Model, Mother and Mediatrix: The Sorrowful Heart of Mary 

The modern world is increasingly rejecting Christ. As well as denying the Incarnate Word  of God, the world would rather not be faced with the truth of Christ’s suffering. Yet suffering is  truly one of the most crucial aspects of our life in Christ. He Himself tells us, “Take up [your]  cross daily and follow Me.” Clearly, we as the Mystical Body of Christ are intended and called to participate in the sufferings of Christ. This takes effort, but we follow in the footsteps of the  perfect example. The Sorrowful Heart of Mary— completely united to God’s merciful will— is  model, mother and mediatrix for the Church in all her sufferings and tribulations.  

Mary’s Sorrowful Heart is our model and guide for sacrifice. From the very beginning  she knew the reality of her Son’s suffering and kept it close to her heart. She was with Jesus  throughout His public ministry and witnessed the people’s rejection of Him on numerous  occasions. She stood by Him in His ultimate agony; she watched as He died on the cross. Her  heart is pierced over and over again. But this heroic sacrifice does not simply apply to her. She  accepted it for us, that “the thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed.” She bore it for us,  that the thoughts of our hearts may be revealed to God. Mary’s suffering was ultimately for our  benefit, both through the deposit of faith and through the perfect example she gave. A caring  Mother, she provides the model that the Church needs, a model of how to unite our sufferings  with those of Our Lord.  

Each one of us needs Mary as our Mother. Pope St. John Paul II said, “She [Mary]  understands sinful man and loves him with a Mother’s love” (Veritatis Splendor, 120). Each one  of us needs our Mother’s love to help us “rediscover the importance of the heart” (Dilexit Nos, 2)  as Pope Francis proclaims in his new encyclical. Although this passage refers to the Sacred Heart  of Jesus, we also need to realize that Mary’s heart is for us the wide-open heart of a Mother.  Mary’s heart— her mind, soul, spirit and entire nature — is completely in union with Jesus’ heart. When we allow her to enfold us in her maternal embrace, we are allowing her to bring us  into closer union with her Son. As Cardinal Newman’s motto has it, Cor ad cor loquitur — Heart speaking to heart. Jesus’ Heart speaking to Mary’s heart; Mary’s heart speaking to ours. The  sorrows of her heart show us how to trust God with the sorrows of our hearts.  

Through all our sacrifices and all the things we suffer, Mary remains our faithful  Mediatrix. For the Church, the unique role of mediatrix means two things. First, Mary intercedes  for us to obtain grace and mercy. Second, she magnifies our prayers and sacrifices, purifying  them to offer to God. According to Pope St. John Paul II, “Mary experiences…the richness and universality of God’s love, which opens her heart and enables it to embrace the entire human  race…Mary becomes…the Mother who obtains for us divine mercy” (Veritatis Splendor, 120).  Our Mother is tireless in her intercession for us. Her sorrowful heart, especially, sees the sorrow  of the Church and entreats God for the comfort and mercy we desperately need. We have a “most  gracious advocate,” because in addition to interceding on our behalf, Mary lovingly receives our  prayers, works and sacrifices, magnifies them and gives them to God. Her soul “magnifies the  Lord” in more ways than one. In fact, Mary glorifies the Lord every time we offer our feeble  efforts through her. She faithfully perfects them and gives them to God.  

In all aspects of life, Mary’s sorrowful heart watches over the Church. She is the  Church’s model, its Mother and its mediatrix. Standing close to her Son through every  tribulation, she shows us the way of perfection, which is the way of the Cross. Showing us the  way of perfection, she draws us nearer to unity with God, which is the goal of life. Drawing us  nearer to God, she does not cease to intercede for the mercy we cannot do without. Despite the  world’s rejection of Christ, Mary will never deny Him. Neither will she ever desert us. Let us  learn from our Mother; let us, in our sorrow and stress, stand with her whose sorrowful heart  stands for us.