September 16, 2025
The Church has always looked to Mary not only as the Mother of Jesus but also as a mother who walks with her children in both joy and in sorrow. Among her many titles, one of the most moving is “Our Lady of Sorrows.” Under this title, the faithful are invited to contemplate the sufferings she endured throughout her life, sufferings that reached their depth when she stood at the foot of the Cross. To pray with her in these moments is to learn how to trust, how to persevere, and how to love even when the heart is pierced. For this reason, the entire month of September is set aside in her honor, a time to reflect on her sorrows with particular devotion and gratitude.
The Seven Sorrows devotion draws us into seven events from Mary’s life that reveal the mystery of her heart. First came Simeon’s prophecy in the Temple, when she heard that a sword would pierce her soul. Then came the flight into Egypt, as she and Joseph fled to protect the infant Jesus from Herod’s violence. She knew the anxious searching for her Son when He was lost in the Temple for three days. On the way to Calvary, she met Him face to face, wounded and carrying the Cross. She stood beneath that Cross as He suffered and died, receiving His body into her arms before seeing Him laid in the tomb. Each sorrow was a wound, yet each was also a moment of grace. In truth, Mary suffered many more sorrows during her life; yet these seven are the ones the Church has called us to contemplate with particular reverence and devotion, for they draw us deeply into the mystery of Christ’s Passion and the heart of His Mother.
This devotion has deep roots in the history of the Church. The Servite Order, founded in the 13th century, took the sorrows of Mary as a central part of their spiritual life, seeing in her example a guide for all who suffer. Over the centuries, popes encouraged the faithful to take up this devotion, especially in times of trial. Pope Pius VII, who endured exile as a prisoner of Napoleon, found comfort in Our Lady of Sorrows and promoted her chaplet as a source of strength.
The Chaplet of Our Lady of Sorrows is a beautiful way to pray through these mysteries. Much like the rosary, it is prayed on beads – seven groups of seven Hail Marys, each recalling one of the sorrows. This rhythm of prayer allows the faithful to place themselves beside Mary, sharing in her compassion and asking her to intercede in times of need. It has comforted countless Christians through the centuries, especially those weighed down by grief or uncertainty.
In modern times, Our Lady herself renewed this devotion in Rwanda. At Kibeho in the 1980s, she appeared to young visionaries with an urgent call: pray the Chaplet of Sorrows. She warned that the world needed repentance, conversion, and reconciliation. She urged people to turn away from sin, to pray from the heart, and to find peace in Christ. Her message proved prophetic as the Rwandan genocide unfolded a few years later. Even now, her voice calls the world to prayer, to conversion, and to peace.
This message remains urgent today. Division and violence tear at the fabric of our own country and ripple across the world. Families, communities, and nations suffer wounds of hatred, conflict, and indifference. Mary shows a different way. To stand at the Cross, as she did, is not to give up hope but to cling to it more tightly. She shows that God’s love can bring life out of death, hope out of despair, peace out of conflict. When we pray with her sorrows, we discover that our own suffering is not meaningless but a place where God can work His grace.
Our Lady of Sorrows is also Our Lady of Consolation. She knows the pain of a grieving mother, the fear of fleeing danger, the anguish of watching a loved one suffer. Because she has walked that road, she walks with all who carry heavy burdens. She reveals that every cross, when carried with love, leads to new life.
