MSI Press Blog

  Our Lady of Sorrows is a traditional Catholic title for Mary that emphasizes her participation in the suffering of Christ and her own experience of grief. The devotion centers on seven specific sorrows , drawn from Scripture and early Christian tradition, that mark key moments of loss, fear, or anguish in her life. These include Simeon’s prophecy in the Temple, the flight into Egypt, the loss of the child Jesus in Jerusalem, Mary’s encounter with Jesus on the way to Calvary, the Crucifixion, the removal of Jesus’ body from the cross, and his burial. The title developed gradually, gaining formal shape in medieval spirituality and later becoming associated with the Servite Order , which promoted reflection on Mary’s sorrows as a way of understanding compassion, steadfastness, and the cost of love. The feast of Our Lady of Sorrows is observed on September 15 in the Roman Catholic calendar, immediately following the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, underscoring the connect...

  A NEW YEAR “May it be done to me according to your word.” --Luke 1: 38     A new year begins. The transition between the past and the coming year invites reflection. We all look back and then forward. Commentators review the best and worst of everything, attempt to discern trends, and make predictions for the coming year. Will it be a  good or bad year--the best of times or the worst of times? Who really knows? Nevertheless, commentators make their prognostications, sometimes with great confidence. Of course, their opinions vary. Many are diametrically opposed, as if they are looking at different universes. I suspect their imagined futures are really a projection of their own idiosyncratic views of themselves and the world. After all, we see others as we are.  As we begin a new year, of course, we take a personal look at our lives. We look back at our regrets and celebrations. Inevitably, our lives have been a mixed bag. We then look to the next year and enter...