The Stabat Mater is the Church's great meditation on the sorrowful Mother standing beneath the Cross. It is prayed especially during Lent and at the Stations of the Cross.
The Hymn
At the Cross her station keeping,
stood the mournful Mother weeping,
close to Jesus to the last.
Through her heart, his sorrow sharing,
all his bitter anguish bearing,
now at length the sword had passed.
O how sad and sore distressed
was that Mother highly blest
of the sole-begotten One.
Christ above in torment hangs;
she beneath beholds the pangs
of her dying glorious Son.
Holy Mother, pierce me through;
in my heart each wound renew
of my Savior crucified.
Let me share with thee his pain,
who for all my sins was slain,
who for me in torments died.
When to Pray This Prayer
During Lent, on the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows (September 15), and at the Stations of the Cross.
About This Prayer
Composed in the thirteenth century and often attributed to Jacopone da Todi, the Stabat Mater leads us to stand with Mary at the foot of the Cross and to share her sorrow.
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Text: traditional English translation of the Stabat Mater (Edward Caswall, public domain).