Early on in my time as a campus minister at LSU a young woman came to see me because she was worried — worried about how she would cope with the “empty nest” syndrome. As I probed a bit it turned out she did not have any children yet nor was she married. Needless to say, she was a world-class worrier. I kept in touch with her over the years and her children did break her heart many times — including when they left home for college to create the empty nest. But she said, “I don’t regret the sorrows for one minute.” Our Lady of Sorrows demonstrates what we all know to be true — sorrows are unavoidable but they are, in fact, a manifestation of love.
