The 5 Sorrowful Mysteries: Introduction

I've been praying and meditating on the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary lately, as they have really been on my mind as I prepare for Gianna's birth. The Mysteries, which include Jesus' agony in the garden, the scourging at the pillar, crowning with thorns, carrying of the cross, and the crucifixion, don't really seem like a traditional kind of prayer for someone who will be giving birth soon (more normal would be "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" or "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want..." etc...), but these meditations have brought me great peace and happiness and I'd like to share bits of those thoughts with you. 

 Intro to the Mysteries and Childbirth:
In general, I've thought a lot about the what and whys of the pain of childbirth, because in our 21st century society, it's a common notion to believe that "pain and suffering" should not exist.

 But what if this pain and suffering in childbirth exists to make us holy and more like Christ? What if it's part of God's loving plan for our salvation? What if God wants to use natural childbirth as a way to empower women to make them stronger wives, mothers, and daughters of Christ and to help them to truly know that they "can do all things through Christ"? (Obviously, I'm speaking in the case of normal births which are approx 90% of all births, not if medical intervention is medically necessary!)

Two popular birth-related Bible verses:  (*all emphasis in Bible verses mine)
*Genesis 3:16, God says "I will intensify your toil in childbearing; in pain, you shall bring forth children."
*John 16:21, Jesus says "When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived; but when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy that a child has been born into the world." 

At face value, it seems a little dramatic, right? God says I'll make having babies painful, but then afterwards it'll be joyful and awesome. I've found that there's so much more though. If our God is loving and just, why would he want women to experience such pain? The simple answer is in the question--because He loves us, but as to the real rhyme and reason of how that love is manifested in birth pangs? The full picture comes into focus when we have greater context (it's always, all about context!). 

Reading a couple verses before in *John 16: "Are you discussing with one another what I said, 'A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me'? Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy. When a woman is in labor...."

Now the puzzle pieces begin to come together. Throughout the Bible, in fact, references to the pain of childbirth are connected with (either obviously here, or more hidden throughout the OT) Jesus' death. Understanding of the pain of childbirth and joy of a child comes to fruition in the context of Jesus' death and glorious Resurrection! 

In childbirth, God gave women a powerful way to be "like Christ" in his Passion/death (pain of bearing a child) and Resurrection (joy after birth of child). It's a way that is not easy, not really pleasant, but incredibly special, in that no man every gets be so closely united to Christ in this way, as a woman is. And this was the plan, from the very beginning! Oh how much He loves us! Jesus' death on Good Friday gave meaning to pain and suffering, making it holy and redemptive.  

 Jesus tells us to "pick up your cross and follow me" (*Matt 16:24) and "come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me....and you will find rest..." (*Matt 11:28-29). “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Cor 1:18) It may seem silly in the “modern world” to experience pain in childbirth, but God intended this pain for women for a purpose; this is the “cross” He desires for us. It is not a cross that we construct for ourselves that causes unnecessary suffering, but the cross designed for us as women to carry, one that fits us perfectly. With that cross (pain of childbirth), we can join Jesus in our sufferings, learning from him how to make our pain holy and redemptive, and finding rest in Him. 

It's more just asking Jesus to "get me through this"-- it's uniting myself to Jesus on the cross and participating in his Passion, knowing that Good Friday brings Easter Sunday and that soon there will be a child to rejoice much about.  

Jesus, be with me in suffering, and rejoice in my joys. 

Stay tuned for Part 1--The Agony in the Garden....