OUR LADY OF SORROWS
FEAST DAY: SEPTEMBER 15TH
This feast day recognizes the great suffering Our Blessed Mother endured when her Son Jesus was abused, persecuted and put to death. Specifically the Catholic Church recognizes the Seven Sorrows that Our Blessed Mother had to endure. They are:
SEVEN SORROWS OF THE BLESSED MOTHER
(St. Luke II, 34, 35)
THE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT.
(St. Matthew II, 13-14)
THE LOSS OF THE CHILD JESUS IN THE TEMPLE.
(St. Luke II, 43-45)
THE BURIAL OF JESUS.
(John 19: 38-42)
From Franciscan Media: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/our-lady-of-sorrows
The Story of Our Lady of Sorrows
For a while there were two feasts in honor of the Sorrowful Mother: one going back to the 15th century, the other to the 17th century. For a while both were celebrated by the universal Church: one on the Friday before Palm Sunday, the other in September.
The principal biblical references to Mary’s sorrows are in Luke 2:35 and John 19:26-27. The Lucan passage is Simeon’s prediction about a sword piercing Mary’s soul; the Johannine passage relates Jesus’ words from the cross to Mary and to the beloved disciple.
Many early Church writers interpret the sword as Mary’s sorrows, especially as she saw Jesus die on the cross. Thus, the two passages are brought together as prediction and fulfillment.
Saint Ambrose in particular sees Mary as a sorrowful yet powerful figure at the cross. Mary stood fearlessly at the cross while others fled. Mary looked on her Son’s wounds with pity, but saw in them the salvation of the world. As Jesus hung on the cross, Mary did not fear to be killed, but offered herself to her persecutors.
THE LITANY OF
THE SORROWFUL MOTHER.
[Pray for a
President and Vice-President that will protect unborn
children]
[Mention your
personal prayer requests}
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven,
Have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
Have mercy on us.
God the Holy Ghost,
Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God,
Have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, conceived without sin,
Pray for us.
Holy Mother of God,
Pray for us.
Mother of Christ,
Pray for us.
Mother of Our Saviour Crucified,
Pray for us.
Mother most Sorrowful,
Pray for us.
Mother most tearful,
Pray for us.
Mother most afflicted,
Pray for us.
Mother most lonely,
Pray for us.
Mother most desolate,
Pray for us.
Mother pierced by the sword of sorrow,
Pray for us.
Queen of martyrs,
Pray for us.
Comfort of the sorrowful,
Pray for us.
Help of the needy,
Pray for us.
Protectress of the forsaken,
Pray for us.
Support of widows and orphans,
Pray for us.
Health of the sick,
Pray for us.
Hope of the troubled,
Pray for us.
Haven of the ship-wrecked,
Pray for us.
Refuge of sinners,
Pray for us.
Hope of the despairing,
Pray for us.
Mother of mercy,
Pray for us.
Through thy poverty in the stable of Bethlehem,
Pray for us.
Through thy sorrow at the prophecy of Simeon,
Pray for us.
Through thy sad flight into Egypt,
Pray for us.
Through thy anxiety when seeking thy lost Child,
Pray for us.
Through thy grief when seeing thy divine Son persecuted,
Pray for us.
Through thy fear and anxiety when Jesus was apprehended,
Pray for us.
Through thy pain caused by the treason of Judas
and the denial of Peter,
Pray for us.
Through thy sad meeting with Jesus on the way of the Cross,
Pray for us.
Through the tortures of thy loving Heart
at the Crucifixion of Jesus,
Pray for us.
Through thy agony at the death of Jesus,
Pray for us.
Through the sword of sorrow that pierced thy heart
when the side of Jesus was transfixed by the lance,
Pray for us.
Through thy lamentations over the dead Body
of thy divine Son lying on thy bosom,
Pray for us.
Through thy deep mourning at His tomb,
Pray for us.
Through thy desolation after the burial of Jesus,
Pray for us.
Through the tears thou didst shed for thy beloved Son,
Pray for us.
Through thy wonderful resignation
to the will of God in all thy sufferings,
Pray for us.
O Queen of peace,
Pray for us.
In all our tribulations,
Pray for us.
In our illnesses and pains,
Pray for us.
In our sorrows and afflictions,
Pray for us.
In our need and destitution,
Pray for us.
In our fears and dangers,
Pray for us.
In the hour of our death,
Pray for us.
On the Day of Judgment,
Pray for us.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Have mercy on us, O Lord.
Pray for us, O Sorrowful Virgin,
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let Us Pray.
We beseech Thee,
O Lord Jesus Christ,
let Thy Mother,
the Blessed Virgin Mary,
whose holy soul was pierced
by a sword of sorrow at the hour of Thy Passion,
implore Thy mercy for us,
both now and at the hour of our death,
Who livest and reignest,
world without end.
Amen.