Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted and you yourself a sword will pierce so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. (Luke 2: 34-35)
Our Lady of Sorrows is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary referring to the sufferings she endured as the Mother of Jesus. For the Sisters of Our Lady of Sorrows, Mary, the Mother of Jesus, united to her Divine Son and to his work by an intimate and everlasting bond, is the model of our vocation and mission. We honor her especially in her intimate relation to the Passion and Death of Christ, and invoke her under the title of “Our Lady of Sorrows.” (Constitutions of the Congregation n.15)
With the cross, the prophecy of Simeon became a reality for our Blessed Mother, and Mary met her Son on the road to Calvary with great tenderness and a deep maternal love. Her “fiat” had led to this moment, and her “yes” had given her a power within much greater than herself. This is what gave her the strength to stand with her Son. Mary’s standing beneath the cross speaks of to us of love, faithfulness, and endurance.
Mother Elisabetta Renzi found in the person of Mary, standing at the foot of the cross, a companion for the journey. The Blessed Mother had known suffering and the hope that followed; she was Elisabetta’s model for being a woman of compassion. Throughout her own life, Elisabetta had known much suffering, and she used the example of Mary to help her endure and persevere.
The Blessed Virgin Mary, as Our Lady of Sorrows, offered Elisabetta inspiration, so much so, that she chose her as the patron of the Congregation. Our Lady of Sorrows, thus, becomes a symbol for us as we meet our own daily cross and are challenged to be transformed through it.
It is from Mary, as Our Lady of Sorrows, that we learn to be women of strength, standing in faith and love, particularly in times of darkness and suffering, as she did at the foot of the cross. Her maternity, her living faith in the fulfillment of the most profound mysteries of the Redemption, her contemplative silence, her humble, hidden, and constant activity in the simple life in Nazareth and in the early Church, are the basis of our nourishment and spiritual growth. Meditation on her mission and her virtues facilitates our personal encounter with Christ and our docility to the Spirit of God. (Constitutions of the Congregation n.68)
The feast of Our Lady of Sorrows is celebrated on September 15, and is dedicated to Mary’s suffering and grief in union with her Son, Jesus Christ.
Prayer to Mary, the Sorrowful Mother
O Mother of Sorrows, by the anguish and love with which thou didst stand at the Cross of Jesus, stand by me in my last agony. To thy maternal heart I commend the last three hours of my life. Offer to the Eternal Father in union with the agony of our dearest Lord in atonement for my sins. Offer to the Eternal Father the most Precios Blood of Jesus, mingled with your tears in Calvary, that I may obtain the grace of receiving Holy Communion with the most perfect love and contrition before my death, and that I may breath forth my soul in the adorable presence of Jesus. Dearest Mother, when the moment of my death has at lengty come, present me as your child to Jesus. Ask Him to forgive me for having offended Him for I know not what I did. Beg Him to receive me into His Kingdom of glory to be united with Him forever. Amen.
