The seven major sorrows that Mary experienced concerning Her Son, as they are described in the Gospels or through Tradition, are commemorated on the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. We're encouraged to think about Mary's intense suffering today:

1. At the prophecy of Simeon: "You yourself shall be pierced with a sword - so that the thoughts of many hearts may be laid bare." (Luke 2:35).
2. On the flight into Egypt; "Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt." (Mt 2:13).
3. Having lost the Holy Child at Jerusalem; "You see that your father and I have been searching for you in sorrow." (Luke 2:48).
4. Meeting Jesus on his way to Calvary;
5. Standing at the foot of the Cross; "Near the cross of Jesus there stood His mother." (John 19:25).
6. Jesus being taken from the Cross;
7. At the burial of Christ.

The sufferings of Mary were commemorated on two feast days before the Second Vatican Council. In 1413, the first feast was established in Cologne as an atonement for the sins of the iconoclastic Hussites. The Servite order, whose main devotion is to the Seven Sorrows, is said to be responsible for the second. Although the devotion has existed since 1239, five years after the establishment of the order, it was only instituted in 1668.

Other Saints of the Day
Saint Valerian
Saint Ritbert
Saint Emilas & Jeremiah
Saint Melitina
Saint Aichardus