September is the Month of Our Lady of Sorrows, Part 2

We look to the Doctor of the Church, Saint Alphonsus de Liguori, to contemplate Our Lady’s Sorrows this month.  Saint Alphonsus is one of the prime theologians on the Seven Sorrows of Mary.  He was born in the month of September, 1696, in the city of Marianella, Italy.  He became a bishop and founded the Redemptorists.  He lived a long life and died not far from the place of his birth, in 1787.

One of the best-known works of Saint Alphonsus is The Glories of Mary.  This is a collection of 5 books in one, one of which is “Of the Dolours of Mary.”  In this part, Alphonsus meditates on all Seven Sorrows and provides a prayer for each.  Following is an excerpt from the First Sorrow, “The Prophecy of Simeon.”  This Sorrow deals with Our Lady’s knowledge and anguish at the future sufferings of her Son. 

Today, for those paying attention, we are all in anticipation of how the crises in the world will play out.  Let us learn peace and acceptance from Our Lady of Sorrows.  Not complacency, but inner peace in the midst of these concerns.  We know God will always be with His children.

St. Alphonsus de Liguori’s Meditations on the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Saint Alphonsus begins with this sentiment:

“Mary was the Queen of Martyrs, for her martyrdom was longer and greater than that of all the Martyrs.”

In this valley of tears every man is born to weep, and all must suffer, by enduring the evils which are of daily occurrence. But how much greater would the misery of life be, did we also know the future evils which await us! “Unfortunate, indeed, would his lot be,” says Seneca, “who, knowing the future, would have to suffer all by anticipation.”

Our Lord shows us this mercy. He conceals the trials which await us, that, whatever they may be, we may endure them but once. He did not show Mary this compassion; for she, whom God willed to be the Queen of Sorrows, and in all things like His Son, had to see always before her eyes and continually to suffer all the torments that awaited her; and these were the sufferings of the Passion and death of her beloved Jesus; for in the temple Saint Simeon, having received the Divine Child in his arms, foretold to her that that Son would be a mark for all the persecutions and oppositions of men.

“Behold, this Child is set . . . for a sign which shall be contradicted.”

And therefore, that a sword of sorrow should pierce her soul:

“And thy own soul a sword shall pierce.”

…Since, then, Jesus, our King, and His most holy Mother, did not refuse, for love of us, to suffer such cruel pains throughout their lives, it is reasonable that we, at least, should not complain if we have to suffer something. Jesus, crucified, once appeared to Sister Magdalen Orsini, a Dominicaness, who had been long suffering under a great trial, and encouraged her to remain, by means of that affliction, with Him on the cross. Sister Magdalen complainingly answered: “O Lord, Thou wast tortured on the cross only for three hours, and I have endured my pain for many years.” The Redeemer then replied: “Ah, ignorant soul, what dost thou say? From the first moment of My conception I suffered in heart all that I afterwards endured dying on the cross.” If, then, we also suffer and complain, let us imagine Jesus, and His Mother Mary, addressing the same words to ourselves.

Prayer

Ah, my Blessed Mother, it is not one sword only with which I have pierced thy heart, but I have done so with as many as are the sins which I have committed. Ah, Lady, it is not to thee, who art innocent, that sufferings are due, but to me, who am guilty of so many crimes. But since thou hast been pleased to suffer so much for me, ah, by thy merits, obtain me great sorrow for my sins, and patience under the trials of this life, which will always be light in comparison with my demerits, for I have often deserved Hell.

Amen.

September 12th is the feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary.  From the Collect of the Tridentine Mass:

“Grant, we beseech Thee, O almighty God, that Thy faithful, happy under the invocation and protection of the most holy Virgin Mary, may, by her dear intercession, be delivered from all evils on earth and be worthy to attain unto eternal joys in Heaven.”

And again from Saint Alphonsus:

“Oh, my sweet Lady and Mother, I love thee much, and because I love thee, I love also thy holy name.  I purpose and hope with thy aid always to invoke it in life and death.”

Notable feasts for the rest of the month:

14th-Exaltation of the Holy Cross

15th-SEVEN SORROWS OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY / OUR LADY OF SORROWS

17th-Stigmata of Saint Francis of Assisi / Saint Hildegard of Bingen, Doctor of the Church

21st-Saint Matthew, Apostle & Evangelist

23rd-Saint Pio of Pietrelcina / Ember Wednesday of September or Autumn

24th-OUR LADY OF RANSOM

25th-Ember Friday

26th-Ember Saturday

29th-Saints Michael, Gabriel & Raphael, the Archangels

30th-Saint Jerome, Doctor of the Church

****** Prepper Challenge for september ******

What is My Contribution?  What is My Special Gift?

Your community and the Church are going to need you in the coming days.  What will you specialize in that will be a significant contribution?  Every prepper tends to develop a skill or two that is specialized.  What interests you?  What is a “sustainable” skill that will have value even in a grid-down (no electricity) situation?  Do you already have a skill?  Can you improve it?  Can you learn a new one?  Think and pray about it!

Noah was the Original Prepper ~ Build Your Ark!

September is the Month of Our Lady of Sorrows, Part 1

Due to traveling and other disruptions, I am running late on this post. Keep in mind, September 8th is the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. On the 3rd, we honor Saint Gregory the Great and Saint Pius X, both Popes. Saint Gregory, Doctor of the Church, is considered instrumental (no pun intended) in the development of Gregorian Chant. Stay tuned for the completion of this post…keep prepping…what is your special skill or skill you would like to learn?

September is the Month of Our Lady of Sorrows

Concluding prayers from the 3 litanies of Our Lady of Sorrows:

We beseech Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, let Thy Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose holy soul was pierced by a sword of sorrow at the hour of Thy Passion, implore Thy mercy for us, both now and at the hour of our death, Who livest and reignest, world without end.

Imprint, O Lady, thy wounds upon my heart, that I may read therein sorrow and love, sorrow to endure every sorrow for thee, love to despise every love for thee.

O Lord Jesus Christ, God and Man, grant, we beseech Thee, that Thy dear Mother Mary, whose soul the sword pierced in the hour of Thy Passion, may intercede for us, now, and in the hour of our death, through Thine own merits, O Saviour of the world, Who with the Father and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest, God, world without end.

Amen.

This is the second month of Nomen Christi Apostolate’s “Marian Triad of the Months,” when we are contemplating the Mariology of her Immaculate Heart, her 7 Sorrows and the Holy Rosary.  How can we honor her sorrows this month?  We can pray the litanies mentioned above, the 7 Sorrows Chaplet and also celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows on the 15th.  This feast is in both the trad and new calendars.  In terms of meditation, we may ask ourselves the following questions:  “How do our Heavenly Mother’s sorrows relate to our own times?”  “How can we appeal to her during these times?”  “Why did God allow her to suffer?”  “How can we derive consolation from her own Passion, inextricably linked to Our Lord’s?” 

We also honor the Mother of God’s nativity on the 8th, her holy name on the 12th  and Our Lady of Ransom the 24th.  The feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is on the 14th.  The Ember Days of Autumn always proceed the following week on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday (Wed and Sat meat at one meal and of course, the usual Friday penance).  See “Ember Days” topic to the right>>>  Other notable feasts this month:

Saint Gregory the Great/Saint Pius X-3rd

Saint Teresa of Calcutta-5th

Saint Matthew, Apostle-21st

Saint Pio-23rd

Saint Vincent de Paul-27th

The Three Archangels, Michael, Gabriel & Raphael-29th

Our Lady of Sorrows Prayers from the Tridentine Mass with PDF

September is the Month of Our Lady of Sorrows-Part 2

In Part 1, the image from The Divine Mercy website states: 

“The Key to Peace:  Emulate Mary’s Surrender.”

Why did Our Blessed Lord give us His Mother (through Saint John), from the Holy Cross, as He suffered so terribly?  Why has Holy Church given her the title “Our Lady of Sorrows?”  It is to honor her, of course, and her grievous pain.  It is also for the purpose of ministering to us, the Body of Christ.  Suffering is part of life.  During these unprecedented times, the trials of humanity are unique in history.  We know not what the future holds, but we do know it will be greatly challenging, and in fact, already is.  Our Blessed Mother teaches us the way to suffer in peace.  It seems a contradiction, but all is possible with God’s grace.  Even through the worst of Our Lord’s Passion, she never despaired, trusting in God’s plan for salvation.  We can do the same.  Emulate her surrender.

On the above link, there is an article by the late Stephen LaChance.   He brings out a great insight on the “Pieta” sculpture…

Michelangelo has carved into his Pieta an element as profound as it is subtle. Off to one side, almost hidden behind the lifeless body of Christ, Mary's left hand lies open in a sign of surrender to God. This gesture symbolizes her entire life.

In the Scriptures, starting with the words of her fiat, "Be it done unto me according to your word," to her patient waiting for the descent of the Holy Spirit, we see Mary living in complete acceptance of the will of God.  Tradition has developed this surrender as epitomized in seven of Mary's sorrows:

The Prophesy of Simeon, The Exile in Egypt, The Loss of Jesus in the Temple, The Way of the Cross, The Crucifixion, The Descent from the Cross, The Burial of Jesus

He goes on to discuss the feast of the Triumph (Exaltation) of the Holy Cross…

Standing by the cross of her Son, she offers all these pains for our benefit.  Standing with her, we see the solution to the problem of evil. We look at the all-powerful, all-good God and see Him suffer and die, in the Person of Christ.

This seeming contradiction has led the Church to celebrate a feast called the Triumph of the Holy Cross (Sept. 14). This triumph is the paradox of the cross, which St. Paul calls "a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ [is] the power of God and the wisdom of God.”

This feast is celebrated the day before the Sorrows of Mary. It makes sense that these two feasts are so connected, but it is surprising that the Triumph comes before the Sorrows. Where else in the world does triumph come before sorrow, or when does victory come before the battle?  Yet the inspired wisdom of the Church does not fail us in this regard. For it is only in light of the Triumph of the Cross that the Sorrows of Mary and our sorrows have any meaning.

Take a look at The Divine Mercy site for the full article and much more.  Their shrine is in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.  It is a beautiful place.  I will be there with my family in 2 weeks!

Our Lady of Sorrows, or the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady, is celebrated September 15th.  We will post the prayers from the Tridentine Mass on that day.  Though this month has a sad cast to it, remember we also honored Mary’s joyful nativity on the 8th and will honor the Most Holy Name of Mary on the 12th.

Some other feasts of note are:  The Ember Days of Autumn (prayer and penance for the coming season), starting on the 20th, Saint Matthew on the 21st, Saint Padre Pio on the 23rd and the Archangels on the 29th.  For the full traditional calendar, please see:  calefactory.org

September is the Month of Our Lady of Sorrows-Part 1

Let us honor the 7 Sorrows of Our Lady this month. She teaches us how to suffer. Last month, we celebrated her Immaculate Heart and now we see the great suffering which results from great love. Next month, we contemplate the Holy Rosary, the gift to humanity out of this motherly love.

There are many devotions to Our Lady of Sorrows. Think about choosing one (the chaplet is wonderful) and praying it with your family or church group.

Come back next week and we will discuss this topic a bit further, along with the notable feasts of the month. Don’t forget Mother Teresa of Calcutta’s feast on the 5th and Our Lady’s nativity on the 8th!

our lady of sorrows, pray for us!

September is the Month of Our Lady of Sorrows

Standing Mother

At the Foot of the Cross

O all you who walk by on the road

Attend and see

If there be any sorrow

Like my sorrow

+ + +

These tragic words are part of a prayer. Bouguereau’s dramatic painting “Pieta,” from 1876, is the perfect companion to these words. Receiving her son’s body into her arms, was the 6th of Our Lady’s 7 Sorrows, the swords which pierced her Immaculate Heart. We pay respect to these sorrows on the 15th of the month, exactly one month after the feast of the Assumption.

As if this was not enough, her heart continues to be grieved by our many sins and the 5 offenses represented by the 5 First Saturdays Devotion, given by Our Lady of Fatima. This devotion helps secure reparation to her Immaculate Heart.

We are celebrating 3 months in a row dedicated to Our Blessed Mother Mary. August honored the Immaculate Heart, we now honor her Sorrowful Heart and next month, we renew our devotion to her Holy Rosary, given to Saint Dominic. We can meditate on how these 3 months are linked together and in fact, inseparable. Let us take the next week to pray on and contemplate this (feel free to email me with any thoughts).

Here are the traditional Roman Catholic feasts of September: calefactory.org

Image from Cathy Weisbecker at Pinterest, colors have been muted.

September is the Month of Our Lady of Sorrows

In this month of Our Lady of Sorrows, if you are not familiar with the “Seven Sorrows Chaplet,” here is where you can purchase one. Mine is shown above, depicting Our Lady with seven swords piercing her Immaculate Heart, the month of which we have just celebrated. It has been such a blessing to pray this chaplet over the years, as a family. In addition to the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, we honor Our Blessed Mother in 4 other major feasts this month.

We celebrate 5 Doctors of the Church in September. As I stated last month, I am now indicating a major work authored by each Doctor. Please consider reading some of these wonderful works of Holy Church’s antiquity. Obtaining good quality hard-cover books is a great idea from a “prepper” point of view. How long before these classics are considered “unessential items?” We have several 20th Century saints this month and also the Ember Days in September, traditional days of penance and prayer for the coming season. Ember Days are wonderful to celebrate with children, incorporating crafts and giving them a love for the Catholic Faith and her traditions.

Let us remember the 20th anniversary of the attacks on the United States on September 11th, 2001. Let us offer prayers for those departed, along with their loved ones…for those who continue to suffer with physical and mental disability…and for those responsible. Lord have mercy.

Here is a sampling of feasts for this month:

9/3-First Friday / Pope St. Gregory the Great, Doctor of the Church, author Pastoral Care / Pope St. Pius X, 20th Century Saint

9/4-First Saturday

9/5-St. Teresa of Calcutta, Founder of the Missionaries of Charity, 20th Century Saint

9/8-BIRTH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

9/12-MOST HOLY NAME OF MARY

9/13-St. John Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church, author On the Priesthood

9/14-Exaltation of the Holy Cross

9/15-OUR LADY OF SORROWS (new) / SEVEN SORROWS OF OUR LADY (trad)

9/17-St. Robert Bellarmine, Doctor of the Church, author The Controversies / St. Hildegard of Bingen, Doctor of the Church, author Scivias (Know the Ways of the Lord) / Stigmata of St. Francis of Assisi

9/19-OUR LADY OF LA SALETTE

9/21-St. Matthew, Apostle, Evangelist of Gospel, Martyr

9/22-Ember Wednesday in September (trad meat at one meal)

9/23-St. Pio of Pietralcina, 20th Century Saint

9/24-OUR LADY OF RANSOM / Ember Friday in September

9/25-Ember Saturday in September (trad meat at one meal)

9/27-St. Vincent de Paul, Founder of the Vincentians

9/29-Sts. Michael, Gabriel & Raphael / Michaelmas Day

9/30-St. Jerome, Doctor of the Church, author Latin Vulgate Bible

September: Month of Our Lady of Sorrows

This month, we honor the sorrows of our Heavenly Mother. A wonderful devotion is the Chaplet of Our Lady of Sorrows, in which one meditates on the 7 Sorrows with a specially designed chaplet. You can buy one for a good price at Direct From Lourdes (get some Lourdes water while you’re at it!). The feast is September 15th.

Our dear Mother must look upon her children right now with great sorrow. Humanity is being separated and torn apart at the most fundamental levels. The Church has lost much attendance and the House of God has been turned into something looking more like a makeshift military hospital. Let us resolve to console her this month as she grieves over the world. Who knows what will transpire in the next several months? But there is reason for concern. Prayer and prepping are going to be critical, starting immediately. As it says on our Home page, “Pray & Prep!” This has never been more important in our lifetimes than it is RIGHT NOW.

Here is a selection of some of the interesting feasts this month:

3-St. Gregory the Great, Doctor, ”The Greatest of the Great”

4-First Friday

5-First Saturday / St. Teresa of Calcutta

8-BIRTH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

12-MOST HOLY NAME OF MARY

13-St. John Chrysostom, Doctor, “The Golden-Mouthed,” “Doctor of the Eucharist” / Anniversary of Fifth Apparition at Fatima (Don’t forget our Holy Hour!)

14-Exaltation of the Holy Cross

15-OUR LADY OF SORROWS (new) / SEVEN SORROWS OF OUR LADY (trad)

16-Ember Wednesday (prayer and penance-trad meat at one meal)

17-St. Robert Bellarmine, Doctor, “Prince of Apologists,” “Gentle Doctor of The Controversies” / St. Hildegard of Bingen, Doctor, “The Teutonic Prophetess,” “Sibyl of the Rhine”

18-Ember Friday (prayer and penance)

19-Ember Saturday (prayer and penance-trad meat at one meal) / OUR LADY OF LA SALETTE (hist)

21-St. Matthew, Apostle & Evangelist

23-St. Pio of Pietralcina

24-OUR LADY OF RANSOM

29-Sts. Michael, Gabriel & Raphael, Archangels (new) / “Michaelmas Day” (trad)

30-St. Jerome, Doctor, “Father of Biblical Science”

This blog gives old and new feasts. The titles of the Doctors of the Church are taken from The 35 Doctors of the Church,TAN Books.

September is the Month of Our Lady of Sorrows

Prophecy of Simeon + Flight into Egypt + Loss of the Child Jesus + Way of the Cross + The Crucifixion + Descent of the Body of Christ + Burial of the Body of Christ

We honor Our Lady's sorrows this month-she suffered so much to bring us Our Savior!  Let us find ways this month to show our thanks and love for her.  There is a chaplet of her Seven Sorrows, which can be purchased, or you can even pray it on regular rosary beads.  What a wonderful devotion to pray with your family this month!

What are some other features of the liturgical month of September?  As the season of Autumn begins, we celebrate the Ember Days of September, for a fruitful harvest.  This is a great traditional Catholic time to do creative seasonal crafts with kids or anything else you can think of which would be in keeping with the spirit of the Ember Days.  We celebrate 5 Doctors of the Church, including St. Hildegard, one of the few women Doctors-a great lover of nature, which resonates with the mission of Nomen Christi Apostolate.  We also honor 3 20th-century saints, including St. Teresa of Calcutta, who was canonized one year ago! 

Wishes for a blessed month of September-may we all grow closer to Christ in the next 30 days....AND DON'T FORGET OUR FATIMA FAMILY HOLY HOUR ON THE 13TH!

9/1-First Friday

9/2-First Saturday-what a great year to perform the First Saturday Devotion!

9/3-Pope St. Gregory the Great, Doctor of the Church, 604/Pope St. Pius X, 1914

9/5-St. Teresa of Calcutta, 1997

9/8-Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

9/11-Let us never forget that terrible day 16 years ago!  We pray for the souls of the departed and all those affected by this crime against humanity!

9/12-Most Holy Name of Mary

9/13-Centennial of the Fifth Apparition at Fatima, Portugal/St. John Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church, 407

9/14-Exaltation of the Holy Cross

9/15-Our Lady of Sorrows/Seven Sorrows of Our Lady

9/17-St. Robert Bellarmine, Doctor of the Church, 1621/St. Hildegard of Bingen, Doctor of the Church, 1179/Stigmata of St. Francis of Assisi, 1224

9/19-Our Lady of La Salette/St. Januarius & Companions, Martyrs, 304-St. Januarius is the saint whose blood liquefies in Italy several times per year-when it fails to liquefy, it signals a upcoming local disaster

9/20-Ember Wednesday in September-day of prayer and penance, trad meat at one meal

9/21-St. Matthew, Apostle, Evangelist

9/22-Ember Friday in September

9/23-Ember Saturday in September-trad meat at one meal/St. Pio of Pietralcina, 1968

9/24-Our Lady of Ransom

9/27-St. Vincent de Paul, 1660

9/29-Archangels Michael, Gabriel & Raphael

9/30-St. Jerome, Doctor of the Church, 420