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3 Ways the Word Was Made Flesh

Turning to Mary for Comfort

by Sarah Reinhard in Faith on Monday, January 25, 2010 6:00 AM

(The Feast of Our Lady of Tears is January 24)

Mary comes to me, so often, just as I need her.  Sometimes she offers me peace in the midst of my crisis of the moment, from sudden deaths in the family to terrifying trips to Children’s Hospital.  At other times, she’s the smile I find among the “prizes” in my laundry basket (including rocks, dripping sippy cups, and dog toys) and the strength to just do the unexpected project that must trump everything else, even grieving.

When I turn to Mary as Our Lady of Tears, I find an opportunity to turn my tears – whether they’re tears from grief or frustration – into prayer.

Tears into Prayer

The story of Our Lady of Tears is set in Campinas, Brazil.  On November 8, 1929, a male relative visited Sister Amalia, of the Institute of the Missionaries of the Scourged Jesus.  He told her of his wife, who was seriously ill and had been diagnosed as incurable by several doctors.

He didn’t know where to turn or what to do.  What did God expect of him?  His children would be motherless, and he was beside himself with grief at the thought of being without his wife.

Sister Amalia didn’t waste any time taking her empathetic pains straight to Jesus.  After her relative left, she went straight to the chapel and knelt in front of the altar with her arms held out to the tabernacle.  She offered her life to Jesus in exchange for that of the young mother.

Jesus heard and He answered her: “If you want to receive these favors, ask me for the sake of My Mother’s tears.”  Jesus continued with specific prayers for Sister Amalia to use.

Four months later, on March 8, Sister Amalia was praying in the chapel.  A beautiful woman approached her, and she felt herself lifted.  The woman was wearing a violet robe and a blue mantle, with a white veil over her shoulders.  This woman approached Sister Amalia, holding a “corona” (i.e. circle, referring to a rosary) with shining white beads.

Mary told Sister Amalia that this was “the rosary of my tears.”

The Rosary of Tears

It was a rosary of 49 small white pearls, divided by seven large white pearls into seven groups of seven each.

On each of the large beads, Mary told Sister Amalia to pray “O Jesus, look upon the tears of the one who loved You most on earth, and who loves You most ardently in heaven.”

On the smaller beads, Mary instructed Sister Amalia to meditate on one of the seven sorrows of Mary while praying “O Jesus, listen to our prayers, for the sake of the tears of Your most holy Mother.”

The seven sorrows of Mary, also known as the seven dolors, are the basis for many other devotions.  They are:

• the prophecy of Simeon
• the flight into Egypt
• the loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple
• the meeting of Mary and Jesus as he carried His Cross
• the Crucifixion
• the striking of Jesus with the lance
• the body of Jesus being placed in the tomb

Embracing the Tears

Tears aren’t just a result of motherhood.  Before I was a mother, as a lector at Mass, I found myself suddenly choked up and unable to continue.  That wasn’t the last time I would have the experience of being moved beyond words, into tears, by the Word of God.  It helps me better appreciate how Mary, knowing the Word of God, Jesus, so intimately, must have been moved to tears many times as well.

Much of life inspires crying, sobbing, heartache.  There are tears in the suffering and pain, injustice and poverty, frustration and challenge. There is relief, though, in the hope that comes from the cleansing of our baptismal waters.  There is support in knowing that we don’t walk alone through this valley of tears.

Our Lady of Tears is a reminder that Mary, though without sin, was not without feeling.  Mary, Our Lady of Tears, points us to the rainbow of hope that follows the flood of our tears.  She is the window, opening to her Son, just as our crying eyes are the windows to our souls.

—Sarah Reinhard writes and blogs about Mary, motherhood, and more at SnoringScholar.com.

Resources:

• Brief history of Our Lady of Tears
• The Rosary of Our Lady of Tears (with free downloadable audio)

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3 Ways the Word Was Made Flesh