# A Holy Hour with the Desolate Virgin Mary
*2015-04-27*

> Bill Young reflects on the feast of Blessed Jerzy Popiełuszko and introduces a devotion to the Desolate Virgin Mary, inviting listeners to spend an hour in prayer consoling Mary’s sorrows.

## Feast of Blessed Jerzy Popiełuszko

Good afternoon, this is Bill Young. Today, May 28, we celebrate the feast of Blessed Jerzy Popiełuszko, a Polish priest martyred in 1984 for his courageous stand against communism. He was ordained on May 28, 1972, and his life is a powerful witness to solidarity with the oppressed.

## The Devotion to the Desolate Virgin Mary

The devotion we explore today is called the “Holy Hour with the Desolate Virgin Mary.” It invites us to set aside at least one hour—perhaps on Friday or Saturday evening—to keep Mary company in her loneliness. The prayer text reminds us that one of Mary’s greatest, often forgotten, sufferings was the pain of being separated from her Son after His body was laid in the tomb. Though she shared in Christ’s passion, she also endured the emptiness of his absence.

## Meditating on Mary’s Sorrows

During this hour we contemplate several moments of Mary’s sorrow:
1. Seeing the closed tomb of Christ.
2. Being taken away from the tomb.
3. Passing the hill of the cavalry where the cross stood.
4. Walking the road of the cavalry, scorned by the crowd.
5. Experiencing the empty house while St. John embraced her.
6. The long hours from Friday evening to Sunday, remembering the horrific scenes.
7. The ongoing sorrow of seeing many of her children indifferent to her love.
We are invited to speak from the heart to Mary, reminding her of the Resurrection and the glory that awaits her Son, and to unite our tears with hers.

## Prayer for the Holy Hour

All‑sorrowful Mother, grant that my poor soul may be united with the soul of St. John and with the holy woman who stood at the foot of the cross. May I share in your deep sorrow, for my sins have caused your tears. Accept my desire to sympathize with you, to cry with you, and to turn my tears into true repentance, that we may one day sing the eternal alleluia together in heaven. Amen.

Hail Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness. To you we cry, poor banished children of Eve, shedding our tears in the valley of sorrow. Turn then, most gracious Advocate, your merciful eyes toward us, and show us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus. O Holy Mother of God, pray for us that we may be made worthy of Christ’s promises. Amen.

*Spending an hour in prayer with Mary helps us enter her sorrow, grow in repentance, and share in the hope of the Resurrection.*