Sorrows

I am sorrowful even unto death, just trying to understand the terrible sorrow of Our Blessed Lord…

Man of Sorrows (William Dyce)

I recently saw a beautiful artwork of Christ who was called a “Man of Sorrows”.

And I have not been able to get the image out of my head.  I have spent many hours – during the course of my life – reflecting on the sorrows of the Blessed Virgin.  I have spent many ours – during the course of my life – reflecting on the suffering of Our Blessed Lord.  But I have spent almost no time at all reflecting on the sorrows of the Son of Man.

And there is a big difference between suffering and sorrow.  Suffering is an experience.  A person who suffers is undertaking a journey – so to speak.  When we suffer, whether the suffering is physical, emotional, financial or spiritual, that suffering is an experience that we live through, and that experience is an opportunity for us – as fallible and sinful human souls – to redeem ourselves for some of our sins.

So, when I get sick or experience discomfort, that is God’s way of loving me – of allowing me to atone for my sins and to shorten my time in Purgatory or increase my opportunity to reach Heaven.  And that is something that I have spent time reflecting on because Christ is God and He had no need to atone for any sins – as He was sinless.  And therefore, His suffering was not only unnecessary, but lovingly and completely accepted for my sake…  And this has caused me to reflect on that suffering over the years – because I see it as such a miraculous act of Love to subject Oneself to a punishment that is completely and utterly deserving of another and not the victim of the suffering.

But there is more to it than that.  After all, Christ was sorrowful.  Now, sorrow, though it causes suffering, is something a little different.  Sorrow is not an experience – a journey to walk, so to speak – sorrow is a feeling.  When Christ was sorrowful, He was feeling the terrible sadness of God Himself.  He was experiencing the sense of loss for God when His perfect creation was destroyed in a moment of weakness through sin.  He was experiencing the sadness of a Father who has lost a child.  He was feeling the grief of losing so many of us to Hell when He had crafted us so perfectly for Eternal Life.

Every single soul lost to Hell grieves the Father.  Every single soul lost to Hell is the greatest tragedy that with world has ever known.  Because the Father created all of us with Love.  And He created all of us so that we would be able to be with Him – not because He needed us, but because we need Him…

And when we do things to remove ourselves from that beauty, when we decide to leave our God, that is when we cause Him sorrow.  And today – as I reflect on that, I am sorrowful even unto death, just trying to understand the terrible sorrow of Our Blessed Lord…

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.