PODCAST | Seven Lessons About Love: The Seven Sorrows of Mary
In this meditation, we invite you to pray alongside Msgr. Martin Schlag and, following the advice of St. Josemaria, repeat his heartfelt petitions to Mary under the invocation of Our Lady of Sorrows.
By contemplating Mary’s heart, we can learn to:
- let God strengthen my faith when I find myself at the foot of the Cross;
- pronounce a ‘fiat’ to God when He is asking something of me that’s not what I want;
- stand loyally by the side of Christ when I feel lonely, abandoned, or just plain tired.
Speaking about the heart of Mary, Msgr. Schlag leads us in meditation on Scripture, through a personal examination, and into contemplation by speaking directly to our Blessed Mother.
He explains: “The sword pierces a heart that loves Jesus, and in Jesus, loves all of us. So, Saint Josemaria goes so far as to connect Mary’s sorrow with these words of Jesus: “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”
Mary’s suffering is not pointless or sterile. She suffers with Christ and for souls—for us—and is united with the redemptive love of her Son.
PAUSE & REFLECT:
- How do I receive suffering? Am I afraid of pain?
- What barriers in my life prevent me from accepting the cross with faith?
- How can my suffering lead me into to a deeper love of God?
Cover Art: Mater Dolorosa Bartolomé Estebán Murillo (Spanish, 1617-1682)
Msgr. Martin Schlag
Msgr. Martin Schlag holds the Alan W. Moss endowed chair for Catholic Social Thought of the John A. Ryan Institute in the Center for Catholic Studies at the University of St. Thomas (Minnesota), where he is full professor with dual appointment in the department of Catholic Studies and the Opus College of Business. He is also director of the Program for Church Management at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome. Born in New York, raised in England and Austria, Msgr. Schlag has authored more than 80 publications, among them: (together with Domènec Melé) Humanism in Economics and Business: Perspectives of the Catholic Social Tradition, The Handbook of Catholic Social Teaching: A Guide for Christians in the World Today, and The Business Francis Means: Understanding the Pope’s Message on the Economy.
