Our Lady of Sorrows
Monday of week 24 in Ordinary Time
First reading 1 Timothy 2:1-8
Saint Paul exhorts us to pray for everyone because Christ gave Himself as a ransom for all. His sacrifice was not limited, selective, or partial—it was universal, flowing from the infinite love of God. Prayer, then, is not just a pious act but a participation in this same love. To pray for all people is to echo the heart of Christ who stretched out His arms on the cross for every soul. Paul also reminds us that this prayer must be free of anger and argument; it is not a tool to justify ourselves or condemn others, but a way of interceding in the spirit of Christ’s self-giving. On this memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows, we see in Mary the perfect example of this love: at the foot of the cross, she stood in silent prayer, uniting her own pierced heart to her Son’s sacrifice. Her sorrow was not bitterness but love, offered for all humanity. To stand with Mary is to learn how to let our prayers be shaped by the cross, universal, selfless, and rooted in the love that saves. Let’s reflect: Do I let my prayer flow from the universal love of Christ, free of anger or argument, and, like Mary at the foot of the Cross, intercede with a heart open to all, even in sorrow?
Don Giorgio