Yesterday was the the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows.
It has been celebrated on Sept. 15 since 1814. However, this feast gained popularity in the 14thcentury and perhaps was celebrated even earlier. It’s no coincidence it is celebrated the day after the Exaltation of the Holy Cross as the link between the two feasts is the Crucifixion.
I once read that Our of Lady of Compassion, an earlier title for this feast, was aptly named because the latin roots for the word compassionare cum and patior which means “to suffer with.”
I don’t know if that’s true as I’m not a latin scholar, but I like it because it quickly gets one to very heart of this feast!
As her Son was redeeming the world by His Passion and Death, Mary stood faithfully at the foot of his cross, suffering grievously with Him, uniting the agony of her maternal heart to His Sacrifice and offering all to God through Him.
I knew nothing about this feast day until I began reading Consoling the Heart of Jesus by Fr. Michael Gaitley back in the summer of 2010 (which is fabulous!)
He talked about Marian Consecration and cited True Devotion to Mary by St. Louis de Montfort. I was so drawn to this devotion that I read this book and started my preparation for total consecration to Jesus though, with, in and for Mary. As it was early August, the next consecration day was Our Lady of Sorrows.
Soon, I came across the Rosary, or chaplet, of Our Lady of Sorrows.
It’s a beautiful set of prayers that focus on the Blessed Mother’s seven sorrows and are as follows: The Prophecy of Simeon, the Flight into Egypt, the Loss of Jesus for Three Days in the Temple, Meeting Jesus on his way to Calvary, Jesus’ Crucifixion and Death, Jesus Taken Down from the Cross and Jesus Laid in the Tomb. Directions for the rosary are easily found online and each mystery can be read in more detail in The Glories of Mary by St. Alphonsus Ligouri. There are promises attached to the practice of this devotion as passed on by St. Bridget of Sweden from Jesus and our Blessed Mother.
Go check out the promises!
They, too, are easily found online. However, don’t stop there. Take some time today to pray this rosary, or even just a few moments to remember the deep hurts of a most tender and loving mother.
