It was in the Tradition of the Church to honor our Lady of sorrows. The devotion to the seven sorrows of Our Lady has its roots in the Bible. When baby Jesus was taken to the church by Mother Mary and St. Joseph,  Simeon said to Mother Mary: “This child will be a sign that will be opposed…..and a sword will pierce your own soul also” (Lk. 2. 34,35). As Mary stood at the foot of the Cross of Jesus, the sword of sorrow which Simeon had foretold did really pierce through her heart. The devotion to Our Lady of Seven Sorrows (dolors) was passed on by St. Bridget (1303- 1373). Pope Pius VII, in 1817 extended this Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows to the universal Church. In 1913, Pope Pius X fixed the date on September 15. The Blessed Virgin Mary grants seven graces to the souls who honor her daily by praying seven Hail Mary’s and meditating on her seven sorrows. The following are the seven swords that pierced her heart.

1. The prophecy of Simeon
2. The flight into Egypt
3. The loss of child Jesus in the temple
4. The meeting of Jesus and Mary on the way of the Cross
5. The Crucifixion
6. The taking down of the Body of Jesus from the Cross
7. The burial of Jesus.

The Lady of Seven Sorrows is the Patron of Slovakia.

As we honor our Mother with this devotion, let us also make up in our lives whatever is lacking in the sufferings of Christ for the good of the Church, which is the Body of Christ (Col.1.24). May all the sufferings of the persecuted Church be united with the sufferings of Jesus and of the sorrows of His Mother in producing fruits of Redemption for many.

Let us pray: ‘Holy Mother, pierce me through in my heart, each wound renew of my Saviour Crucified’.

Mary Pereira

The Church celebrates the Triumph of the Cross on the 14^th of September. It is also called the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. It commemorates the recovery of the Holy Cross by St. Helena.

Cross was a symbol of curse until Jesus died upon the cross. “Christ rescued us from the curse of the Law by becoming cursed himself for our sake, as it is written: There is a curse on everyone who is hanged on a tree” (Gal. 3, 13). Jesus said: “I lay down my life of my own free will” (Jn.10. 18). He willingly gave Himself up for our salvation. “Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed” (Is. 53. 4,5)

‘The cross on which Jesus, the Son of Man, was lifted up has become the symbol of his victory over the power of evil. He made the instrument of humiliation, torture and death the instrument of our redemption’ (The Weekly Missal).  So we proclaim our faith after the Consecration during the Holy Mass: ‘Dying you destroyed our death; rising you restored our life; Lord Jesus, come in glory’

Cross is not a sign of failure but of victory; not a sign of weakness but of strength. In Cross is our salvation. It may be a scandal and folly for unbelievers as St. Paul tells: “The language of the cross remains nonsense for those who are being lost. Yet for us who are being saved, it is the power of God. We proclaim a crucified Messiah…..Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God. In reality, the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength” (1 Cor. 1.18, 23-25).

In General Audience, on 29^th October 2008 Pope Benedict XVI beautifully brought out ‘The Theology of the Cross’. “Centuries after Paul we see that in history it was the Cross that triumphed and not the wisdom that opposed it. The Crucified One is wisdom, for he truly shows who God is, that is, a force of love which went even as far as the Cross to save men and women. God uses ways and means that seem to us at first sight to be merely weakness. The Crucified One reveals on the one hand man’s frailty and on the other, the true power of God that is the free gift of love: this totally gratuitous love is true wisdom”:

Let us rejoice in the Cross of Christ because the death of Christ on the cross brings us to the glory of the resurrection.

WE ADORE YOU O LORD, AND WE PRAISE YOU BECAUSE BY YOUR HOLY CROSS YOU HAVE REDEEMED THE WHOLE WORLD

Mary Pereira

Sorry, this entry is only available in Slovak.

Sorry, this entry is only available in German, Slovak and Lithuanian.

Birthday of our Blessed Virgin Mother

God the Father, from all eternity has chosen Virgin Mary to be the Mother of His Son, when He becomes man. For all the believers in Christ, she is the Mother, for Jesus gave her as His last gift from the Cross. Turning to the disciple whom He loved, He said, this is your Mother’ (Jn.19. 25-27). We, the believers in Christ and who love Jesus accept her into our life as our Mother as John accepted her in his house. The Church celebrates her Nativity today, the 8^th of Sept. Let us rejoice in the birthday of our Heavenly Mother. Our RENEWED LIFE WE LIVE IN CHRIST JESUS be our Birthday Gift to her

Mary Pereira