Compassion for Our Lady of Sorrows

An excerpt from The School of Jesus Crucified by Fr Ignatius of the Side of Jesus, a Passionist who was instrumental in the restoration of Catholic England in the 19th century.

From One Peter Five

By Fr Ignatius of the Side of Jesus (1801-1844)

An excerpt from The School of Jesus Crucified.

Mary on Mount Calvary before the death of her Son.

Meditation.

1. Her sufferings in the Crucifixion of her Son.

Never has any mother or pure creature suffered a more painful martyrdom than that endured by Mary in beholding her most beloved Son barbarously crucified under her very eyes. Full of faith, and overflowing with generous love for Jesus, she had hastened to Calvary, in order to be at once a witness, companion, and partaker of His painful and ignominious Passion; and now, when she beholds Him in the hands of His merciless executioners, who are violently tearing off His clothes, and thus re-opening all His wounds — now, when she beholds Him, His sacred Body lacerated and bleeding, lie down upon the hard bed of the Cross, what must be the anguish of her tender and loving heart? What a sword of grief must have pierced her most holy soul, on beholding her Son in a state so worthy of compassion, yet receiving nought but insults, outrages, and cruelty, and become an object of horror and malediction to the people who surround Him! Mother of sorrows I compassionate thy most afflicted heart, and beg of thee to allow me to share its anguish.

The sufferings of Mary exceed all measure, when Jesus being stretched upon the Cross, His barbarous executioners proceed to pierce His hands and feet with large nails, and then to raise Him on high in the sight of all, suspended on that tree of suffering. What a sight for a Mother — and for the Mother of such a Son! How great and how deep must have been her interior anguish! If we, who have not the faith, the love, nor the heart of Mary, yet feel overcome with sorrow and compassion, when we only reflect upon the Crucifixion of Jesus, what must have been the feelings of Mary, who saw it all with her own eyes — of Mary, whose faith and love for Jesus were so strong and burning? And yet, her noble heart remains unmoved, calm, and resigned to the Divine will, even amidst these excessive trials. Learn from Mary to bear with resignation the sufferings of this life. An extraordinary grace comforts and supports her, lest she should expire beneath the weight of so much affliction. Compassionate this most sorrowful Mother, to whose sufferings you have greatly contributed by so frequently crucifying her innocent Son Jesus by your sins.

2. Her grief at the sufferings of her Son.

Mary, being permitted to do so, draws nigh to the Cross on which her beloved Son is hanging in agony, that she may assist at the last moments of His life. She stands beneath the Cross, deeply immersed in the consideration of the Wounds and sufferings of her Divine Son. Her eyes are fixed upon Him, and each time she looks upon His dying countenance, upon His suffering face, upon His agonizing Body, the sword of grief anew wounds, pierces, and rends her heart; yet she sheds not a tear. She listens to the last words of Jesus, she sees Him painfully breathe forth His last sighs, her eyes meet His last loving glances; and who shall say what feelings overwhelm the heart of this afflicted Mother, during the last agony of her beloved Son? She would fain afford some relief to her dying Jesus, wipe His Divine face, support His tortured head, or alleviate His sufferings in some degree; but nothing of the kind is allowed her; she is only permitted to taste of the whole bitterness of His chalice, and by her sufferings to augment those of her Son. O what heroic fortitude does not Mary display amidst so much agony! But, oh, what a martyrdom does not her maternal heart endure during those hours of anguish, when, standing at the foot of the Cross, she gathers up in it the last drops of precious Blood shed by her expiring Jesus!

O true martyr! or, rather, more than martyr! O Queen of Dolours! if we would understand in any degree how much thou didst suffer in the agonies of Jesus, or fathom the depth of that sea of sorrow which overwhelmed thee, it would be necessary for us to have a heart as loving, as deeply enamoured of Jesus, as thine. Give it unto me, O sweet Mother, and engrave on it the Wounds of Jesus Crucified, and thy bitter sufferings, that so, both the one and the other may ever be the dearest objects of my love and compassion.

3. Her sufferings on account of the thirst of her Son on the Cross.

Beneath the altar of the Cross, on which, through His exceeding great charity, Jesus is offering the painful sacrifice of His life, Mary stands offering also the dolorous sacrifice of her anguish-stricken heart. Numerous as the Wounds inflicted by the nails which pierce the hands and feet of Jesus, and by the thorns which encircle His head, and all the wounds which cover His whole body, so numerous are those formed in the virginal heart of Mary, which participates, in a manner peculiar to itself, in all the sufferings of her Son; with Him is wounded, lacerated, and tortured, and with Him agonizes and languishes for three entire hours on the Cross. In the height of her desolation, she hears our dying Redeemer raise His voice, and exclaim, “Sitio!” — I thirst! What tongue can express the thousand conflicting emotions which fill the bleeding heart of Mary at this moment? Love, compassion, tenderness, amazement, desire of administering this last comfort to her dying, Crucified Son, agitate her heart, so as to increase her anguish.

“Ah, my Son!” exclaims Mary, “could I but quench Thy thirst with my tears! But even this comfort is denied me. Will the poor alleviation of a drop of water be refused to a God-man, dying amid such unspeakable sufferings, and must I, His sorrowing Mother, be forced to witness all His agony, and the barbarity of His enemies?” Distracted with thoughts such as these, the heart of the afflicted Mother is overwhelmed with the waves of a sea of sorrow. Hard indeed must that heart be which is not touched and moved to tears of compassion at the thought of the martyrdom which Mary endures, and the agonies of which are immeasurably increased, when she beholds the perfidious Jews put the finishing stroke to their inhumanity and cruelty by offering our Redeemer in His thirst the refreshment of vinegar. It would be necessary for us to know all the tenderness, perfection, and burning love of the heart of such a Mother to understand the anguish she endures on beholding her dear Son deprived in His dying hour of even the wretched refreshment of a drop of water to relieve His thirst. Are you desirous of consoling Mary? Weep with tears of sincere repentance over your sins, which deluged the loving Heart of Jesus with an ocean of bitterness. Have a tender and compassionate remembrance of the sufferings of this most afflicted Mother, and never more renew them by those sins with which you have so often wounded her maternal heart.

The Fruit.

Be not satisfied with a mere sterile and unfruitful compassion for Mary, the Queen of Dolours, but seek to participate in her sufferings by loving and imitating her. The blessed Virgin endured a long and cruel martyrdom in her heart for our sakes, and for love of us. Frequently, and with feelings of tender love, contemplate her standing at the foot of the Cross, and join her in bewailing and weeping over sin, which, by causing the death of Jesus, rent in twain the heart of Mary. Pledge your heart to this Mother of sorrows, by some habitual act of devotion and mortification, in remembrance and in honour of her bitter sufferings. Also, endure something for love of her, imitating her patience, resignation, and silence.

Example.

St. Camillus de Lellis, who had the greatest devotion during life to the Passion of Jesus and the sorrows of Mary, was desirous that in his last agony these two great objects of his devotion should be constantly before his eyes. He caused to be painted a beautiful picture representing Christ Crucified shedding Blood from His five Wounds, the blessed Virgin standing at the foot of the Cross praying for himself, and by her whole countenance and demeanour expressing the excess of her interior anguish, and himself kneeling on the ground pronouncing these words : “Parce famulo tuo quem pretiosq sanguine redemisti” — Spare Thy servant whom Thou hast redeemed by Thy precious Blood. With his eyes, and still more with his heart, fixed on the contemplation of Jesus dying upon a Cross, and of Mary suffering at its foot, he sweetly breathed forth his soul into the hands of his Redeemer. Every Christian ought to form in his own heart a similar devout image, in order always to have a lively remembrance of the Passion of his Lord, and of the sorrows of Mary His dear Mother, if he is desirous of dying with so sweet a security of eternal happiness (See Life of St. Camillus).