1. At these words of holy Simeon all Mary's joy was changed to sorrow. Her divine Son was to be a sign that would be contradicted. His lire was to be one long series of disappointments, outrages, insults, ill-usage from those He had come to save. Who can describe the grief of Mary at hearing this? Her darling Son, her God, was to be persecuted even to the death.
2. From that time forth Simeon's words were ever present in her mind. There came up before her all the prophecies, the full meaning of which she had not realized before. She remembered holy David's words, "They pierced my hand and My feet", and she thought as she watched the divine Infant of His eventual crucifixtion. The cry of the Psalmist, "My God, why hast Thou forseaken me?" reminded her of the dereliction of His human soul. From this time forward she was indeed the Mother of sorrows.
3. Yet God in thus giving Mary so large a share in the sorrow of her Son was manifesting His special love for her. "Whom the Lord loveth He chastiseth." (Prov. ii. 12.) Mary's chastisment was great in proportion to His love for her. If we remembered this we should welcome suffering, not shrink from it, and say in real earnest:
Holy Mother, pierce me through,
In my heart each wound renew
Of my Saviour crucified.
~ Devotions from "The Catholic Girls Guide" by Father Lasance
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