Our Lady of Sorrows

September 15 is the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. Most of all this day is a reminder that sorrow, however deep, can offer great and noble purpose, even beauty, if transformed into compassion and resolve.

In W.B. Yeats’ poem, “The Cloak, The Boat and The Shoes,” the speaker asks,

‘What do you make so fair and bright?’
‘I make the cloak of Sorrow:
O lovely to see in all men’s sight
Shall be the cloak of Sorrow,
In all men’s sight.’

“A sword shall pierce your heart,” Simeon prophesied to Mary, “so that the thoughts of many may be revealed.”

The beautiful irony is that the clock of Sorrow worn by Mary, is also the cloak of Compassion.

Here is a list of the seven sorrows, not to be confused with the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary.

This devotion can be practiced by saying one Our Father and seven Hail Marys for each, meditating on each sorrow and offering in prayer whatever sorrow one might be experiencing.

The Prophecy of Simeon. (Luke 2:34–35)
The Flight into Egypt. (Matthew 2:13)
The loss of the child Jesus in the Temple. (Luke 2:43–45)
Mary meets Jesus on the way to Calvary.
Jesus dies on the cross. (John 19:25)
The piercing of the side of Jesus, and Mary’s receiving the body of Jesus in her arms. (Matthew 27:57–59)
The body of Jesus is placed in the tomb. (John 19:40–42)