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September is the Month of Our Lady of Sorrows
The World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation is celebrated September 1st. In keeping with this theme, we also celebrate Saint Hildegard of Bingen and the Stigmata of Saint Francis on the same day: Sept 17th. Both saints are invoked for nature, as they contributed greatly to theology referencing God’s creation. We also have the Ember Days of Autumn on the 24th, 26th and 27th, in which we perform prayer and penance for the upcoming season. Reading the Mass missal for the Ember Days is a wonderful way to celebrate them. In addition, traditionally, meat was eaten at only one meal on Ember Wednesday and Saturday. If you missed praying for the earth on the 1st, these feasts would be a great time to do so.
There are countless devotions to Our Lady of Sorrows, the Seven Sorrows and the Sorrowful Heart of Our Lady. We honor our Sorrowful Mother on the 15th, which gives us our theme of this month (there are 4 more Marian feasts, see below in bold). Let us show our love and empathy for her by choosing one of these devotions to perform. We at Nomen Christi Apostolate also contemplate the Marian Triad of the Months during these 3 months in honor of the Mother of God. Next month is Our Lady of the Rosary, when we also honor the sanctity of life. For this month, we may meditate on how the Immaculate Heart we celebrated last month, intertwines with the Sorrowful Heart. They are often invoked together.
Other notable feasts of September in both the trad and post-con calendars…
6th-First Saturday of the Immaculate Heart
8th-Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
12th-Holy Name of Mary
14th-EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS
21st-Saint Matthew, Apostle & Evangelist
24th-Our Lady of Ransom
26th-North American Martyrs
27th-Saint Vincent de Paul
29th-Saints Michael, Gabriel & Raphael, Archangels/Dedication of Saint Michael
Homeschool Activities for September
1) List the 7 Sorrows of Our Lady. Can you find where they are in Holy Scripture?
2) Make an Autumn craft for the Ember Days, incorporating a spiritual theme.
3) Draw a picture of the 3 archangels.
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
Luke 7:11 and Our Lady of Sorrows
“And it came to pass afterwards, that he went into a city that is called Naim; and there went with him his disciples, and a great multitude. And when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold a dead man was carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow: and a great multitude of the city was with her. Whom when the Lord had seen, being moved with mercy towards her, he said to her: Weep not. And he came near and touched the bier. And they that carried it, stood still. And he said: Young man, I say to thee, arise. And he that was dead, sat up, and began to speak. And he gave him to his mother. And there came a fear on them all: and they glorified God, saying: A great prophet is risen up among us: and, God hath visited his people. And this rumour of him went forth throughout all Judea, and throughout all the country round about.”
Luke 7:11
Above is the Gospel passage for today, the 2nd Sunday in this month of Our Lady of Sorrows. Do you notice anything? This account of one of Our Lord’s miracles of raising the dead, foreshadows the Passion and the Resurrection. Mary was a widow at the foot of the Cross, which is why Jesus gave her to Saint John, to be cared for by him. Her Son was crucified, but raised after 3 days! She never lost hope, trusting that this was part of God’s great plan for the redemption of the human race.
Our celebrant at the Tridentine Mass in Glen Cove, New York, brought light to this scripture. He mentioned that the crowd would have been astonished by Our Lord touching a dead body, as this was considered unclean. He drew the parallel to us when we are in a state of sin. Christ reaches out to us in our misery, to lead us to the sacrament of Penance and the great peace that follows. It is a bathing of the soul. We are all that young man, given back to our Holy Mother Church, the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth.
Another point Fr. Daniel made, was that once you are forgiven, it is time to become a witness. As soon as the boy was raised, he spoke. How important this is in our own time, as the world has forgotten all that is good and Godly. Let us courageously speak of the love and mercy of the Most Holy Trinity to all the world and transform the face of the earth!