a sword will pierce

The Gospel According to Luke 2:35 (NABRE) contains one of the more difficult passages about our Blessed Mother: “(and you yourself a sword will pierce) so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

There’s an especially interesting image here around the idea of piercing, which is a bit of an odd word choice in the Greek. The Greek word διέρχομαι (dierchomai) literally means “to go through” and in every other case in the New Testament the word is used to describe travel—someone passing through a region or area or even passing through from life to death. While the English translation “pierce” does convey essentially what’s happening, “pierce through” would perhaps be a fuller translation.

There’s also an additional meaning possible. When a traveler passes through an area, that traveler no longer is there. This passage could likewise be read that the sword passes through our Blessed Mother’s heart but doesn’t remain. Regardless of the exact best English rendering of this passage, it invites us to reflect on our Blessed Mother’s suffering as a part of her role in bringing about our salvation.

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