This feast dates back to the 12th century. It was especially promoted by the Cistercians and the Servites, so much so that in the 14th and 15th centuries it was widely celebrated throughout the Catholic Church. In 1482 the feast was added to the Missal under the title of "Our Lady of Compassion." Pope Benedict XIII added it to the Roman Calendar in 1727 on the Friday before Palm Sunday. In 1913, Pope Pius X fixed the date on September 15. The title "Our Lady of Sorrows" focuses on Mary's intense suffering during the passion and death of Christ. "The Seven Dolors," the title by which it was celebrated in the 17th century, referred to the seven swords that pierced the Heart of Mary. The feast is like an octave for the birthday of Our Lady on September 8th. 
St. Nicomedes was a martyr of unknown era. The Roman Martyrologium and the historical Martyrologies of Bede and his imitators place the feast on this date. The Gregorian Sacramentary contains under the same date the orations for his Mass . The name does not appear in the three oldest and most important manuscripts of the "Martyrologium Hieronymianum", but was inserted in later recensions ("Martyrol. Hieronymianum", ed. De Rossi-Duchesne, in Acta SS., Nov., II, 121). The saint is without doubt a martyr of the Roman Church. He was buried in a catacomb on the Via Nomentana near the gate of that name. Three seventh century Itineraries make explicit reference to his grave, and Pope Adrian I restored the church built over it (De Rossi, "Rome Sotterranea", I, 178-79). A titular church of Rome, mentioned in the fifth century, was dedicated to him (titulus S. Nicomedis). Nothing is known of the circumstances of his death. The legend of the martyrdom of Sts. Nereus and Achilleus introduces him as a presbyter and places his death at the end of the first century. Other recensions of the martyrdom of St. Nicomedes ascribe the sentence of death to the Emperor Maximinianus (beginning of the fourth century). 
St. Catherine was noble in birth, rich, and exceedingly beautiful. As a child she rejected the solicitations of the world, and begged her divine Master for some share in His sufferings. At sixteen years of age she found herself promised in marriage to a young nobleman of dissolute habits, who treated her with such harshness that, after five years, wearied out by his cruelty, she somewhat relaxed the strictness of her life and entered into the worldly society of Genoa. At length, enlightened by divine grace as to the danger of her state, she resolutely broke with the world and gave herself up to a life of rigorous penance and prayer. The charity with which she devoted herself to the service of the hospitals, undertaking the vilest of offices with joy, induced her husband to amend his evil ways and he died penitent. Her heroic fortitude was sustained by the constant thought of the Holy Souls, whose sufferings were revealed to her, and whose state she has described in a treatise full of heavenly wisdom. A long and grievous malady during the last years of her life only served to perfect her union with God, till, worn out in body and purified in soul, she breathed her last on September 14, 1510. Our Lady of Sorrows
Behold, your mother. (John 19:27)
The expedition led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to chart the American Northwest in 1804 required uncommon courage. The company set out heading into uncharted territory that included unfamiliar native tribes, grizzly bears, new terrain, and unimagined conditions. The expedition was undertaken by strong, stouthearted men whose fidelity to the mission was unquestionable. But the success of the whole grand endeavor hinged on the help of a young Native American woman. Sacajawea knew the land into which they were heading, and her guidance and help preserved the company from catastrophe and enabled them to return triumphant.
Like Lewis and Clark, we believers are also called to embark on a journey that is fraught with peril: the journey to the cross. Many of us set out joyful, eager, and excited, only to find our resolve challenged in unexpected ways: the loss of a loved one, a terminal illness, the betrayal of a friend.
What will we do when our understanding of God’s love doesn’t match up with our experience of pain or bitter disappointment? Mary can help us hold onto our trust in God’s mercy even when God doesn’t seem to make sense. At times like these, she invites us to join her at the foot of the cross. There she saw her son, conceived with such hope and promise, die a tortured and shameful death, alone and abandoned by all but a very few friends. There at the cross, even as sorrow, grief, and bitterness washed over her, Mary trusted God. She believed he would bring good out of that tragic situation. And he did!
The Lewis and Clark expedition took three long years to complete. Our own journey is still in progress. There will be times on this journey when we are tempted to take matters into our own hands or to give up hope. In those times, we can let Mary guide us on the path of courageous faith and surrender to God. She is our mother, and she knows how to care for us and bring out the best in us.
“Mary, you endured your son’s abandonment and agony, only to share then in his triumphant victory. Be with us, too. In our moment of need, lead us to victory in Christ. Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us.”
1 Corinthians 10:14-22; Psalm 116:12-13, 17-18