The Blessed Virgin Mary ~ Our Lady of Solitude

+ On Holy Saturday, a day when the world is silent with expectation, the Church remembers the sorrow of the Blessed Virgin Mary as she mourned the death of her Son.

+ In honoring Mary as “Our Lady of Solitude,” we recall the overwhelming sorrow of Mary and her own sense of hope and expectation as she awaited the fullness of the promises God had made to the world in life and mission and of Jesus.

For prayer and reflection

“Holy Saturday is the day of silence, lived by the first disciples in mourning and bewilderment, shocked by Jesus’ ignominious death. While the Word is silent, while Life is in the tomb, those who had hoped in him were put to a difficult test, they feel like orphans, perhaps even orphaned by God. This Saturday is also Mary's day: she too lived it in tears, but her heart was full of faith, full of hope, full of love. The Mother of Jesus had followed her Son along the path of sorrows and remained at the foot of the cross, with her soul pierced. But when it all seemed to be over, she kept watch, she kept vigil, in expectation, maintaining her hope in the promise of God who raises the dead.”—Pope Francis

Vocations

To learn about the Poor Clare Nuns of the Monastery of Our Lady of Solitude in Tonopah, Arizona, visit: www.desertnuns.com

Prayer

All-powerful and ever-living God,
your only Son went down among the dead
and rose again in glory.
In your goodness
raise up your faithful people,
buried with him in baptism,
to be one with him
in the eternal life of heaven,
where he lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever. Amen.

(from The Liturgy of the Hours)

Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.