Sorrowful Mother Novena

Holy Mother Church dedicates September to Our Lady of Sorrows. May we pray to Our Lady of Sorrows throughout this month, remembering and honoring her suffering, which she endured out of love for God and for us.  With the feast of the Seven Sorrows of Mary being celebrated on September 15, this is a fitting time to recite the following novena, which would begin on September 6 and finish on the vigil of the feast, September 14. In this novena we remember the sorrows of our Heavenly Mother, while asking her to help us gain specific virtues and the seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Sorrowful Mother Novena

V. O God, hasten to my aid.
R. O Lord, make haste to help me.
V. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
R. As it was in the beginning,...

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 holy 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 full of anguish, 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 Jesus in the Temple. 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 heart at meeting Jesus as He carried His Cross. Dear Mother, by thy heart so troubled, 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 standing near Jesus in His agony on the Cross. Dear Mother, by thy afflicted 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 compassionate heart, when the side of Jesus was pierced by a lance before His Body was removed from the Cross. Dear Mother, by thy heart thus transfixed, 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 thy heart sunk in the bitterness of desolation, obtain for me the virtue of diligence and the Gift of Wisdom.  *Hail Mary

Let us pray. Let intercession be made for us, we beseech Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, now and at the hour of our death, by the throne of Thy mercy, by the Blessed Virgin Mary, Thy Mother, whose most holy soul was pierced by a sword of sorrow in the hour of Thy bitter Passion, through Thee, O Jesus Christ, Savior of the world, Who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns world without end. Amen.

God bless!

+JMJ+