September Devotion: Our Lady of Sorrows
Since the 16th century Catholic piety has assigned entire months to special devotions. Due to her feast day on September 15, the month of September has traditionally been set aside to honor Our Lady of Sorrows. All the sorrows of Mary (the prophecy of Simeon, the three days' loss, etc.) are merged in the supreme suffering at the Passion. In the Passion, Mary suffered a martyrdom of the heart because of Our Lord's torments and the greatness of her love for Him. "She it was," says Pope Pius XII, "who immune from all sin, personal or inherited, and ever more closely united with her Son, offered Him on Golgotha to the Eternal Father together with the holocaust of her maternal rights and motherly love. As a new Eve, she made this offering for all the children of Adam contaminated through his unhappy fall. Thus she, who was the mother of our Head according to the flesh, became by a new title of sorrow and glory the spiritual mother of all His members."
INVOCATIONS
Mary most sorrowful, Mother of Christians, pray for us.
Virgin most sorrowful, pray for us.
TO THE QUEEN OF MARTYRS
Mary, most holy Virgin and Queen of Martyrs, accept the sincere homage of my filial affection. Into thy heart, pierced by so many swords, do thou welcome my poor soul. Receive it as the companion of thy sorrows at the foot of the Cross, on which Jesus died for the redemption of the world. With thee, O sorrowful Virgin, I will gladly suffer all the trials, contradictions, and infirmities which it shall please our Lord to send me. I offer them all to thee in memory of thy sorrows, so that every thought of my mind, and every beat of my heart may be an act of compassion and of love for thee. And do thou, sweet Mother, have pity on me, reconcile me to thy divine Son Jesus, keep me in His grace, and assist me in my last agony, so that I may be able to meet thee in heaven and sing thy glories. Amen.
TO THE MOTHER OF SORROWS
Most holy Virgin. and Mother, whose soul was pierced by a sword of sorrow in the Passion of thy divine Son, and who in His glorious Resurrection wast filled with never-ending joy at His triumph; obtain for us who call upon thee, so to be partakers in the adversities of Holy Church and the sorrows of the Sovereign Pontiff, as to be found worthy to rejoice with them in the consolations for which we pray, in the charity and peace of the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
IN HONOR OF THE SORROWS OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
O most holy and afflicted Virgin! Queen of Martyrs! thou who didst stand motionless beneath the Cross, witnessing the agony of thy expiring Son--through the unceasing sufferings of thy life of sorrow, and the bliss which now more than amply repays thee for thy past trials, look down with a mother's tenderness and pity on me, who kneel before thee to venerate thy dolors, and place my requests, with filial confidence, in the sanctuary of thy wounded heart; present them, I beseech thee, on my behalf, to Jesus Christ, through the merits of His own most sacred death and passion, together with thy sufferings at the foot of the cross, and through the united efficacy of both obtain the grant of my present petition. To whom shall I resort in my wants and miseries if not to thee, O Mother of Mercy, who, having so deeply drunk of the chalice of thy Son, canst compassionate the woes of those who still sigh in the land of exile? Offer for me to my Savior one drop of the Blood which flowed from His sacred veins, one of the tears which trickled from His divine eyes, one of the sighs which rent His adorable Heart. O refuge of the universe and hope of the whole world, do not reject my humble prayer, but graciously obtain the grant of my petition.
TO OUR LADY OF SORROWS
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. --Saint Bonaventure
Prayer Source: Prayer Book, The by Reverend John P. O'Connell, M.A., S.T.D. and Jex Martin, M.A., The Catholic Press, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, 1954
Lord, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.
God, the Father of heaven,
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, .
God the Holy Ghost,
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
Holy Virgin of virgins,
Mother of the Crucified,
Sorrowful Mother,
Mournful Mother,
Sighing Mother,
Afflicted Mother,
Foresaken Mother, .
Desolate Mother,
Mother most sad,
Mother set around with anguish,
Mother overwhelmed by grief,
Mother transfixed by a sword,
Mother crucified in thy heart,
Mother bereaved of thy Son,
Sighing Dove,
Mother of Dolors,
Fount of tears,
Sea of bitterness,
Field of tribulation,
Mass of suffering,
Mirror of patience,
Rock of constancy,
Remedy in perplexity,
Joy of the afflicted,
Ark of the desolate,
Refuge of the abandoned,.
Shiled of the oppressed,
Conqueror of the incredulous,
Solace of the wretched,
Medicine of the sick,
Help of the faint,
Strength of the weak,
Protectress of those who fight,
Haven of the shipwrecked,
Calmer of tempests,
Companion of the sorrowful,
Retreat of those who groan,
Terror of the treacherous,
Standard-bearer of the Martyrs,
Treasure of the Faithful,
Light of Confessors,
Pearl of Virgins, .
Comfort of Widows, .
Joy of all Saints,
Queen of thy Servants,
Holy Mary, who alone art unexampled,
Pray for us, most Sorrowful Virgin,
|
Christ, have mercy on us. Christ, graciously hear us.
Have mercy on us.
Have mercy on us.
Have mercy on us.
pray for us.
pray for us.
pray for us.
pray for us.
pray for us.
pray for us.
pray for us.
pray for us.
pray for us.
pray for us.
pray for us.
pray for us.
pray for us.
pray for us.
pray for us.
pray for us.
pray for us.
pray for us.
pray for us.
pray for us.
pray for us.
pray for us.
pray for us.
pray for us.
pray for us.
pray for us.
pray for us.
pray for us.
pray for us.
pray for us.
pray for us.
pray for us.
pray for us.
pray for us.
pray for us.
pray for us.
pray for us.
pray for us.
pray for us.
pray for us.
pray for us.
pray for us.
pray for us.
pray for us.
pray for us.
pray for us.
pray for us.
pray for us
That we may be made worthy
of the promises of Christ. |
Let us pray, --- O God, in whose Passion, according to the prophecy of Simeon, a sword of grief pierced through the most sweet soul of Thy glorious Blessed Virgin Mother Mary: grant that we, who celebrate the memory of her Seven Sorrows, may obtain the happy effect of Thy Passion, Who lives and reigns world without end,
Amen.
|
The Seven Sorrows of Our Lady
1. The Prophecy of Simeon
2. The Flight into Egypt .
3. The Loss of Jesus in the Temple
4. Mary meets Jesus Carrying the Cross
5. The Crucifixion
6. Mary Receives the Dead Body of Her Son
7. The Burial of Her Son and Closing of the Tomb. |
|
|
|
Consecration to Our Lady of Sorrows
Most holy Virgin and Queen of Martyrs, Mary, would that I could be in Heaven, there to contemplate the honors rendered to thee by the Most Holy Trinity and by the whole Heavenly Court! But since I am still a pilgrim in this vale of tears, receive from me, thy unworthy servant and a poor sinner, the most sincere homage and the most perfect act of vassalage a human creature can offer thee.
In thy Immaculate Heart, pierced with so many swords of sorrow, I place today my poor soul forever; receive me as a partaker in thy dolors, and never suffer that I should depart from that Cross on which thy only begotten Son expired for me.
With thee, O Mary, I will endure all the sufferings, contradictions, infirmities, with which it will please thy Divine Son to visit me in this life. All of them I offer to thee, in memory of the Dolors which thou didst suffer during thy life, that every thought of my mind, every beating of my heart may henceforward be an act of compassion to thy Sorrows, and of complacency for the glory thou now enjoyest in Heaven.
Since then, O Dear Mother, I now compassionate thy Dolors, and rejoice in seeing thee glorified, do thou also have compassion on me, and reconcile me to thy Son Jesus, that I may become thy true and loyal son (daughter); come on my last day and assist me in my last agony, even as thou wert present at the Agony of thy Divine Son Jesus, that from this painful exile I may go to Heaven, there to be made partaker of thy glory.
Amen. |
Homilies on Our Lady of Sorrows
Starkenburg:Pilgrimage to Our Lady of Sorrows Shrine
Our Mother of Sorrows
ST. ALPHONSUS LIGUORI, OF THE DOLOURS OF MARY, The Glories [Sorrows] of Mary
Our Lady of Sorrows - Sep 15
From: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
The Second Coming of the Lord
[13] But we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning those
who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no
hope. [14] For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even
so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
[15] For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who
are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede
those who have fallen asleep. [16] For the Lord himself will descend
from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call, and with
the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise
first; [17] then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up
together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we
shall always be with the Lord. [18] Therefore comfort one another with
these words.
*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
13. “Those who are asleep”: this expression, already to be found in
some pagan writings, was often used by the early Christians to refer to
those who died in the faith of Christ. In Christian writings it makes
more sense, given Christian belief in the resurrection of Jesus and in
the resurrection of the body. It is not just a euphemism: it underlines
the fact that death is not the end. “Why does it say that they are
asleep”, St Augustine asks, “if not because they will be raised when
their day comes?” (”Sermon 93”, 6). Hence Monsignor Escriva’s advice:
“When facing death, be calm. I do not want you to have the cold
stoicism of the pagan, but the fervor of a child of God who knows that
life is changed, not taken away. To die is to live!” (”Furrow”, 876).
Even though we have this hope, it is perfectly understandable for us to
feel sad when people we love die. This sadness, provided it is kept
under control, is a sign of affection and piety, but “to be excessively
downcast by the death of friends is to act like someone who does not
have the spirit of Christian hope. A person who does not believe in the
resurrection and who sees death as total annihilation has every reason
to weep and lament and cry over those friends and relations who have
passed away into nothingness. But you are Christians, you believe in
the resurrection, you live and die in hope: why should you mourn the
dead excessively?” (Chrysostom, “Hom. on 1 Thess, ad loc.”).
14. “It is appointed for men to die once” (Heb 9:27). However, for a
person who has faith, death does not just mean the end of his days on
earth. Our Lord Jesus Christ died and rose again, and his resurrection
is a pledge of our resurrection: death “in Christ” is the climax of a
life in union with him, and it is the gateway to heaven. And so St Paul
tells Timothy, “If we have died with him, we shall also live with him;
if we endure, we shall also reign with him” (2 Tim 2:11-12).
The resurrection the Christian will experience is not only similar to
our Lord’s; his resurrection is in fact the cause of ours. St Thomas
Aquinas explains this as follows: “Christ is the model of our
resurrection, because he took flesh and he rose in the flesh. However,
he is not only our model; he is also the efficient cause (of our
resurrection) because anything done by the human nature of Christ was
done not only by the power of his human nature but also by the power
of the godhead united to that nature. And so, just as his touch cured
the leper by virtue of its being the instrument of his godhead, so the
resurrection of Christ is the cause of our resurrection” (”Commentary
on 1 Thess, ad loc.”). Although this passage of the letter does not say
so explicitly, it is implied that we will rise with our bodies, just as
Jesus rose with his.
15-17. The religious instruction of the Thessalonians was cut short
because St Paul had to leave the city in a hurry. One of the doubts
remaining in their minds can be expressed as follows: Will the dead
be under any disadvantage “vis-a-vis” those who are still alive when
the Parousia of the Lord happens? The Apostle replies in two stages:
first he says that we will have no advantage of any kind over them
(vv. 15- 18); then he makes clear that we do not know when that even
will come about (5:1-2).
In his reply he does not explicitly speak about the general resurrection;
he refers only to those who die “in Christ”. He distinguishes two groups
as regards the situation people find themselves in at our Lord’s second
coming—1) those who are alive: these will be “caught up”, that is
changed (cf. 1 Cor 15:51; 2 Cor 5: 2-4) by the power of God and will
change from being corruptible and mortal to being incorruptible and
immortal; 2) those who have already died: these will rise again.
St Paul’s reply is adapted to the tenor of the question; so, when he
writes “we who are alive, who are left” he does not mean that the
Parousia will happen soon or that he will live to see the day (cf.
Pontifical Biblical Commission, “Reply” concerning the Parousia, 18
June 1915). He uses the first person plural because at the time of
writing both he and his readers were alive. However, his words were
misinterpreted by some of the Thessalonians, and that was the reason
he wrote the second epistle a few months later (in which he puts things
more clearly: “Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and
our assembling to meet him, we beg you, brethren, not to quickly shaken
in mind or excited [...], to the effect that the day of the Lord has come”
(2 Thess 2:1-2). However, even in the first letter there are enough
indications that St Paul was not saying the Parousia was imminent,
for he implies that he does not know when it will happen (cf. 5:1-2).
To describe the signs which will mark the Lord’s coming, St Paul uses
imagery typical of apocalyptic writing—the voice of the archangel, the
sound of the trumpet, the clouds of heaven. These signs are to be found
in the Old Testament theophanies or great manifestations of Yahweh (cf.
Ex 19:16); on the day of the Parousia, too, they will reveal God’s
absolute dominion over the forces of nature, as also his sublimity and
majesty.
When the Lord Jesus comes in all his glory, those who had died in the
Lord (who already were enjoying the vision of God in heaven) and those
who have been changed will go to meet the Lord “in the air”, for both
will now have glorified bodies (cf. 1 Cor 15:43) endowed with the gift
of “agility”, “by which the body will be freed from the heaviness that
now presses it down, and will take on a capability of moving with the
utmost ease and swiftness, wherever the soul pleases” (”St. Pius V
Catechism”, I, 12, 13).
After the general judgment, which will take place that day, the
righteous will be “always with the Lord.” That is in fact the rewar
of the blessed—to enjoy forever, in body and soul, the sight of God,
thereby attaining a happiness which more than makes up for whatever
they have had to do to obtain it, for “the sufferings of this present
life are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to
us” (Rom 8:18). “If at any time you feel uneasy at the thought of our
sister death because you see yourself to be such a poor creature, take
heart. Think of this: Heaven awaits us; what will it be like when all
the infinite beauty and greatness and happiness and Love of God are
poured into the poor clay vessel that the human being is, to satisfy it
eternally with the freshness of an ever-new joy?” (J. Escriva,
“Furrow”, 891).
*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
Discovering God in Familiar Faces
September 3, 2007
Saint Gregory the Great, pope and doctor of the Church
Father Matthew Green, LC
Luke 4: 16-30
Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the Sabbath day. He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord. Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. He said to them, “Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” And all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They also asked, “Isn´t this the son of Joseph?” He said to them, “Surely you will quote me this proverb, ´Physician, cure yourself,´ and say, ´Do here in your native place the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.´” And he said, “Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place. Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the sky was closed for three and a half years and a severe famine spread over the entire land. It was to none of these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon. Again, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all filled with fury. They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong. But he passed through the midst of them and went away.
Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, open my heart and mind to your word, that I may know and love your will in my life. I believe that you are always with me, and I trust in your love to guide and strengthen me. Help me to love you above all things.
Petition: I know, Lord, that you work in the hearts and minds of all people. Help me to recognize you wherever and through whomever you speak to me.
1. Familiarity Breeds Contempt When Jesus returns to his hometown to preach, he immediately captures their attention with the messianic text he reads and the quality of his preaching. Certainly, he had kept a low profile during the time before his public ministry, but Luke tells us that he had “advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man” (Luke 2:52) throughout his youth. So, why were they so surprised? They had gotten used to him, and had ceased to appreciate his unusual wisdom and holiness. They thought he had nothing to teach them. The same happens all too easily with us. Do we really listen to the readings at Mass, realizing that God speaks to us in ever new ways through his living Word, or do we spend that time daydreaming? Do we appreciate the words, images and symbols of the Sacraments, or let them pass by us like the lead-in to a familiar sitcom?
2. A Step in Faith Because they thought they knew everything there was to know about Jesus, the people of Nazareth were not open to the message he brought. They were unwilling to take a step in faith to see more than the young man who had grown up in their midst. The widow and the leper that Jesus refers to had taken a different stance. Despite plenty of reasons to doubt, they had trusted in the word of Elijah, an old man from a nation not their own, and because of their faith that God could work through him, they were rewarded with miracles. God can work through anyone and at any time, so we have to have the eyes of our soul open, ready to recognize him and his work even where we don’t expect to find him – be it in our family members or in strangers, in the young or the old.
3. Pride and Prejudice When Jesus calls them to task for their lack of faith, they react with surprising fury, and even try to kill him. Why? Their pride was greater than their love of truth or their love of God; they could not stand the idea that someone would dare challenge their own judgmental attitude and complacency. How many people rant and rage against the Church today because it dares to point out sin and call a spade a spade! Perhaps we ourselves have reacted violently to a friendly correction because it hit too close to home and came from someone whose own imperfections we know. There also was some prejudice: As members of the Chosen People, they were unwilling to learn from the faith of Gentiles. In today’s increasingly multicultural parishes, we need to be open to learning from the faith and fervor of anyone, regardless of their language or ethnicity.
Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, grant me to grow in humility. Help me to be open to you and to recognize the work of your grace, accepting the lessons you teach me through your presence in others. Soften my resistance to your grace, so I can be molded into your own image!
Resolution: The next time someone points out one of my failings or says something that challenges me to be better, I will accept it gratefully as coming from God and strive to apply the lesson to my life.
