Today, September 15
Feast of the Day
No feast of the day
Saint of the Day
Formerly known as the 'Seven Sorrows of Mary,' this feast was instituted in 1668 by the Servite Friars out of their devotion to Mary. In 1814, Pius VII extended the feast to the whole Western Church in commemoration of the sufferings he had endured during his captivity in France. The seven sorrows are: Simeon's prophecy at the presentation of Jesus in the temple, the flight into Egypt, the disappearance of the boy Jesus in Jerusalem, the road to Calvary, the crucifixion, the removal from the cross, and the entombment.
©2011 Living with Christ, Novalis - Bayard Press Canada Inc., http://www.livingwithchrist.ca/. Reprinted with permission.
Readings of the Day
Letter to the Hebrews 5,7-9.
In the days when Christ Jesus was in the flesh, he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered; and when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.
Psalms 31(30),2-3a.3bc-4.5-6.15-16.20.
In you, O LORD, I take refuge; let me never be put to shame. In your justice rescue me, Make haste to deliver me! Be my rock of refuge, a stronghold to give me safety. You are my rock and my fortress; for your name's sake you will lead and guide me. You will free me from the snare they set for me, for you are my refuge. Into your hands I commend my spirit; You will redeem me, O LORD, O faithful God. But my trust is in you, O LORD; I say, "You are my God. In your hands is my destiny; rescue me from the clutches of my enemies and my persecutors." How great is the goodness, O LORD, which you have in store for those who fear you, and which, toward those who take refuge in you, You show in the sight of the children of men.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 19,25-27.
Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son." Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother." And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.
Daily Reflection
"Behold your Son"—these words are addressed to the Blessed Virgin; Our Lord gives all human beings to her as children, commanding her to have a mother’s heart for each of them... She has fulfilled—and will continue throughout eternity to fulfill with incomparable perfection—this command of God, just as she has all others. Let us, then, be absolutely certain that she holds a mother’s heart for every human being, and let us turn to this cherished and all-powerful Mother in all our needs, with the same confidence a child places in his mother—a mother who loves him infinitely more than any earthly mother could, and who can obtain for him from God absolutely everything that is truly good for the soul... "Behold your mother." These words are addressed to every soul. We must all treat the Blessed Virgin as our Mother and render to her the duties a good son owes to a truly good Mother: affection, honor, service, and trust—in a word, everything that Our Lord Himself rendered to the Blessed Virgin! Let us love her, honor her, and draw close to her by conversing with her in prayer; let us serve her by doing our utmost to support the works she favors and all those undertaken in her honor; let us place absolute trust in her and invoke her without hesitation—with that very confidence—in all our needs, desires, undertakings, works, and actions... Let us show ourselves to be the most tender of sons toward her, remembering that this is an essential aspect of both obedience to Jesus and imitation of Jesus: obedience, because He commands it so explicitly and solemnly, even from the Cross; and imitation, for He was always the model of a son to His mother...