Catholic Meditations

No day like this, ever.

Did you sit there, Mother,
When they laid Him in your lap
And remember the angel with his words of promise,
And remember the words of Simeon with his words of warning,
And remember your Son nestled in your lap,
Small and warm and new,
Smiling in the sun?

As you brushed the blood soaked hair off His forehead,
And washed his face, one last time,
Counting every bruise, mark, wound,
Did you think of all the times of danger,
Fleeing with Him next to your breast
On the road to Egypt?
Or how the villagers in Nazareth
Tried to cast Him off a cliff,
All those other moments where his very presence
Showed that He was, indeed,
A sign of contention,
A sign of contradiction?

One last kiss,
One last giving of your yes to the Father
As you embraced fully the sword buried in your heart
As they buried your heart in the tomb
For the long midnight ahead.

Susan E. Stone, 2007

Labels: Mary, Mother of Sorrows, Passion of Christ

Theotokos, Mother of God,
You who knew the blessedness of living with Him,
Our Light, our Peace, our Salvation
Theotokos, O Mother of Sorrows,
You who knew the darkness of watching Him die
Scorned, abused, in pain and misery.

Theotokos, O Mother of Tears,
thank you for saying yes
when Simeon told you
how the sword would pierce your heart,
Theotokos, O Mother of our Hope,
thank you for saying yes
when it was time to flee to Egypt,
Theotokos, O Mother most faithful,
for saying yes, and knowing how it feels
to lose the light of your Son,
as you searched for Him, three days, finding Him in the temple.
Theotokos, O Mother acquainted with grief,
for saying yes
when seeing your son
burdened, falling, beaten, bleeding, on the way to Golgotha.
Theotokos, O Mother of Martyrs,
for saying yes
as you waited with him at the foot of the cross,
Theotokos, O Mother most bereft,
thank you for saying yes
when you held his cold and bloodstained body,
Theotokos, O Mother whose heart felt the full length of the sword,
thank you for saying yes
as you left the tomb as its stone rolled into place.

Theotokos, Mother Most Afflicted,
O Mother of my Lord, who knows the depths of sorrow,
Help me, by remembering your grief,
your Yes,
to come closer to your Son, each and every day.

O Mater Dolorosa,
Pray for us now, and the hour of our deaths, Amen.

Susan E. Stone, 2007

Labels: Mary, Mother of Sorrows, Passion of Christ

The hours pass too slowly
while you stand and watch , O Lady of Tears,
The pain and agony of death
His misery, the struggle for breath,
Giving up so slowly the death that nears
This moment so painful, so holy.

The hours pass too fast
while you stand and watch, O Lady of Tears,
Seeing the child you bore soon to be gone
Leaving you behind to live on with John
Ahead the long stretch of years
Until you breathe your last.

So much to give, O Mother of Tears,
So deep your heart, with its hopes and fears
Centered on giving God your all.
When I stumble, when I fall,
Remind me of that long hard day.
When my heart begins to stray,
Pray that I hear my Savior's call.

Susan E. Stone, 2007

Labels: Mary, Mother of Sorrows, Passion of Christ

Hail, Full of Grace,
O Mother of Consolation,
You who always said yes to the Father,
You who know the depths of sorrow of the human heart,
Pray for us as we call,
lost in our tears and our miseries,
lost in our darkness,
blinded by our pain,
tormented by what we have done
or what was done to us.

Lady of Tears,
In our sorrows, we turn to you, dear Lady,
You have measured the very depths of grief and loss,
There at the foot of your son's cross,
There, the dark moment you became our mother,
you, who in your mercy,
has never left anyone unaided,
but hears our prayers,
reaches out to calm our fears,
helps us in our struggle to get back to that place
where we can do whatever He tells us to,
thank you for being our mother.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,
Pray for us now and at the hour of our deaths, Amen.


Susan E. Stone, 2007

Labels: Help, Mary, Mother of Consolation, Mother of Sorrows

Do you walk across the shards and rubble, O Mary my mother,
Seeing the dark that man will do in the Father's name,
Listening to the grieving voices adding heat to the flame
That seems to be a never ending pyre of hate for one another,
And shed tears for all those who will not listen to your Son,
And shed tears for those who die, one by one,
Cain's endless slaughter of his brother?

Holy Mother of God, Immaculate and true
You who listen to our cries and pleas of desperation
You who work to aid in the darkest situation,
You, whose heart reaches out endlessly anew,
Forgive us for the tears we in our anger have caused,
May your prayers lead us, our anger paused,
To that place your Son will show us what to do.

Susan E. Stone, 2006

Labels: Mary, Mother of Sorrows, Need for God

In your tears, O grieving Mother,
What a world of sorrow shimmers,
While the rot of hate now simmers
As they vie with one another
To add shame to the weight he bears.

In your tears, O grieving Mother,
Echoes all the weight of sin
Pain and anguish entered in
Since Eva listened to another
And the world grew rife with tares.

In your tears, O grieving Mother,
Witness to a great God's gift
Of how he chose to heal the rift
Sacrificing for all others
Lamb of God, the cross now bears.

In your tears, O grieving Mother
I see the sorrow veil your face
As you penetrate that place
Your greatest yes to give the Father,
The pain of your son's death you bear.

Let me grieve with you, my Mother,
As you sit in sorrow deep,
God pierce my heart that I might weep
For the sins of self and brother
That lead you to such pain and care.

Susan E. Stone, 2006

Labels: Mary, Mother of Sorrows

O Mother of Sorrows, well acquainted with tears,
Who knows what a grief it is when one soul dies
because of the violence of another,
to thee we cry, O Mother of mercy,
who feels the sorrow of the loss when one life is twisted
for the gain of another,
when the word that leads a soul to sin
is spoken by another,
when one life is taken in expdiency for the comfort of another.

To Thee to we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping,
O Mater Dolorosa,
You who stood at the foot of the cross
and watched what your Son was willing to suffer
for each of these hurt and broken and cast-off lives,
lives betrayed,
lives wrecke by the wages of sin.

O Sorrowful Mother, Help of Christians,
Teach us to join our tears with yours,
here at the foot of the cross,
our heartache with yours,
our compassion and our prayers with yours,
learning as you taught, "to do whatever He tells you to,"
to say with you, "Be it done to me according to Your word,"
until we may learn to see the world as your Son would have us see it,
to see each soul as a child of the Father,
to become the tool in His hand open to the call of mercy.
and may we spread his message by our lives, ours hearts, and our lips,
for the glory of His name.

O Mother of the Word Incarnate,
Pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our deaths, Amen.

Susan E. Stone, 2006

Labels: Help, Mary, Mother of Sorrows, Passion of Christ

The grieving mother stands beside
A blood-stained cross of wood
Where hangs her one and only son,
So innocent and good,
O see the tears that touch her cheek,
Each one a shining jewel,
Witness to to the cost of sin,
So heavy, dark and cruel.

Her son was given as a gift
to heal this world of woe,
And she was warned of sorrow's sword
so many years ago.
O see the tears that touch her cheek,
Each one a shining jewel,
Witness to to the cost of sin,
So heavy, dark and cruel.

She feels the blade pass in her heart
much sharper than her fears,
But what she has, she offers up,
Her joy, her love, her tears.
O see the tears that touch her cheek,
Each one a shining jewel,
Witness to to the cost of sin,
So heavy, dark and cruel.

O grieving mother, wondrous Son,
O pain and agony,
All suffered there in willing love
To set our spirits free.
O see the tears that touch her cheek,
Each one a shining jewel
Witness to the cost of sin,
So heavy, dark and cruel.

O Mother, let me stand with you
beneath my Master's cross,
And witness what my Lord has done
Through suffering and loss.
O may my eyes well up with tears,
at what my Lord has wrought,
in grief, and joy, and endless thanks
for what his blood has bought.

Susan E. Stone, 2006

Labels: Mary, Mother of Sorrows, Passion of Christ

O Lady of Sorrow,
Mother of Consolation,
let me sit with you here
at the foot of the cross,
watching what your son
was so willing to give,
a gift of fathomless generosity,
drop by blood drop,
breath by breath,
minute by minute.

O Lady of Sorrow,
so often,
how I long to scream,
to rant,
to act on my anger
when given my cross,
yet help me, Mary,
to bear, like you,
the griefs,
the hurts,
the depth of pain,
as part of the sacrifice,
saying Yes to God,
and joining your Son's prayer,
Not my will, but God's.

O Mother of Sorrow,
Lady of Consolation,
bring me here to weep
when the moments are dark,
and what is real and lasting
gets confused
with the passing, temporary,
and I need to know what is true,
and what counts,
and what matters.
And what matters is this,
the look in my Savior's eyes,
as he gives all,
and asks me to give all,
good, bad, indifferent,
and waits for me
to let him transform me.

O Blessed Mother,
pray that I
will always have the strength
to meet those eyes
and say Yes.

Amen.

Susan E. Stone, 2004

Labels: Mary, Mother of Sorrows, Passion of Christ, Penitence

O Mother of Sorrows,
how often I come here and kneel at your feet,
and see those sorrow-filled eyes
staring up
at the suffering and battered
face of your son,
and still,
you are able to take my hand,
and give it that little squeeze
that says, Have courage.

O Mother of Sorrows,
How often I come here,
and weep all my misery out on your shoulder,
filled with guilt and grief and remorse,
knowing full well the burden
that I have laid on your blessed Son's back,
and still you hold me close,
and comfort me.

O Mother of Sorrows,
How often I have come here,
wanting to comfort you
in your sorrow and your loss,
and found myself overcome with remorse and sadness
over what your son
chose to do that I might live,
and find myself comforted by the one I longed to aid.

O Mother of the Word Incarnate,
Thank you for despising not my petions,
but in your mercy,
hearing and answering me.


Amen.


Susan E. Stone, 2004

Labels: Mary, Mother of Sorrows, Passion of Christ, Penitence

Did those who stood by you that awful day
tell you not to look,
O Lady of Sorrows,
As he was thrown to the ground,
naked, battered, bloody,
stretched out upon that dreadful crossbeam?
Did you cling to the Magdalene, O Sorrowful Mother,
as the Roman guards,
methodical and professional,
put those large square nails against his wrists,
hit hammer against nail?

Could anything prepare you
for the cries
ripped from his throat
as they finished their task?

Susan E. Stone © 2003

Labels: Mary, Mother of Sorrows, Passion of Christ