The Second Sorrow: The Flight into Egypt

Brother John Church, a Dominican at Oxford, and his sister Francesca Roffe-Silvester have produced some beautiful new paintings and meditations on the seven sorrowful episodes from the life of the Blessed Mother. (You can follow Francesca on Instagram @chessysilvester). After contemplating each Mystery, by custom, an Our Father, seven Hail Marys and the Glory be are recited. In these meditations, it is 2021 and we are in London. We continue this week with the Second Mystery of Sorrow, the Flight into Egypt.

The network of passages which connects London’s dark underground is a place of hiding for the ashamed, the lost and the broken. It is also a sure escape. In the dead of night, a young family runs for safety. The father leads the way, carrying on every arm what little possessions they have. The mother grips onto her child and runs with him. They have descended together to a place of fear, but together they will run onwards, cleaving onto the divine Hope which they carry in their arms – to the place of refuge prepared for them. I grieve for thee, O Mary most sorrowful, in the anguish of thy most affectionate heart during the flight into Egypt and thy sojourn there. Dear Mother, by thy heart so troubled, obtain for me the virtue of generosity, especially toward the poor, and the gift of piety. … Our Father … Hail Mary (x7) … Glory be …