Old Calendar: Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary; St. Nicomedes, martyr; St. Catherine of Genoa, widow (Hist) ; Other Titles: Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary; Our Lady of Seven Dolours; Our Lady of Dolours
Devotion to the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady has its roots in Sacred Scripture and in Christian piety, which always associates the Blessed Mother with her suffering Son. Today's feast was introduced by the Servites in order to intensify devotion to Our Lady's Sorrows. In 1817 Pius VII suffering grievously in exile but finally liberated by Mary's intercession extended the feast to the universal Church.
According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of St. Nicomedes, a Roman martyr of unknown date. He was buried not far from the walls of Rome on the Via Nomentana, and the pious faithful built a "cemetery basilica" above his tomb. Also it is the feast of St. Catherine of Genoa who wrote a treatise on Purgatory and a Dialogue between the soul and bodytwo outstanding documents of Christian mysticism.
Our Lady of SorrowsThis 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.
Excerpted from Our Lady of Sorrows by Fr. Paul Haffner (Inside the Vatican, September 2004)
This feast is dedicated to the spiritual martyrdom of Mary, Mother of God, and her compassion with the sufferings of her Divine Son, Jesus. In her suffering as co-redeemer, she reminds us of the tremendous evil of sin and shows us the way of true repentance. May the numerous tears of the Mother of God be conducive to our salvation; with which tears Thou, O God, art able to wash away the sins of the whole world.
As Mary stood at the foot of the Cross on which Jesus hung, the sword of sorrow Simeon had foretold pierced her soul. Below are the seven sorrows of Mary:
Symbols: heart pierced with a sword; heart pierced by seven swords; winged heart pierced with a sword; flowers: red rose, iris (meaning: "sword-lily"), cyclamen.
Patron: people named Dolores, Dolais, Deloris, Dolorita, Maria Dolorosa, Pia, and Pieta.
Things to Do:
St. Nicomedes 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).
Excerpted from the Catholic Encyclopedia
St. Catherine of Genoa 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.
Excerpted from Butler's Lives of the Saints
Patron: Brides, Childless People, Difficult Marriages, People Ridiculed For Their Piety, Temptations, Victims Of Adultery, Victims Of Unfaithfulness, Widows.
Things to Do:
Our Lady of Sorrows (Memorial)
Standing by the cross of Jesus . . . (John 19:25)
Did you know that todays feast wasnt always called Our Lady of Sorrows? When it was first observed in the twelfth century, it was called Our Lady of Compassion. Doesnt this perfectly describe an essential part of Marys relationship with her Son—and her relationship with us?
What is compassion? Think about how helpless you can feel when you see someone you love suffer. That person is hurting. You try to comfort them, but you cant take away the pain. All you can do is share it.
Or think about a child falling and scraping his knee. A mothers first impulse is to run toward him and gather him in her arms. The knee still hurts, but his mothers embrace tells him that its going to be all right.
This helps us understand Mary. She went through scary, painful, and vulnerable situations with Jesus. Like any mother, she surely wanted to run and scoop him up in her arms when she saw his anguish. She couldnt take away the pain. She didnt always have the answer, but she could embrace him. And when she couldnt do it physically, she remained close to him in prayer.
One traditional way to honor todays feast is by praying through the Seven Sorrows of Mary: Simeons prophecy of a sword, the flight into Egypt, losing Jesus at the Temple, watching him carry his cross, the crucifixion, taking him down from the cross, and his burial. Rather than contemplating how sorrowful Mary was in each instance, try focusing on how she reached out to comfort Jesus. Imagine her rushing to lift him up, enfolding him in her arms. Picture her offering him a look of compassion and support when she couldnt reach him.
Dont stop there. Imagine Mary comforting you. She knows what its like to suffer. She embraces you; she prays with you; she reminds you that you are still in Gods hands. Let her hold you close. Let her warmth envelop you like a child in the arms of his mother. Then let her carry you to Jesus, who has every grace and blessing waiting for you.
Mary, I am so grateful that you are my mother! Thank you for your heart of compassion.
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Psalm 118:1-2, 16-17, 28