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Daily Reflections

Daily Scripture, September 15, 2025

Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows

Scripture:

1 Timothy 2:1-8
John 19:25-27 or
Luke 2:33-35

Reflection:

On one occasion I was invited to preach in the beautiful Rosary Chapel in Lourdes.  A very large group of us were assembled together in pilgrimage, many who were very ill, whom we lovingly referred to as “maladies.”  The others were family members, friends, and the patrons of the pilgrimage, the Knights and Dames of Malta.

It was the feast of the Blessed Mother, Mary Queen of Heaven and Earth.  I naturally thought of her under her other title, as well, Queen of Angels and Saints.  As I prepared this sermon for the Mass, I remembered prior visits to Lourdes with so many who were ill and suffering in so many different ways.  I knew that if I were to preach about Mary as Queen, I would have to also remember when she became our Queen, so beautifully adorned with clothing, robes, a scepter in her hand, and a golden throne upon which she would sit and inspire.

I remembered all the beautiful images of our Blessed Mother, sitting upon her throne, a moment captured by many Italian and Dutch artists, and others as well.  Radiant in her beauty, surrounded by angels and saints, too.  But because I was so aware of all those who would be seated before me in the Rosary Basilica, so many of whom would be in wheelchairs and voitures, as they are called in French, I knew I could hardly invite them to a golden throne, so majestic and beyond earthly experience.  Rather, as a Passionist, I realized that the Lord was asking me to bring all the assembled to a different place, to the first throne of Mary, the mother of Jesus.  And where do we find this very “first throne” of Mary?  At the foot of the Cross.  We see Mary sitting in the dirt, adorned not with silk robes but rather wearing blood-stained garments and her tear-streaked face, all of which came from the unimaginably painful moment when she held in her arms, embraced in her lap, the broken, crucified body of her beloved Son, Jesus, our Crucified Lord.

This is the moment when Mary, simple maiden of Nazareth, became Queen of Heaven and Earth, Queen of Angels and Saints, seated in the mud and dirt of Calvary, at the foot of the Cross.  This is when Mary became our Queen, our very own “blessed” mother.  And, in this moment, as we approach the Cross of Christ, it is her calloused and stained hand that can reach out and hold our own.  She knows our sorrows; she knows our pain.  Not simply as a queen gloriously enthroned in Heaven, but as a beloved mother who embraces us, even as we seek to understand the meaning behind our own crosses and suffering so often encountered in daily life.  Mary, our Sorrowful Mother, holds us, too, in her warm embrace as she leads us to Jesus, her crucified and beloved Son.  It was on Calvary, sharing in the Passion of Christ, that Mary became our Queen, our Mother of Sorrows.  And it is this special mother gifted us by God whom we honor on the special feast of Our Sorrowful Mother.

Fr. Pat Brennan, C.P. is the director of Saint Paul of the Cross Passionist Retreat and Conference Center, Detroit, Michigan.

Daily Scripture, April 27, 2025

Scripture: Acts 5:12-16Revelation 1:9-11a, 12-13, 17-19John 20:19-31 Reflection: For the first few Sundays of Easter, our Gospel readings are accounts of the appearances of the Risen Jesus to His disciples. » Continue Reading.

Daily Scripture, April 26, 2025

Scripture: Acts 4:13-21Mark 16:9-15 Reflection: How easily we judge by appearances according to our own set expectations! The Sanhedrin wouldn’t believe Peter and John’s testimony or the miracles they performed » Continue Reading.

Daily Scripture, April 25, 2025

Scripture: Acts 4:1-12John 21:1-14 Reflection: The gospel stories during these days of Easter are like a tutorial. They help us deepen our understanding of Jesus’ life and ministry. The Risen » Continue Reading.

Daily Scripture, April 24, 2025

Scripture: Acts 3:11-26Luke 24: 35-48 Reflection: The Easter Octave:  “Peace Be With You…” In almost all his Resurrection appearances, Jesus greets his disciples with “peace.”  He seems eager to dispel » Continue Reading.

Daily Scripture, April 23, 2025

Scripture: Acts 3:1-10Luke 24:13-35 Reflection: In scriptural texts, when we read of the ‘days’ of the week my mind goes to the creation narrative. It may never have been the » Continue Reading.

Daily Scripture, April 22, 2025

Scripture: Acts 2:36-41John 20:11-18 Reflection: Most of Jesus’ other disciples had run away, but not Mary Magdalene. She stayed with Him throughout his torture and gruesome death. So, she knew » Continue Reading.

Daily Scripture, April 21, 2025

Scripture: Acts 2:14, 22-23Matthew 28:8-15 Reflection: Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” Some » Continue Reading.

Daily Scripture, April 20, 2025

Easter Sunday of the Lord’s Resurrection Scripture: Acts 10:34a, 37-43Colossians 3:1-4 or 1 Corinthians 5:6b-8John 20:1-9 or Luke 24:1-12 Reflection: Why Do You Seek the Living One Among the Dead? Happy » Continue Reading.

Daily Scripture, April 19, 2025

Holy Saturday Easter Vigil Scripture: Genesis 1:1-2:2Genesis 22:1-18Exodus 14:15-15:1Isaiah 54:5-14Isaiah 55:1-11Baruch 3:9-15, 32-4:4Ezekiel 36:16-17a, 18-28Romans 6:3-11Luke 24:1-12 Reflection: “Then God said” As we celebrate Holy Saturday, it is a day » Continue Reading.

Daily Scripture, April 18, 2025

The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ Scripture: Isaiah 52:13-53:12Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9 John 18:1-19:42 Reflection: Here at our beautiful St. Paul of the Cross Passionist Retreat Center we are privileged » Continue Reading.

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