Why this devotion belongs in your life
In the Fourth Sorrow of The Glories of Mary, St. Alphonsus follows Our Lady on the way to Calvary. He calls the reader to accompany Jesus and Mary by bearing patiently the cross the Lord gives, and closes with a prayer asking Mary for that grace.
At Fatima, the Angel asked the children to offer sacrifices in reparation for sin and for the conversion of sinners, especially accepting the sufferings God permitted. The devotion begins with this received invitation: unite the trial already before you to Jesus, and entrust it to Mary for souls.
Offering suffering goes together with fulfilling your duties and seeking needed help. Receive medical care, leave danger, and relieve suffering where you can. Ask Mary for patience in the difficulty that remains.
Let us then compassionate her, and let us strive to accompany her son and her too, by bearing with patience the cross which the Lord gives us.
St. Alphonsus de Liguori · The Glories of Mary, Fourth Sorrow (excerpt)
Stand beside Our Lady at Calvary: contemplate Mary’s Seven Sorrows, then pray the Seven Sorrows chaplet with your own suffering entrusted to her.
What an offered suffering becomes
St. Alphonsus asks us to follow Jesus and Mary with patience. The Fatima message calls us to offer sacrifice for love of God, in reparation for sin, and for the conversion of sinners.
The response taught at Fatima
Offer sacrifice in reparation for sin.
The Angel of Peace called the children to offer what they could to God in reparation for the sins by which He is offended.
Pray and offer for the conversion of sinners.
Our Lady asked the children to offer themselves to God for sinners. Name the person or intention for whom you are praying.
Follow Mary with St. Alphonsus
Ask for patience in carrying your cross.
In the prayer of the Fourth Sorrow, St. Alphonsus asks Mary for help to bear patiently the crosses God sends. Make his prayer your own.
Begin today in five steps
Do the next faithful thing. Depth comes through perseverance.
- Recognize the present difficulty without resentment or pretense.
- Unite it deliberately to the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross.
- Place it in Mary’s hands for the conversion of sinners.
- Name a particular person or intention when helpful.
- Return to the offering whenever the suffering becomes heavy.
Nothing has to be wasted
Lucia’s account remembers the Angel teaching the children to offer sacrifice to God, and Our Lady asking them to offer themselves for sinners. St. Francisco and St. Jacinta answered with prayer and the sacrifices of their daily lives. Their example invites a response in the duties and trials already before us.
[1] Sanctuary of Fatima, SacrificeRead and pray with St. Alphonsus.
His seven meditations on Our Lady’s sorrows each lead into prayer. Begin with the Fourth Sorrow, on meeting Jesus as He went to death.
A daily school of offering
Give Mary the next unavoidable difficulty.
Begin with what is already present: an interruption, disappointment, illness, or hidden act of patience. Unite it to Jesus and offer it for sinners. Faithfulness in small sacrifices prepares the soul for greater generosity.
Read Fatima’s callOfficial Fatima teaching on sacrifice