It is 15th September 2017. We celebrate the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows. This memorial is the profound appreciation of the Church for the unique and special role played by the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Passion of her only Son Jesus. She is the role model and the example of how to live with suffering by staying by the side of Jesus in humility and in obedience. In the economy of salvation, we cannot ignore the fearless love, unwavering share and the consistent participation in His sufferings that was displayed by our Beloved Mother Mary all through the life of Jesus up until near the Cross of our Lord. She is rightly praised for her deep and silent forbearance of the suffering in her spirit. We too need to imbibe the spirit of our Mother to accompany the Lord and to be near Him when we are trample down by the cruel heat of suffering and pain. May we take all our pain whether it is bodily or spiritual to our Spiritual Mother Mary who will surely intercede for us all as we meditate on the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary such as: The Presentation in the Temple (Lk 2:34-35); The Flight into Egypt (Mt 2:13); The Loss of the Child Jesus for three days (Lk 2:43-45); Meeting of Mary with Jesus on the Way to Calvary (Lk 23:26); Death of Jesus on the Cross (John 19:25); Receiving the Body of Jesus in Her Arms (Mt 27:57); Placing the Body of Jesus in the Tomb (John 19:40). The readings are from 1 Tm 1:1-2, 12-14 and the Gospel from Luke 6:39-42. In the first reading, St. Paul teaches us that Christ is our hope as he himself was sure of his martyrdom was so close to him. Our hope is that to be near Jesus in His abode when we are faced with sufferings and pain. In the responsorial Psalm, we pray, “You are my inheritance, O Lord.” (Ps.15:5). The Gospel addresses the apostles how to lead in the community as a teacher. A noble teacher cannot be blind, ignorant and indifferent to the sufferings of the community. The knowledge of the teacher must come from overcoming personal sufferings, shortcomings and faults. Just mere pointing out the faults of the other without dealing with one’s own suffering would be lacking the effectiveness on the other. May we go through our sufferings and pain before we wish to teach and preach. May you have a good day.

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