Rejoice, O sorrowful Mother; after your great sufferings, you shine forth as Queen, enthroned beside your Son. — Gospel Antiphon, Morning Prayer
Reading the above this morning I was struck by both the beauty, the pain and the hope so firmly shown forth in today’s feast. Compare, contrast, and consider this image:
and this image:
It is impossible, indeed incoherent, to meditate on either of the above images without simultaneously holding in tension the other. Our Lady’s great sorrows were not the end, no was her glorious coronation given without her first suffering greatly. They are entirely different, yet completely the same. May we have the strength to endure life’s sorrows knowing that the end of our fidelity is glory in Heaven through the merciful love of her Son our Savior. Ave Maria…
