Three kinds of swords can pierce the soul: the first, the sword of the Word of God, which, in the saying of the Apostle, 'is more penetrating than a two-edged sword'; the second, the sword of suffering and sorrow, according to the prophecy of Simeon; and the third, the sword of Divine Love, of which Jesus Christ speaks: 'I came not to bring peace, but the sword.' Now, the soul of Our Lady was pierced by all these three kinds of swords in the death of her Son. When a heavy blow falls upon an object, everything near it feels its effects. Thus, although the body of the Most Holy Virgin was not united to that of her Divine Son in His Passion, yet, her soul being inseparably united to Him, it follows that all the blows with which His Blessed Body was bruised wounded her soul. Love causes us to feel the afflictions of those we love, as we see in St. Paul, who was weak with the weak, afflicted with those in tribulation; and yet the soul of this Apostle certainly was not so closely united to the faithful as the soul of Our Lady to the soul and body of Jesus. No wonder, then, that the thorns, the nails and lance, which pierced the head, hands, feet and side of Our Lord, pierced also through and through the soul of His Mother. Truly may we exclaim: O Most Holy Virgin! how deeply was your soul pierced by the love, the suffering, and the words of your Son! And, oh, how deep a wound love gave you, when you saw the Son, Who loved you so much, and Who possessed all the affections of your heart, expiring through love! How bitterly did sorrow, too, wound your soul, when you saw the sufferings that led your only Son to death! And, as for His words, like a strong wind they inflamed your love, excited your sorrow, and almost engulfed the vessel of your heart in an ocean of grief. Love caused Mary to be penetrated with sorrow; and the sufferings of her Son were expressed in words that pierced her heart like darts. And, as a stag wounded by the hunter, flees with the arrow fixed in the wound, to die afar off, and sometimes, long after it has received the blow; so Our Lady, wounded by the sword of sorrow in the Passion of her Son upon Calvary, survived the wound she had received many years, but at last it caused her death. Oh, loving wound! Oh, sword of charity! how dear and beloved wast thou to the tender heart which thou didst pierce!