My eldest brother died when he was sixteen years old because of kidney failure. I was four years old then and I remember my mother telling us how painful it was for her to see my brother suffer from illness and eventually die. According to her, when the doctor broke to them the news that my brother was in a terminal condition and that it was too late to perform any treatment, she was devastated. She could not accept the fact that my brother was going to die young. She would cry day and night, asking for God to heal my brother. She was just not ready to let him go. But on his last day, seeing my brother in pain, exhausted and suffering, my mother uttered to God, “Ipinagkakaloob ko na siya sa Iyo” (I surrender him to You) and a few moments later, my brother breathed his last.

I know that those were the hardest and most sorrowful words a mother could express toward God, but it was an utterance of total surrender and trust in the Lord. In those painful words, my mother also expressed her hopes that my brother will surely be in a better place together with his Creator.

Today, we celebrate the memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows. Mary stood at the foot of the cross of Jesus, witnessed and shared in her son’s suffering, crucifixion, and death. Mary experienced deep sorrow seeing the dead body of her son, but she remained a faithful servant of God. She was an epitome of strength who endured every suffering and remained loving until the end.

The Gospel challenges me to see that in every sorrow, we are being comforted by God. In every pain we experience, God himself also shares in our pain. Let us be inspired by the life of Mary, who was obedient to the will of the Father. Like the Blessed Mother, let us stand forever with Jesus amidst trials, sufferings, and sorrows.

By: Sem. Ericson Y. Austria

Today’s Gospel

Jn. 19: 25-27

Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother
and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas,
and Mary Magdalene.
When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved
he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.”
Then he said to the disciple,
“Behold, your mother.”
And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.