Our Lady of Sorrows . . .

Today the Church reminds us of the particular union that Our Blessed Lady shared with in the sacrifice of her Son on the Cross.

The love of Our Lady for her Son permits her to share His sufferings as though they were her own.

Today's feast is an opportunity for each of us to accept our little trials as personal purification. Our Lady teaches us not to complain as we know she never would; she encourages us to unite our trials and difficulties to the sacrifice of he Son for our own salvation and for the whole world.

'O sweet Mother, fount of love,

touch my spirit from above,

make my heart with yours accord.'

Our Lady of Sorrows

This feast follows immediately after the Triumph of the Holy Cross. We are reminded of the particular union that Our Blessed Lady shared in the Sacrifice of Her Son.

In 1912 St Pius X decreed that the feast would be celebrated throughout the Universal Church on 15th September. In the Sequence for the Mass, the Stabat Mater Dolorosa came into use;

O Sweet Mother, fount of love,

Touch my Spirit from above,

Make my heart with yours accord,

Make me feel as you have felt,

Make my soul to glow and melt,

With the love of Christ my Lord.