The Cross and Our Lady

Virgin of the Seven Sorrows

Mother of God
'Mother of God, He broke thy heart
That it might wider be,
That in the vastness of its love
There might be room for me.'
-Father Faber

In the Spring, we enter the excruciating drama of passion week, but in the Fall we remember the triumph of those salvific events with the feast of the Triumph of the Cross on September 14th and of Our Lady of Sorrows on September 15th. 

How our Blessed Lady stood by the Cross of Jesus
"Woman, behold thy son," said Christ,
And He gave her to St. John;
And, "Son, behold thy mother," said He,
And she saw the span of her life to be
When He was dead and gone.

For He gave her not to John alone,
And Mary knew His mind,
And the whole world that caused His smart
She took straight to her martyred heart,
The Mother of mankind.
-Helen Parry Eden

Gabriel Wüger (1829–1892)

​Sorrowful Mother
Her face,
Still damp with tears,
As was the earth,
Was turned away
At the last breath of agony.

She saw the shadows move
And heard the sigh
As all creation 
Waited for its doom.

"Come away,"
The gentle of John had begged.

But the shadow of the cross
And hers were one.
She could not leave.

Others would be coming now
To fill the place of those
Who go away.

Her shadow is
Still beneath the cross.
​-Anonymous

Mother of Sorrows
"Mary, why am I called to be
Burdened by such sore misery?
What evil have I done?"
"My child, I knew no stain of sin
Yet seven swords were buried in 
My bosom, one by one."

"Mary, I watch with tear-dimmed eyes,
And see but sorrow's mournful guise;
What good this suffering?"
"My child, I stood on Calvary's hill
And watched a blood-crazed rabble kill
My gentle Son, their King."

"Mary, the fires of anger burn
Within my heart, and I would spurn
The cross that bears me down."
"Child, child, have faith; this is the test,
In meekness learn God's will is best,
And thou shalt have a crown."
-Frances M. Miller

Absolon Stumme (–1510) ​