignright" width="249"]     Thine own soul a sword shall pierce..[/caption]

The prophecy of Simeon
The flight into Egypt
The loss of the child Jesus for three days
Meeting Jesus on the way to Calvary
The crucifixion and death of her son Jesus
Jesus' body  being taken down from the cross and given to her
Jesus being laid in the tomb.

Consenting with love to his offering  
In his Apostolic Exhortation Marialis cultus (1974) ordering the development of devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Pope Paul VI writes of the faith and spirituality behind this devotion:
Mary, standing by the cross, suffered intensely with her only begotten Son and united herself as his mother to his sacrifice, consenting with love to the offering of the victim who was born of her, whom she offered to the eternal Father.

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Memorable Wisdom saying for Today

'Felix culpa' is a Latin phrase  that comes from the words
felix, meaning "happy," "lucky," or "blessed" and culpa, meaning "fault" or "fall".
It refers to the idea that the original sin of Adam and Eve, while a transgression,
ultimately led to the coming of Jesus Christ as humanity's Redeemer,
thus resulting in a greater good. 

~ Liturgical notes ~

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The Twenty Fifth Sunday in  Ordinary Time, Year C

Jesus does not approve of the dishonesty of the steward but comments on how attentive to profit making so many people are. Christians are often apathetic about life' s true values.

FIRST READING 

A reading from the Book of the prophet  Amos        8:4-7
Against those who 'buy up the poor for money'.

Listen to this, you who trample on the needy and try to suppress the poor people of the country, you who say,
'When will New Moon be over so that we can sell our corn, and sabbath, so that we can market our wheat?
Then by lowering the bushel, raising the shekel,
by swindling and tampering with the scales,
we can buy up the poor for money,
and the needy for a pair of sandals,
and get a price even for the sweepings of the wheat.'

The Lord swears it by the pride of Jacob, 'Never will I forget a single thing you have done'

The Word of the Lord                Thanks be to God. 

Responsorial Psalm            Ps 112
Response                                 Praise the Lord, who raises the poor.
Or                                               Alleluia!

1. Praise, O servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord!
May the name of the Lord be blessed both now and for evermore!                             Response

2. High above all nations is the Lord, above the heavens his glory.
Who is like the Lord, our God, who has risen on high to his throne
yet stoops from the heights to look down, to look down upon heaven and earth?   Response

3. From the dust he lifts up the lowly, from the dung heap he raises the poor
to set him in the company of princes, yes, with the princes of his people.                 Response


SECOND READING          

A reading from the first letter of St Paul to Timothy       2:1-8
There should be prayers offered for everyone to God who wants everyone to be saved.

My advice is that, first of all, there should be prayers offered for everyone - petitions, intercessions and thanksgiving - and especially for kings and others in authority, so that we may be able to live religious and reverent lives in peace and quiet. To do this is right, and will please God our saviour: he wants everyone to be saved and reach full knowledge of the truth. For there is only one God, and there is only one mediator between God and mankind, himself a man, Christ Jesus, who sacrificed himself as a ransom for them all. He is the evidence of this, sent at the appointed time, and I have been named a herald and apostle of it and - I am telling the truth and no lie - a teacher of the faith and the truth to the pagans.

In every place, then, I want the men to lift their hands up reverently in prayer, with no anger or argument.

The Word of the Lord                   Thanks be to God. 

Gospel  Acclamation              Acts 16: 14
Alleluia, alleluia!
Open our heart, O Lord, to accept the words of your Son.
Alleluia!

Or                                                  2 Cor 8: 9
Alleluia, alleluia!
Lord Jesus was rich, but he became poor for your sake,
to make you rich out of his poverty.
Alleluia!

GOSPEL                               

The Lord be with you.               And with your spirit
A reading from the Gospel according to Luke     16:1-13
You cannot be the slave both of God and of money.

Jesus said to his disciples,
'There was a rich man and he had a steward denounced to him for being wasteful with his property. He called for the man and said, "What is this I hear about you? Draw me up an account of your stewardship because you are not to be my steward any longer."
Then the steward said to himself, "Now that my master is taking the stewardship from me, what am I to do? Dig? I am not strong enough. Go begging? I should be too ashamed. Ah, I know what I will do to make sure that when I am dismissed from office there will be some to welcome me into their homes."

Then he called his master's debtors one by one. To the first he said, "How much do you owe my master?" "One hundred measures of oil" was the reply.
The steward said, "Here, take your bond; sit down straight away and write fifty".
To another he said, "And you, sir, how much do you owe?" "One hundred measures of wheat" was the reply.
The steward said, "Here, take your bond and write eighty".

'The master praised the dishonest steward for his astuteness. For the children of this world are more astute in dealing with their own kind than are the children of light.'

'And so I tell you this: use money, tainted as it is, to win you friends, and thus make sure that when it fails you, they will welcome you into the tents of eternity. The man who can be trusted in little things can be trusted in great; the man who is dishonest in little things will be dishonest in great. If then you cannot be trusted with money, that tainted thing, who will trust you with genuine riches? And if you cannot be trusted with what is not yours, who will give you what is your very own?

'No servant can be the slave of two masters: he will either hate the first and love the second, or treat the first with respect and the second with scorn. You cannot be the slave both of God and of money.'

The Gospel of the Lord            Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

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 Shorter  form

GOSPEL                               

A reading from the Gospel according to Luke     16:10-13
Theme: You cannot be the slave both of God and of money.

Jesus said to his disciples,
"The man who can be trusted in little things can be trusted in great; the man who is dishonest in little things will be dishonest in great. If then you cannot be trusted with money, that tainted thing, who will trust you with genuine riches? And if you cannot be trusted with what is not yours, who will give you what is your very own?

'No servant can be the slave of two masters: he will either hate the first and love the second, or treat the first with respect and the second with scorn. You cannot be the slave both of God and of money.'

The Gospel of the Lord            Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

For homily resources for this Sunday's Gospel click here:  https://www.catholicireland.net/sunday-homily/



Taken from THE JERUSALEM BIBLE, published and copyright 1966,  by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and Doubleday, a division of Random House Inc, and used by permission of the publishers.