I’ve always known Mary as the Mother of God. I’ve loved her as Queen of Heaven and admired her “yes” at the Annunciation.
But it wasn’t until I stood in front of a statue of her in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher—wrecked, silent, and hollow-eyed—that I understood her as a companion in sorrow.
That moment stayed with me.
Those Who Mourn, a magazine dedicated to grief and spiritual reflection, recently published a piece I wrote about that moment—and about how Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows, can accompany us in grief.
Our Lady of Sorrows: A Ministry of Presence
Mary is known by a lot of titles–Queen of Heaven, Star of the Sea, Mother of God. But the one that has meant the most to me in the seasons of my own sorrow is this one: Our Lady of Sorrows.
Because she gets it.
She knows what it's like to ache for someone you love. She's held a suffering child in her arms. She's waited in uncertainty. She's stood by while people she loved were misunderstood, mistreated, crucified–literally. She has stood in the space between hope and heartbreak–and not run from it.
She has stayed.
