I was really taken by the fact that this very famous and lovely passage from Paul is today’s first reading.  It seems that the reading of this first letter of Corinthians over the last two weeks just placed this passage at today’s Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrow.  But maybe you do not see the connection I am making.
 
Throughout the ages, around the world, people (especially women) have sought divine comfort from sharing their sorrows with Mary and identifying their sorrow with hers.  The Church has formally recognized The Seven Sorrows of Mary as:

1. The prophecy of Simeon that her heart would be pierced with swords (Lk 2:34-35);
2. The flight into Egypt when her infant son's life was threatened by Herod (Mt 2:13-21);
3. The loss of Jesus for three days when he was a twelve-year-old boy (Lk 2:41-50);
4. Jesus' ascent to Calvary bearing the cross (Jn 19:17);
5. The crucifixion and death of Jesus (Jn 19:18-30). 
6. When Jesus is taken down from the cross (Jn 19:39-40);
7. When Jesus is laid in the tomb (Jn 19:39-42).

The Hymn of Love in First Corinthians tells us that Love “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” I believe we can only experience sorrow or joy over that which we truly love.  Mary loved God enough to say ‘yes.’  Mary trusted God enough to accept the consequences of the ‘yes.’  Mary accepted the joys and the sorrows that resulted from her love of God “and pondered them in her heart.”  I think that speaks to all our joys and all our sorrows.

Today’s Gospel choice from Luke, identified as the first sorrow, is the prophecy of her sorrow as a refugee, the sorrows of raising a teenager, the sorrow of witnessing the suffering of her son at the hands of the officials, and the deep sorrow of the death of a child.  Yet, she also experienced so much joy: the joy of birthing a healthy baby; the joy of having a devoted, loving husband, the joy of raising a child, the joy of Jesus’ ministry and the joy of Jesus’ glorious resurrection.  Today’s alternate Gospel choice from John is part of Jesus’ crucifixion scene which is the fifth of the Seven Sorrows.  It, of course, is held up as Jesus’ supreme love for his Mother, yet is found in the midst of their greatest suffering and sorrow.  Mary’s and Jesus’ love of God allowed them to bear all things and to trust God’s will for their lives.

I do not mean to belittle or imply that Mary’s sorrows or any of the great sorrows that countless people have endured and continue to suffer these days are in anyway inconsequential.  I only found it curious that we read the most beautiful passage of Love in the Bible on the Memorial to Our Lady of Sorrow.  Mary is a victim and she mourns with us the injustices, the violence, the insensitivity and the selfishness that is so prevalent in our world today.  She is also our advocate for an end to evils and unnecessary hurt.  Most of all Mary is our true model of love and trust in God; a model of holiness in how she loved and bore all things through that love.