In our Catholic tradition, the month of September is dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows focusing on the profound suffering of the Blessed Virgin Mary, particularly during the Passion and Death of her Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. This devotion, rooted in Scripture and tradition, highlights the Virgin Mary’s role as a co-sufferer with Christ, often depicted with seven swords piercing her heart, symbolizing her seven sorrows.
The feast of Our Lady of Sorrows is celebrated on September 15, following the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on September 14, emphasizing the connection between Christ’s suffering and that of His Mother.
These are the key events in the Virgin Mary’s life that are meditated upon in this devotion, as supported by Scripture and Catholic tradition:
1. The Prophecy of Simeon (Luke 2:34-35): Simeon foretells that a sword will pierce Mary’s soul due to Jesus being a sign of contradiction.
2. The Flight into Egypt (Matthew 2:13-15): Mary and Joseph flee to protect Jesus from Herod’s threat, enduring fear and exile.
3. The Loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:41-51): Mary experiences anguish when Jesus is missing for three days.
4. Mary Meets Jesus on the Way to Calvary (Luke 23:27, John 19:25 context): Mary encounters her Son carrying the cross.
5. The Crucifixion and Death of Jesus (John 19:25-27): Mary stands at the foot of the cross, witnessing her Son’s suffering and death.
6. The Descent from the Cross (John 19:38): Mary receives Jesus’ body, holding him in her arms (often depicted as the Pietà).
7. The Burial of Jesus (John 19:39-42): Mary accompanies her Son’s body to the tomb, facing the finality of his death.
Devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows began in the 12th century, gaining prominence through the efforts of saints like St. Anselm and St. Bernard, and later the Cistercians and Servite Order (founded in the 13th century), who promoted meditation on Mary’s sorrows. The feast was formalized in 1423 by a provincial synod in Cologne and extended to the universal Church in 1817 by Pope Pius VII, who attributed his release from exile to Mary’s intercession. In 1913, Pope St. Pius X set the feast date as September 15.
The Sorrowful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary—To be prayed during Holy Week. May these reflections deepen your devotion to the Passion of our Lord and draw you closer to His Sacred Heart.
The First Sorrowful Mystery: The Agony in the Garden
In the Garden of Gethsemane, our Lord Jesus Christ withdrew from His disciples to pray. Facing the imminent reality of His Passion, He experienced profound anguish of soul and body. Scripture records His words: “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39).
In this mystery, we contemplate the perfect obedience of the Son to the Father, even as He bore the weight of humanity’s sins. Jesus, fully divine and fully human, submitted His human will to the divine will amid intense sorrow. We are invited to examine our own resistance to God’s will in times of trial. Through this mystery, may we learn to surrender our fears, anxieties, and attachments, uniting our sufferings with Christ’s agony and trusting in the Father’s providential love.
Today the Church celebrates the Solemnity St. Joseph, the spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the foster-father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Guardian of the Redeemer, and Patron of the Universal Church.
St. Joseph was an ordinary manual laborer although descended from the royal house of David. In the designs of Providence he was destined to become the spouse of the Mother of God. His high privilege is expressed in a single phrase, "Foster-father of Jesus." About him Sacred Scripture has little more to say than that he was a just man—an expression which indicates how faithfully he fulfilled his high trust of protecting and guarding God's greatest treasures upon earth, Jesus and Mary.
The darkest hours of his life may well have been those when he first learned of Mary's pregnancy; but precisely in this time of trial Joseph showed himself great. His suffering, which likewise formed a part of the work of the redemption, was not without great providential import: Joseph was to be, for all times, the trustworthy witness of the Messiah's virgin birth. After this, he modestly retires into the background of holy Scripture.
Of St. Joseph's death the Bible tells us nothing. There are indications, however, that he died before the beginning of Christ's public life. His was the most beautiful death that one could have, in the arms of Jesus and Mary. Humbly and unknown, he passed his years at Nazareth, silent and almost forgotten he remained in the background through centuries of Church history. Only in more recent times has he been accorded greater honor. Liturgical veneration of St. Joseph began in the fifteenth century, fostered by Sts. Brigid of Sweden and Bernadine of Siena. St. Teresa, too, did much to further his cult.
At present there are two major feasts in his honor. On March 19 our veneration is directed to him personally and to his part in the work of redemption, while on May 1 we honor him as the patron of workmen throughout the world and as our guide in the difficult matter of establishing equitable norms regarding obligations and rights in the social order. (Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch)
NOVENA TO ST. JOSEPH—DAY NINE
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Saint Joseph, you are the faithful protector and intercessor of all who love and venerate you. You know that I have confidence in you and that, after Jesus and Mary, I come to you as an example for holiness, for you are especially close with God. Therefore, I humbly commend myself, with all who are dear to me and all that belong to me, to your intercession. I beg of you, by your love for Jesus and Mary, not to abandon me during life and to assist me at the hour of my death.
Glorious Saint Joseph, spouse of the Immaculate Virgin, pray for me to have a pure, humble, charitable mind, and perfect resignation to the divine Will. Be my guide, my father, and my model through life that I may die as you did in the arms of Jesus and Mary.
Loving Saint Joseph, faithful follower of Jesus Christ, I raise my heart to you to implore your powerful intercession in obtaining from the Divine Heart of Jesus all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare, particularly the grace of a happy death, and the special grace I now implore:
(Mention your request)
Guardian of the Word Incarnate, I feel confident that your prayers on my behalf will be graciously heard before the throne of God.
St. Joseph Most Just, Pray for us!
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
NOVENA TO ST. JOSEPH—DAY EIGHT
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Saint Joseph, you are the faithful protector and intercessor of all who love and venerate you. You know that I have confidence in you and that, after Jesus and Mary, I come to you as an example for holiness, for you are especially close with God. Therefore, I humbly commend myself, with all who are dear to me and all that belong to me, to your intercession. I beg of you, by your love for Jesus and Mary, not to abandon me during life and to assist me at the hour of my death.
Glorious Saint Joseph, spouse of the Immaculate Virgin, pray for me to have a pure, humble, charitable mind, and perfect resignation to the divine Will. Be my guide, my father, and my model through life that I may die as you did in the arms of Jesus and Mary.
Loving Saint Joseph, faithful follower of Jesus Christ, I raise my heart to you to implore your powerful intercession in obtaining from the Divine Heart of Jesus all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare, particularly the grace of a happy death, and the special grace I now implore:
(Mention your request)
Guardian of the Word Incarnate, I feel confident that your prayers on my behalf will be graciously heard before the throne of God.
St. Joseph Most Just, Pray for us!
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
NOVENA TO ST. JOSEPH—DAY SIX
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Saint Joseph, you are the faithful protector and intercessor of all who love and venerate you. You know that I have confidence in you and that, after Jesus and Mary, I come to you as an example for holiness, for you are especially close with God. Therefore, I humbly commend myself, with all who are dear to me and all that belong to me, to your intercession. I beg of you, by your love for Jesus and Mary, not to abandon me during life and to assist me at the hour of my death.
Glorious Saint Joseph, spouse of the Immaculate Virgin, pray for me to have a pure, humble, charitable mind, and perfect resignation to the divine Will. Be my guide, my father, and my model through life that I may die as you did in the arms of Jesus and Mary.
Loving Saint Joseph, faithful follower of Jesus Christ, I raise my heart to you to implore your powerful intercession in obtaining from the Divine Heart of Jesus all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare, particularly the grace of a happy death, and the special grace I now implore:
(Mention your request)
Guardian of the Word Incarnate, I feel confident that your prayers on my behalf will be graciously heard before the throne of God.
St. Joseph Most Just, Pray for us!
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
NOVENA TO ST. JOSEPH—DAY FIVE
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Saint Joseph, you are the faithful protector and intercessor of all who love and venerate you. You know that I have confidence in you and that, after Jesus and Mary, I come to you as an example for holiness, for you are especially close with God. Therefore, I humbly commend myself, with all who are dear to me and all that belong to me, to your intercession. I beg of you, by your love for Jesus and Mary, not to abandon me during life and to assist me at the hour of my death.
Glorious Saint Joseph, spouse of the Immaculate Virgin, pray for me to have a pure, humble, charitable mind, and perfect resignation to the divine Will. Be my guide, my father, and my model through life that I may die as you did in the arms of Jesus and Mary.
Loving Saint Joseph, faithful follower of Jesus Christ, I raise my heart to you to implore your powerful intercession in obtaining from the Divine Heart of Jesus all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare, particularly the grace of a happy death, and the special grace I now implore:
(Mention your request)
Guardian of the Word Incarnate, I feel confident that your prayers on my behalf will be graciously heard before the throne of God.
St. Joseph Most Just, Pray for us!
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
“Ite ad loseph! Go to Joseph with extreme confidence, because I do not remember having asked anything from St. Joseph, without having obtained it readily.” (Saint Padre Pio)
NOVENA TO ST. JOSEPH—DAY FOUR
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Saint Joseph, you are the faithful protector and intercessor of all who love and venerate you. You know that I have confidence in you and that, after Jesus and Mary, I come to you as an example for holiness, for you are especially close with God. Therefore, I humbly commend myself, with all who are dear to me and all that belong to me, to your intercession. I beg of you, by your love for Jesus and Mary, not to abandon me during life and to assist me at the hour of my death.
Glorious Saint Joseph, spouse of the Immaculate Virgin, pray for me to have a pure, humble, charitable mind, and perfect resignation to the divine Will. Be my guide, my father, and my model through life that I may die as you did in the arms of Jesus and Mary.
Loving Saint Joseph, faithful follower of Jesus Christ, I raise my heart to you to implore your powerful intercession in obtaining from the Divine Heart of Jesus all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare, particularly the grace of a happy death, and the special grace I now implore:
(Mention your request)
Guardian of the Word Incarnate, I feel confident that your prayers on my behalf will be graciously heard before the throne of God.
St. Joseph Most Just, Pray for us!
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
NOVENA TO ST. JOSEPH—DAY THREE
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Saint Joseph, you are the faithful protector and intercessor of all who love and venerate you. You know that I have confidence in you and that, after Jesus and Mary, I come to you as an example for holiness, for you are especially close with God. Therefore, I humbly commend myself, with all who are dear to me and all that belong to me, to your intercession. I beg of you, by your love for Jesus and Mary, not to abandon me during life and to assist me at the hour of my death.
Glorious Saint Joseph, spouse of the Immaculate Virgin, pray for me to have a pure, humble, charitable mind, and perfect resignation to the divine Will. Be my guide, my father, and my model through life that I may die as you did in the arms of Jesus and Mary.
Loving Saint Joseph, faithful follower of Jesus Christ, I raise my heart to you to implore your powerful intercession in obtaining from the Divine Heart of Jesus all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare, particularly the grace of a happy death, and the special grace I now implore:
(Mention your request)
Guardian of the Word Incarnate, I feel confident that your prayers on my behalf will be graciously heard before the throne of God.
St. Joseph Most Just, Pray for us!
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
NOVENA TO ST. JOSEPH—DAY TWO
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Saint Joseph, you are the faithful protector and intercessor of all who love and venerate you. You know that I have confidence in you and that, after Jesus and Mary, I come to you as an example for holiness, for you are especially close with God. Therefore, I humbly commend myself, with all who are dear to me and all that belong to me, to your intercession. I beg of you, by your love for Jesus and Mary, not to abandon me during life and to assist me at the hour of my death.
Glorious Saint Joseph, spouse of the Immaculate Virgin, pray for me to have a pure, humble, charitable mind, and perfect resignation to the divine Will. Be my guide, my father, and my model through life that I may die as you did in the arms of Jesus and Mary.
Loving Saint Joseph, faithful follower of Jesus Christ, I raise my heart to you to implore your powerful intercession in obtaining from the Divine Heart of Jesus all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare, particularly the grace of a happy death, and the special grace I now implore:
(Mention your request)
Guardian of the Word Incarnate, I feel confident that your prayers on my behalf will be graciously heard before the throne of God.
St. Joseph Most Just, Pray for us!
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
NOVENA TO ST. JOSEPH—DAY ONE
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Saint Joseph, you are the faithful protector and intercessor of all who love and venerate you. You know that I have confidence in you and that, after Jesus and Mary, I come to you as an example for holiness, for you are especially close with God. Therefore, I humbly commend myself, with all who are dear to me and all that belong to me, to your intercession. I beg of you, by your love for Jesus and Mary, not to abandon me during life and to assist me at the hour of my death.
Glorious Saint Joseph, spouse of the Immaculate Virgin, pray for me to have a pure, humble, charitable mind, and perfect resignation to the divine Will. Be my guide, my father, and my model through life that I may die as you did in the arms of Jesus and Mary.
Loving Saint Joseph, faithful follower of Jesus Christ, I raise my heart to you to implore your powerful intercession in obtaining from the Divine Heart of Jesus all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare, particularly the grace of a happy death, and the special grace I now implore:
(Mention your request)
Guardian of the Word Incarnate, I feel confident that your prayers on my behalf will be graciously heard before the throne of God.
St. Joseph Most Just, Pray for us!
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
“He is Holy Joseph, because according to the opinion of a great number of doctors, he, as well as St. John Baptist, was sanctified even before he was born. He is Holy Joseph, because his office, of being spouse and protector of Mary, specially demanded sanctity. He is Holy Joseph, because no other Saint but he lived in such and so long intimacy and familiarity with the source of all holiness, Jesus, God incarnate, and Mary, the holiest of creatures.” (St. John Henry Newman)
Are you looking for little ways to increase your prayer life during the upcoming penitential season of #Lent in order to draw nearer to God? Try simply adding a new prayer to your day! Perhaps this beautiful Spiritual Communion…
O Holy Angel at my side,
Go to Church for me,
Kneel in my place, at Holy Mass,
Where I desire to be.
At Offertory, in my stead,
Take all I am and own,
And place it as a sacrifice
Upon the Altar Throne.
At Holy Consecration’s bell,
Adore with Seraph’s love,
My Jesus hidden in the Host,
Come down from Heaven above.
Then pray for those I dearly love,
And those who cause me grief,
That Jesus’ Blood may cleanse all hearts,
And suff’ring souls relieve.
And when the priest Communion takes,
Oh, bring my Lord to me,
That His sweet Heart may rest on mine,
And I His temple be.
Pray that this Sacrifice Divine,
May mankind’s sins efface;
Then bring me Jesus’ blessing home,
The pledge of every grace. Amen.
Photo: St. Mary Oratory, @ICKSPROCKFORD
This year's beautiful Vatican Presepio (Christmas Crib/Nativity Scene), with hand carved wooden figures made in the Italian Diocese of Nocera Inferiore-Sarno, was inaugurated tonight. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
🔥 NEW SONG: “The Lamb Said What He Said” — OUT NOW ✝️🕊️
Every generation tries to “fix” Jesus.
Correct Him.
Explain what He really meant.
Sand off the edges.
Rewrite the words He spoke with the authority of God Himself.
But here’s the thing:
He never asked for an editor.
The Lamb still says,
“This is My Body.”
And twenty centuries of Christians — Ignatius, Irenaeus, Chrysostom, Augustine, Ambrose — never treated that as a metaphor.
So the new track is a deadpan, talk-sing roast of the “Actually, in the Greek…” crowd.
The folks who think Jesus needed an asterisk.
The ones who swipe their theological white-out across the words of the Word.
As always, it’s blunt, biblical, snarky, and unmistakably Catholic.
And the visuals?
Flat-icon silhouettes, golden halos, the Lamb slain and crowned — all in the signature Peter’s Barque minimalist style.
Listen, watch, and share if you’re tired of people erasing the things Jesus said plainly.
LISTEN & FOLLOW
Website: https://t.co/4uFYbLjM6Y
Instagram: https://t.co/QrmQBImIom
TikTok: https://t.co/529rX37X38
Facebook: https://t.co/DEUCrXfMuV
X (Twitter): https://t.co/OtbQSF9S82