Our Lady of the Passion, pray for us!

Tomorrow is the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows.

The icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help is known in the Eastern Church as "Our Lady of the Passion," who is clothed in red, symbolizing our Lord's Passion, instead of the blue mantle of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

But in both the instruments of our Lord's Passion are held by the two Archangels in the corner of the icon.

The Child Jesus is looking up to them; his sandal is falling from his feet. The Mother holds Him closely to herself.

And yet she is looking out at us. As if to say, "This is what the 'sword of sorrows' means." She lived the Sorrows long before Jesus was arrested, tortured, and crucified. The First Sorrows are: The Prophecy of Simeon; The Flight into Egypt; the Losing of the Child in the Temple.

And the remaining Sorrows are at the time of the Lord's Passion and Death: His Way of the Cross, His Crucifixion, His Body taken from the Cross and His Burial.

Our Mother of Sorrows accompanies each one of us, her children, in our sorrows. We can be assured of her compassion and assistance. Her solidarity with us, especially at times of grief and loss, is a Mother's love.