Our Lady of Sorrows Reflection

Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows; a day to think about all the Mother of Jesus suffered while on earth. This, coupled with the 10 week retreat, "Consoling the Heart of Jesus", I am presently  participating in, has got me thinking....

A few years ago ,while with a group of friends, my (then) 18 year old son was in a bad skateboarding accident The friends immediately sought medical care and took him to a hospital. His accident included a severe concussion/mild head injury also requiring head sutures and an operation to fix a shattered collar bone needing 6 screws to put it back together. All in all we were very thankful that his injuries weren't worse, especially since what they were doing was extremely risky, reckless, and illegal. In the days immediately following the accident, my son rested at home. None of his "friends" called or came by to see him. I noticed my son feeling neglected by them, forgotten, and uncared about. I felt so sad for him as I could see the loneliness in his eyes and that he felt in his heart that he could so easily be pushed aside. By about the third day I was able to get in touch with one guy and asked  him why they were not checking up on my son. "We were all so scared  you'd be mad at us that we were afraid to come by", was the response I received. I assured him we weren't mad, and truly we weren't. Within an hour a small group had gathered at our house, lifting my son's spirits and offering him consolation. I breathed a sigh of relief mixed with joy, my son was not forgotten.....

It never occurred to me before, but perhaps that was a very small share in the type of sorrow Mary experienced at the foot of the cross. All but one of Jesus' apostles abandoned him in his time of greatest suffering. Did Mary, as she stayed with him the whole time, look around and wonder where all his "friends" were? Why were they not giving him comfort and support? Did her heart ache as she saw her son look down upon the crowd and realize only one of his closest friends had stayed with him? Oh, how a mother's heart weeps when her children are hurting! Instead of standing by Jesus, the apostles hid. Were they afraid to be near his mother? Were they afraid she might rebuke them and say, "How could you let them take him? Why didn't you defend his teachings and works?"

Mary was indeed grieved to stand at the foot of the cross and watch her son suffer, but I"m sure she felt worse only having the arms of one beloved apostle there to hold her up. However, she understands what fear does to people; how we are weak in our humanness and lack fortitude. She didn't leave that dark Friday to go find the men and chew- them- out for abandoning her son. No, she stayed with them, prayed with them, and no doubt soothed their heavy hearts with words of comfort that were balm for their deep sorrowful souls; souls full of cowardice to the point of denying the man they knew was the Savior. She gently and purposely stayed near to her son's friends until he breathed the Holy Spirit, her spouse, into their souls.

It is the same for us in our sinfulness. We are shameful and turn away from Jesus. Instead of running to the Blessed Mother and asking her to help us have the courage to go to Confession, we hide and pretend we aren't stepping away from the cross and casting our gaze upon other "things" of this world. But the Blessed Mother is always there, waiting for us, to hold our hand and gently lead us back to our Lord. She will stand by us and present us to God as one of His own. She speaks on our behalf and never leaves us, as long as we welcome her.

So today, as we honor the Blessed Mother under the title: Our Lady of Sorrows, let's stand at the foot of the cross and tell Jesus we will "Be the One" to give him consolation. We will stand with the one chosen to be his Mother by our side and  we should never fear so much to run because we know she's got us wrapped in her mantle and she will only take us in one direction, toward her Son!

Mid-Summer Daybook

Outside my window...

Our backyard is shaping up. We are in the process of building an extended covered patio roof. I should say, Mike is in the process and I just told him my desires for it. He's good at following through with my requests but is frustrated that he can only work on the project in small increments of time before life calls him back to other obligations.

I am wearing....

My exercise shorts, dry-weave top, & running shoes. I will have an hour of time this morning to wait between picking up kids and driving them on to the next activity. I want to be ready to use that time wisely!

I am grateful for....

This life I've been gifted....a secure marriage to a holy man, beautiful children, friends I can grow in faith with, a comfortable house, and the financial means to make homemaking a priority in building up the domestic church.

I am pondering....

Marian Consecration. I re-consecrated with a group from St. Edwards last Wednesday. I was privileged to once again facilitate the group. It is such a spiritual gift in my life because every time  a new group forms, I am in such need of renewal and I am never disappointed by the end of the 6- weeks.  It is a joy to be able to spiritually refresh and even better to watch the incredible transformations that happen to those in the group, many of whom begin with alot of trepidation and timidity. I feel like a mother hen watching them spread their wings and take off. This has been a treasure in my life and I am so blessed to be a part of this devotion on the parish level. Here is the program we use: 33 Days to Morning Glory .

I am praying for....

My sister's family is going through a big transition and even though it will be good for them, it is bringing alot of stress. I am saying a novena to  Our Lady of Good Remedy for them.

I am praying for my children, especially those that are young adults, I place them under the Blessed Mother's mantle. She knows what they need and can "mother" them with more influence than I.

A few friends have asked for prayers for broken-ness in their immediate and extended families. The devil loves to destroy families and so much healing is needed in this area.

I am reading...

I am always reading a few books at the same time. I've been working on "The Little Oratory" by Clayton and Lawler summer series here at Summer in the Little Oratory along with Elizabeth's blog . More on how that is changing our home later. I just finished the "33 Days to Morning Glory" retreat book as I talked about above. Also, just finished "The Shadow of His Wings" by Fr. Gereon Goldmann, which was an inspiring account of a priest's life while being part of the German army during WWII. If you don't believe in divine intervention, you will after reading his story! I am about to start " The Everyday Catholics Guide to the Liturgy of the Hours" by Daria Sockey. You can probaby figure where I hope to go with this read.....

I am learning.....

How to play the piano!! Taking lessons once a week with Andrew has been a treat. I am progressing, slower than he is, but I am still improving bits at a time and I love that I can sit at our baby grand and actually play a tune. I also learned to crochet last summer. It's been nice having something creative to do at the times when there is idle "sitting time" which seems to happen most at swim meets, long car rides, and doctor appointments. I am more than half way done a shawl, which is the first project I've worked on that isn't lopsided! I am also learning to keep my  mouth shut. This handy skill has helped keep peace when certain people who live with me are feeling grumpy or rebellious and whether consciously or unconsciously try to get me to play that game....

For better health....

"Don't be obsessed with the number on the scale", perhaps you've heard this before. Well, I've always been maybe not obsessed, but aware of that number. I decided after the holidays to stop weighing myself weekly and just eat healthy, exercise, and judge my eating habits by how my clothes fit. Epic Fail!! So, I didn't exercise regularly, ate whatever I felt like, and felt my clothes get tighter. At my annual doctor's appointment last week I had gained 8 lbs since the year before. So, I am back to eating healthy-- which means green smoothies for breakfast, juicing veggies, limiting breads, smaller dinner portions, adding in regular exercise, and weighing myself. So while I can fool myself into thinking the second bowl of ice cream won't hurt, or 2 days of exercise is just as good as 4, the scale doesn't lie, especially not in middle-age.

The week ahead...

 Lots of appointments to take care of: vet, 4 dentist visits, piano, parent volunteer obligation, Daddy-daughter dance, squeezing in a morning visit to a friend's house and then the end of the week is......

I am looking forward to.....

The Edel Gathering !!!! This Fri-Sun I will be in Austin enjoying a Catholic Mom's getaway weekend. I will be traveling with some friends, making (hopefully) lots of new friends, and just having a blast! This has been months in planning and it hasn't hit me yet that it is just days away!