Saint of the day, September 15
Through every sorrow, Mary remained beside her Son, offering a beautiful witness of love, trust, and faithfulness to God.
September 15 - Our Lady of Sorrows
Feast day: September 15
Liturgical color: White
Our Lady of Sorrows honors the Blessed Virgin Mary’s profound love for Jesus and the faithfulness with which she remained beside Him through suffering, all the way to the Cross.
The devotion centers on seven sorrows in Mary’s life, beginning with Simeon’s prophecy that a sword would pierce her heart. They also include the flight into Egypt, losing the Child Jesus in Jerusalem, and the suffering surrounding Christ’s Passion, death, and burial.
Through each of these sorrows, Mary remained close to her Son and trusted God even when that faithfulness brought great pain. At Calvary, she stood beside the Cross and shared in the suffering of Jesus with the love of a mother who would not leave Him.
Devotion to Mary’s sorrows developed over centuries, with the Servite order helping to spread it beginning in the Middle Ages. Pope Pius VII later extended the celebration of Our Lady of Sorrows to the entire Latin Church in 1814.
The feast also draws us close to Mary as our mother in moments of sorrow. She knew what it was to suffer without turning away from God, and we can entrust our own crosses to her intercession. When pain is difficult to understand, we can ask Our Lady of Sorrows to help us remain near Jesus as faithfully as she did.
Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us!
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