Have you ever wondered what a mother feels as she watches her innocent son die? And what would she feel if that son were also her God? Since the earliest centuries, Christians have asked themselves this question. Moved by compassion at the suffering of the Blessed Virgin Mary, they have written meditations and prayers to reflect on her sorrow and to implore her help in bearing their own crosses.
The prayer to Our Lady of Sorrows is the prayer with which the Church accompanies Mary in the sufferings she lived united to the Passion of Christ, from Simeon's prophecy in the Temple to the burial of Jesus. Whoever prays to the Sorrowful Mother learns to look upon the cross through the eyes of the Mother.
In this article you will find what the devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows is, how it began, why it is good to pray to her, and seven complete prayers from the Catholic tradition.
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The Devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows
The devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows contemplates Mary as Mater Dolorosa, that is, the Mother who suffered in her soul the sufferings of her Son. The Church calls this participation compassio Mariae, from the Latin cum-patior, “to suffer with another.” The word points to something deeper than pity: a free and loving union of Our Lady with the sacrifice of Christ. Every prayer to Our Lady of Sorrows is born of this contemplation.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992) teaches that Jesus associates with his redeeming sacrifice those who were to be its first beneficiaries, and that this is achieved supremely in his Mother (CCC 618). Further on, it states that Mary's union with Christ is made manifest in a particular way at the hour of his Passion (CCC 964).
Why Is Our Lady Depicted with a Sword in Her Heart?
The sufferings of the Blessed Virgin Mary began on the very day of the Annunciation. Mary knew perfectly well the prophecies about the suffering of the Messiah, and for that reason she was fully aware of all that her Son would have to endure.
Moreover, this certainty was confirmed forty days after the birth of Jesus. Mary and Joseph presented him in the Temple in Jerusalem. There the aged Simeon, moved by the Holy Spirit, announced to the Mother:
“and you yourself a sword will pierce” (Lk 2:35).
The evangelist St. Luke chose the Greek word rhomphaia, which in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament made in Alexandria around the third century BC, designates a large battle sword. The wound foretold touches Mary's spirit. From that day on, Our Lady knew for certain that her motherhood was bound to the destiny of the Redeemer.
Think of a mother who knows in advance the day and the manner in which she will lose her son. Every caress, every game, every shared meal would carry that certainty within it. This is how Mary lived the thirty years in Nazareth.
Mary at the Foot of the Cross
At the foot of the cross, all of Mary's suffering reaches its culmination. St. John, the only apostle present on Calvary, wrote:
“Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother” and other women (Jn 19:25).
The Vulgate, the Latin translation of the Bible prepared by St. Jerome in Bethlehem at the end of the fourth century, rendered that verb with the word stabat: “was standing.”
The Second Vatican Council, in the constitution Lumen Gentium (Rome, 1964), takes up that detail and teaches that the Blessed Virgin stood by the cross in keeping with the divine plan, suffered grievously with her Son, and associated herself with his sacrifice with a mother's heart (cf. LG 58). Mary remained standing through faith. Her sorrow was immense, but her adherence to the Father's will was greater still.
From the cross, Jesus entrusted her to the beloved disciple: “Woman, behold, your son” (Jn 19:26). In that hour, Mary received a new motherhood over all the redeemed.
What Are the Seven Sorrows of Mary?
Tradition sums up Mary's sorrowful life in seven episodes:
- The prophecy of Simeon (Lk 2:34-35).
- The flight into Egypt (Mt 2:13-15).
- The loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple (Lk 2:41-50).
- The meeting with Jesus on the way to Calvary, according to the pious tradition of the Way of the Cross.
- The crucifixion and death of Jesus (Jn 19:25-30).
- The taking down from the cross (Mk 15:42-46; Jn 19:38-40).
- The burial of Jesus and the solitude of Mary (Mt 27:59-61; Jn 19:41-42).
If you want to pray them one by one, in the article on the Seven Sorrows Rosary you will find a guide to doing so.
Why Is It Celebrated on September 15?
The first record of a liturgical feast dedicated to the sorrows of Mary comes from the Synod of Cologne (Germany, 1423). That celebration arose as an act of reparation for the Hussite attacks on sacred images.
Several decisive steps followed. In 1727 Pope Benedict XIII extended to the entire Latin Church the commemoration on the Friday before Palm Sunday. In 1814 Pope Pius VII made the September feast universal, in thanksgiving for his return to Rome after the captivity imposed by Napoleon. In 1913 St. Pius X fixed it on September 15.
That date has a beautiful logic. On September 14 the Church celebrates the Exaltation of the Holy Cross and, on the following day, looks to the Mother who remained at the foot of that same wood. St. Paul VI, in the exhortation Marialis Cultus (Rome, 1974), presents this memorial as an occasion to venerate, together with the Son lifted up on the Cross, the Mother who shares his suffering (MC 7).
Why Pray to Our Lady of Sorrows?
St. John Paul II, in the apostolic letter Salvifici Doloris (Rome, 1984), explains that on Calvary the suffering of Mary, united with that of Jesus, reached a height that is hard to imagine and was supernaturally fruitful for the salvation of the world (cf. SD 25). Every prayer to Our Lady of Sorrows helps us find meaning in our own suffering. Illness, grief, or loneliness cease to be absurd when they are lived alongside the Mother who stood firm in faith. In her we find understanding, relief, and consolation.
The Sorrowful Mother and the Eucharist
The Council of Trent (Italy, Session XXII, 1562) teaches that the sacrifice of the Mass and the sacrifice of the cross are one single sacrifice, offered in a different manner. Each time you attend Holy Mass you truly place yourself at the foot of Calvary, in the very place where Mary stood. That is why a prayer to Our Lady of Sorrows can help you live the Eucharistic mystery more fully.
St. John Paul II, in the encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia (Rome, 2003), describes the life of Our Lady as a kind of “anticipated Eucharist,” a constant interior offering that culminated in the Passion (EdE 56)
The Mater Dolorosa Helps Us Go to Confession
The tears of the Most Holy Mary reveal the true price of sin. Our sins caused the torments of Christ and the wound in his Mother's heart. That is why a prayer to Our Lady of Sorrows prayed with faith moves us to contrition, the sincere sorrow for having offended God, which is born of love and goes beyond the fear of punishment.
Our Lady never turns the sinner away. As Refuge of Sinners, she takes him by the hand and leads him to the confessional. If it has been a while since you went to Confession, you can prepare for that step with this guide to the sacrament of Confession and with these prayers to ask God for forgiveness.
Prayer to Our Lady of Sorrows
Each prayer to Our Lady of Sorrows you will find below comes from the liturgy, from the saints, or from popular piety. Each has its own tone: some contemplate, others implore, others ask for forgiveness. Choose the one that best answers what your heart needs today.
1. Stabat Mater
The Stabat Mater is a thirteenth-century Latin poem attributed to the Franciscan Jacopone da Todi (Italy, † 1306) or to Pope Innocent III († 1216). It is one of the religious compositions with the most musical settings in history, and at the Mass of September 15 it may be sung as the sequence before the Gospel. The most widespread Spanish version is the poetic translation by Lope de Vega, published in his Rimas sacras (Madrid, 1614), with slight variations in its liturgical use. You can pray this prayer to Our Lady of Sorrows on her liturgical memorial.
At the Cross her station keeping,
stood the mournful Mother weeping,
close to Jesus to the last.
Through her heart, His sorrow sharing,
all His bitter anguish bearing,
now at length the sword has passed.
O how sad and sore distressed
was that Mother, highly blest,
of the sole-begotten One!
Christ above in torment hangs,
she beneath beholds the pangs
of her dying glorious Son.
Is there one who would not weep,
whelmed in miseries so deep,
Christ's dear Mother to behold?
Can the human heart refrain
from partaking in her pain,
in that Mother's pain untold?
Bruised, derided, cursed, defiled,
she beheld her tender Child
all with bloody scourges rent.
For the sins of His own nation,
saw Him hang in desolation,
till His spirit forth He sent.
O thou Mother! fount of love!
Touch my spirit from above,
make my heart with thine accord.
Make me feel as thou hast felt;
make my soul to glow and melt
with the love of Christ my Lord.
Holy Mother! pierce me through,
in my heart each wound renew
of my Savior crucified.
Let me share with thee His pain,
who for all my sins was slain,
who for me in torments died.
Let me mingle tears with thee,
mourning Him who mourned for me,
all the days that I may live.
By the Cross with thee to stay,
there with thee to weep and pray,
is all I ask of thee to give.
Virgin of all virgins blest!
Listen to my fond request:
let me share thy grief divine.
Let me, to my latest breath,
in my body bear the death
of that dying Son of thine.
Wounded with His every wound,
steep my soul till it hath swooned
in His very Blood away.
Be to me, O Virgin, nigh,
lest in flames I burn and die,
in His awful Judgment Day.
Christ, when Thou shalt call me hence,
be Thy Mother my defense,
be Thy Cross my victory.
While my body here decays,
may my soul Thy goodness praise,
safe in Paradise with Thee. Amen.
2. Act of Contrition before Our Lady in Her Solitude
This prayer to Our Lady of Sorrows opens the ancient devotional exercise known as the “Condolence to Most Holy Mary in Her Solitude,” which the faithful prayed on the night of Good Friday before the image of Our Lady. Its author is unknown, and its language preserves the devotional style of centuries past. It is ideal as a preparation for Confession.
O most loving Mary, Mother of mercies, abyss of sorrows, fathomless ocean of grief, and stormy sea of desolation, who, in the bitter waves of your forsaken solitude, renew the martyrdom of your loving heart with the tender memory of the torments of your most sweet Jesus, put to death at the hands of the stubborn ingratitude of sinners! Oh, Lady, if only we could express our sorrow, the cause of yours, with the truest contrition, so that, our hearts torn open, the purest expression of perfect sorrow might spring forth in your presence, to console you in your bitter affliction!
But alas, sorrowful Queen, in our inability to fulfill this desire we see the obstacle our own malice creates! It is our malice, O divine Mother, that is the cruel sword piercing your loving heart; and since with every sin we sharpen the edges of its inhuman cuts and add greater anguish to your solitude, renewing the sorrowful Passion of your dead Jesus, because our sins offend Him and increase your afflictions, we are sorry, forsaken Lady; we are sorry, most patient Mother; we are sorry, most lovable Virgin, with all our heart and beyond all measure, for having sinned and for having so many times put to death the treasure of your life, the life of your soul and the soul of your heart, Jesus.
We are sorry, most loving dove, for having been so constant a cause of your most bitter solitude, when you are our remedy, our shelter and our refuge. We have sinned, most compassionate Mary, against your sweet Jesus, and against you, so blameless, so pure and so holy. We have sinned, yet we do not forget your clemency; and so, by it, obtain pardon for us, for we all profess the firmest resolution never to sin again, to die rather than offend your dead Jesus, and never to give way to ungrateful forgetfulness of your sorrows.
And we trust in your most lovable nature and your motherly heart: you will obtain for us forgiveness, amendment and perseverance in it, so that, as true children, we may accompany you in the bitterness of your tender solitude. Amen.
3. Prayer of St. Alphonsus Liguori for a Happy Death
St. Alphonsus Liguori, bishop and Doctor of the Church, placed this prayer at the beginning of The Glories of Mary (Naples, 1750). It invokes the sorrow Our Lady suffered as she stood by her Son at His death and asks her for that same companionship in our final hour. It is a very fitting prayer to pray beside someone who is gravely ill, especially when they receive the Anointing of the Sick.
O Mary, sweet refuge of poor sinners: when my soul must leave this world, my most sweet Mother, by the sorrow you felt as you stood by your Son dying on the Cross, assist me then with your mercy.
Drive far from me the enemies of hell, and come then to take my soul and present it to the eternal Judge. My Queen, do not abandon me. After Jesus, you must be my comfort in that dreadful moment.
Pray to your Son that, in His goodness, He may grant me to die clinging to your feet and to give up my soul into His holy wounds, saying: “Jesus and Mary, I give you my heart and my soul.”
4. Prayer to Our Lady of Sorrows by Blessed Miguel Agustín Pro
This is the prayer to Our Lady of Sorrows that Father Pro wrote days before his martyrdom, on November 13, 1927, to be exact.
Let me spend my life at your side, my Mother,
keeping company with your solitude and your deep sorrow.
Let me feel in my soul the sad weeping of your eyes and
the desolation of your heart.
On the road of my life I do not wish to savor the joys of Bethlehem,
adoring the Child God in your virginal arms;
I do not wish to enjoy, in the humble little house of Nazareth,
the gentle presence of Jesus Christ;
I do not wish to accompany you in your glorious Assumption among the choirs of Angels...
In my life I want the jeers and the mockery of Calvary,
I want the slow agony of your Son, the contempt,
the ignominy, the disgrace of the Cross;
I want to be at your side, most sorrowful Virgin, standing,
strengthening my spirit with your tears,
consummating my sacrifice with your martyrdom,
sustaining my heart with your solitude,
loving my God and your God with the immolation of my being. Amen.
5. Petitions to the Sorrowful Heart of Mary
With this prayer to Our Lady of Sorrows, we ask her to intercede for us and obtain for us the graces we need to grow in holiness:
V. O God, come to my assistance.
R. O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father…
1. I grieve for thee, O Mary most sorrowful, in the affliction of thy tender heart at the prophecy of the holy and aged Simeon. Dear Mother, by thy heart so afflicted, obtain for me the virtue of humility and the gift of the fear of God.
Hail Mary…
2. I grieve for thee, O Mary most sorrowful, in the anguish of thy most affectionate heart during the flight into Egypt and thy sojourn there. Dear Mother, by thy heart so troubled, obtain for me the virtue of generosity, especially toward the poor, and the gift of piety.
Hail Mary…
3. I grieve for thee, O Mary most sorrowful, in those anxieties which tried thy troubled heart at the loss of thy dear Son Jesus. Dear Mother, by thy heart so full of anguish, obtain for me the virtue of chastity and the gift of knowledge.
Hail Mary…
4. I grieve for thee, O Mary most sorrowful, in the consternation of thy mother’s heart at meeting Jesus as He carried His Cross. Dear Mother, by thy heart so oppressed, obtain for me the virtue of patience and the gift of fortitude.
Hail Mary…
5. I grieve for thee, O Mary most sorrowful, in the martyrdom which thy generous heart endured in the agony of Jesus. Dear Mother, by thy martyred heart, obtain for me the virtue of temperance and the gift of counsel.
Hail Mary…
6. I grieve for thee, O Mary most sorrowful, in the wounding of thy tender heart, when the lance opened the side of Jesus and pierced His most adorable Heart. Dear Mother, by this wound which thy own heart suffered in place of His, obtain for me the virtue of fraternal charity and the gift of understanding.
Hail Mary…
7. I grieve for thee, O Mary most sorrowful, for the pangs that wrenched thy most loving heart at the burial of Jesus. Dear Mother, by the extreme torment that filled thy overwhelmed heart, obtain for me the virtue of zeal and the gift of wisdom.
Hail Mary…
V. Pray for us, O most sorrowful Virgin.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray.
Let intercede for us, we beseech Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, now and at the hour of our death, before the throne of Thy mercy, the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose most holy soul was pierced by a sword of sorrow in the hour of Thy Passion. Through Thee, O Jesus Christ, Savior of the world, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest, world without end. Amen.
6. Collect of the Mass of Our Lady of Sorrows
The collect is the prayer with which the priest gathers the intentions of the assembly at the beginning of Mass. This is the prayer to Our Lady of Sorrows proper to the September 15 memorial in the Roman Missal.
O God, who willed that, when your Son was lifted high on the Cross, his Mother should stand close by and share his suffering, grant that your Church, participating with the Virgin Mary in the Passion of Christ, may merit a share in his Resurrection. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
7. Sorrowful Hail Mary
This Hail Mary is a version adapted as a prayer to Our Lady of Sorrows.
Hail Mary, full of sorrows, Jesus crucified is with thee; worthy of tears and compassion art thou among women, and worthy of tears and compassion is Jesus, the blessed fruit of thy womb.
Holy Mary, Mother of the Crucified, give tears to us, crucifiers of thy Son, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
How many lessons Our Lady of Sorrows teaches us!
She shows us that human suffering is no longer useless when it is united to the sacrifice of Christ. Just as Mary shared in the Redemption in a unique way, we the faithful can offer our own sorrows as an act of love for souls and as cooperation in the salvation of the world. It is the price of loving a God who was crucified out of love for us.
The figure of Our Lady of Sorrows at the foot of the Cross (Stabat Mater) teaches that faith requires the fortitude to remain “standing” in the face of adversity. Sorrow becomes a school of fortitude where the believer finds in the Mater Dolorosa companionship and strength so as not to be “crushed” by tribulations.
Mary Most Holy knew the Scriptures and understood perfectly all that the Messiah was to suffer. Even so, she did not shrink back, but accepted God’s plan. With her fiat at the Annunciation and at the foot of the Cross, she shows us that sorrow must be a renewed “yes” to the will of God, even when we do not understand the immediate reason for our suffering.
Devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows reminds us that sorrow is not the final destination. Mary, though torn with grief, kept her hope in the victory over death. Thus, Christian suffering becomes the necessary path that precedes the glory of the Resurrection.
How important it is to meditate on her sorrows throughout the year! When we pray a prayer to Our Lady of Sorrows, let us ask her for the grace of a horror of sin and a renewed ardor in the battle for our sanctification.
You can use the Catholic Mass Times app to find the nearest Catholic church with Mass, Confession, and Adoration times. It’s sure to help you! Download it now.
When is the feast day of Our Lady of Sorrows?
The universal Church celebrates the memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows on September 15. Many places also keep the Friday of Sorrows, the Friday before Palm Sunday.
How do I pray to Our Lady of Sorrows for help?
You can turn to her as “Comforter of the Afflicted,” asking her for strength to face adversity and for meaning in your own suffering. A traditional way to ask for her help is to pray her Seven Sorrows Rosary, asking her to “lend us her Heart” so that we may love Jesus as she loves Him.
What do the 7 swords of the Sorrowful Mother mean?
The seven swords that often pierce the heart in images of her are a visual representation of the prophecy of the aged Simeon (“a sword will pierce through your own soul”).
What is the difference between Our Lady of Sorrows and Our Lady of Solitude?
Both titles contemplate the same mystery. Our Lady of Sorrows encompasses the Seven Sorrows of Mary throughout her life. Our Lady of Solitude focuses on the last one: Mary’s solitude after the burial of Jesus, which the Church contemplates in a special way on Holy Saturday.
How do you pray the Seven Sorrows Rosary?
Unlike the traditional Rosary, this one is structured in sets of seven:
- It optionally begins with an Act of Contrition.
- The first sorrow is announced and briefly meditated upon.
- One Our Father, seven Hail Marys, and one Glory Be are prayed.
- This process is repeated for each of the seven sorrows.
- At the end, three Hail Marys are usually prayed in honor of the tears shed by the Blessed Virgin Mary.
What is the history of Our Lady of Sorrows?
Devotion to Mary’s compassion began to be documented around the tenth century under titles such as “Queen of Martyrs.”
