Ronald Raab, CSC

September 15, 2026

Homily at Holy Cross House

When I don’t know where to turn in life, I seek Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows. It has taken years for me to comprehend the image of our Patroness. She is more than a slogan or an image of art. She is not a badge of identity, not a statue of stone or covered in gold. She actively awaits to console our personal suffering, standing with us. She does not fix our grief; she does not change our circumstances. She does not judge our tears or turn away from our angst. She gently holds the tensions of our hearts and even the violence of our world. Since she lived through the anguish of her son, she stands as a motherly companion with each of us who believe in Christ Jesus.

Years ago, I sat with a Holy Cross priest and verbally poured out my grief. I also told him that I had finally captured a glimpse of Mary, Our Mother of Sorrows. I mentioned to him that she holds my questions with understanding, gently listening to my fear, carefully receiving my heartache. I whispered to him that she had become so real and present to me. He sat across from me and tears flowed down his cheeks. He said to me, “I am so glad you finally allow her to speak. She waits for you and for each of us in the community.”

Mary, Mother of Sorrows, companions our grief because she walked with Jesus’ suffering in seven moments in the gospels. I have seen her in action, not only in my life but in the misery so many people carry. I have witnessed a young mother holding her lifeless newborn in a hospital in dark night, doing so with great faith. I have witnessed mothers burying their sons during the years of AIDS. I witnessed a twenty-something man dedicate his young son to Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows, because he had been abused by his own mother. He realized Mary would not be abusive to their new family. People teach me the genuineness of our patroness.  

In our house, we know much grief. We experience loss, and yet as believers, we fully understand the gift of faith in Jesus Christ who offers us healing, forgiveness and peace. We also know as a religious community, Mary, Our Mother of Sorrows, who points us into the direction of our redemption, into the way of the cross that becomes our eternal home. Today, may Mary, whose heart was pierced with grief, listen to our prayer.