Emo culture sometimes eats up the words “sad” and “sorrowful” along with words like “angst” and “punk”. While a lot of emo music and culture is sad, not all sadness is emo. Mary, the Mother of God, had seven super intense sorrows…but she’s not emo! She’s just sad.
The Prophecy of Simeon (Luke 2:34-35)
This guy straight up tells Mary that seven swords of sorrows will pierce her heart! Sounds super emo, it is, but it’s also super sorrowful. There’s a lot of responsibility and a lot of emotional range that comes with being the Mother of God and Mother of the world.
The Flight into Egypt (Matthew 2:13)
Your brand new baby’s life is threatened, you can’t return to your home or extended family, you have to go somewhere completely new, and then hope for the best. Added pressure: that baby of yours also happens to be the Savior of the world. Leaving everything you know behind and venturing into the unknown while fearing for your life and the lives of those you love causes immense sorrow.
The Loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:43-45)
“Did you not know I would be about my Father’s work?” BUT COULD YOU NOT HAVE TOLD ME FIRST?! EVER HEARD OF THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT, JESUS? But really, losing your kid is a huge deal even when you find him right away. But losing the Son of God for three days and then being reprimanded for him? Panic-inducing sorrow, folks.
The Meeting of Jesus and Mary on the Way of the Cross
She knows Jesus is going to His death, that He must do it, that He has chosen freely to do it to set everyone free from slavery to sin and death, and she can’t do a thing about it. And He knows her sorrow, which is perfectly wrapped up with His. This might me the most emo meeting ever, but it’s humbling when you realized the shared sorrow of Our Savior and the Coredemptrix perfectly displayed at this meeting.
The Crucifixion (John 19:25)
What could possibly be more painful or sorrowful than watching your son, the Son of God, died a horrid and painful death? Emo culture sometimes gets associated with self-mutilation- THIS IS NOTHING LIKE THAT. The God of the Universe freely chose to allow whatever death was heaped upon Him for crimes He did not commit so that He could conquer death and set us free from sin, all while His dear and precious Mother stands beside Him unwavering. There is nothing more baller or more sorrowful, than that.
The Piercing of Jesus’s Side and His Descent from the Cross (Matt. 27:57-59)
Except for maybe this. What could possibly bring more sorrow to a heart than having to hold the dead body of your child? This was Mary’s sorrow because it is a sorrow for so many in this world- burying the ones we love both young and old, healthy and sick, expectedly and unexpectedly. Death comes for us all and those who remain on this earth carry the sorrow of the passing with them until they, too, depart.
The Burial of Jesus (John 19:40-42)
One final goodbye, one final sword straight through her heart. Even though Mary knew Jesus would rise, the sorrow of experiencing Him go through it all, of His pain, was all-encompassing. Sorrow followed by joy. That’s why Mary’s heart is Sorrowful and Immaculate and not the other way around- her tears from the sorrows cleanse her heart even more until it is completely and irreversibly Immaculate for all ages.
