The Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows

Today, the Church celebrates the memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows. The title "Our Lady of Sorrows" honors the trials that the Mother of the "Suffering Servant" (Isaiah 52:13-53:12) faced, and, therefore, this feast follows immediately after the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. It commemorates the profound union of heart that existed between Mary and her Son and our Saviour Jesus, through which she experienced many interior sorrows as a consequence of His Mission, but particularly during His Passion and Death.

Mary endured many sorrowful events in her life, collectively known as the Seven Sorrows (or Dolors):

The Prophecy of Simeon. (Luke 2:34–35)

The Escape and Flight into Egypt. (Matthew 2:13)

The Loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple of Jerusalem. (Luke 2:43–45)

The Meeting of Mary and Jesus on the Via Dolorosa.

The Crucifixion of Jesus on Mount Calvary. (John 19:25)

The Piercing of the Side of Jesus and His Descent from the Cross. (Matthew 27:57–59)

The Burial of Jesus by Joseph of Arimathea. (John 19:40–42)

Mary suffered intensely because she loved deeply. St. 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 being killed but offered herself to her persecutors.

For Mary herself, her earthly maternal union of heart and soul with Her Son, in which she experienced both joys and sorrows, is now perfectly consummated in Heaven. However, her motherly love and union extend to us still here on Earth! As the Mother of Christ, she is also the Mother of the Mystical Christ, the Church, and of us, the members of Her Son as individuals (Revelation 12:17).

St. John Paul II beautifully explains: "Mary Most Holy goes on being the loving consoler of those touched by the many physical and moral sorrows which afflict and torment humanity. She knows our sorrows and pains because she, too, suffered from Bethlehem to Calvary. Mary is our Spiritual Mother, who always understands her children and consoles them in their troubles. Then, she has that specific mission to love us, received from Jesus on the Cross, to love us only and always so as to save us! Mary consoles us above all by pointing out the Crucified One and Paradise to us!" (Prayers and Devotions from Pope John Paul II, 1980).

St  Teresa of Calcutta says, "If you ever feel distressed during your day – call upon our Lady – just say this simple prayer: "Mary, Mother of Jesus, please be a mother to me now." I must admit – this prayer has never failed me."

Prayer to Our Lady of Sorrows by St. Bonaventure:

O most holy Virgin, Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, by the overwhelming grief you experienced when you witnessed the martyrdom, the crucifixion, and the death of your divine Son, look upon me with eyes of compassion and awaken in my heart a tender commiseration for those sufferings, as well as a sincere detestation of my sins, in order that, being disengaged from all undue affection for the passing joys of this Earth, I may sigh after the eternal Jerusalem, and that henceforward all my thoughts and all my actions may be directed towards this one most desirable object: Honor, glory, and love to our divine Lord Jesus, and to the holy and immaculate Mother of God. Amen.

Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,

Most High Servant,

Jesus, Mary, Joseph Ministry of Love 

(Blessed and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels)