Today is September 15, the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows.
We read at today’s Mass, “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” (Jn 19:25-27).
On this day, the Church honors Mary, who stood beneath the cross and shared in her Son’s suffering with steadfast love. The memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows is a reminder that Christian life is always marked by the cross — but also by hope, because love redeems even the darkest suffering.
Carlo Acutis’ mother, Antonia, once shared a powerful dream she had a few months before his death. In the dream, she saw a bleeding lamb, left to die, while a voice in Arabic spoke the words “sacrifice” and “victim.” Though she did not understand the language, she later discovered the meaning, and she became convinced that this dream foretold Carlo’s final agony. In his last days, suffering hemorrhages from leukemia, Carlo became in a mysterious way conformed to Christ, the true Lamb who takes away the sins of the world.
Mary’s ‘yes’ in sorrow
Antonia reflected, “I am deeply convinced that Carlo, in imitation of Jesus, was God’s chosen victim for the salvation of many.” She saw in her son’s death not meaningless tragedy but participation in Christ’s passion. The many graces and conversions that have flowed after his death confirm for her that his suffering bore fruit in mercy for others.
On this feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, Carlo’s witness reminds us that suffering united to Christ is never wasted. Mary teaches us to stay at the foot of the cross, trusting that God is at work even in agony. Carlo’s offering of his illness echoes Mary’s “yes” in sorrow: both point us to Christ, whose death brings life to the world.
Like Mary, we are invited to remain faithful beneath the cross, even when all seems lost. As the Stabat Mater prays: “At the cross her station keeping, stood the mournful Mother weeping, close to Jesus to the last.”
Let us pray,
O God, who willed that, when your Son was lifted high on the Cross, his Mother should stand close by and share his suffering, grant that your Church, participating with the Virgin Mary in the Passion of Christ, may merit a share in his Resurrection. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
