Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The month of September has many many beautiful feasts! Sept 8: Mama Mary's birthday!, Sept 12: Feast of the Holy Name of Mary, Sept 14: Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross!, Sept 15, (today): Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary :))

Here, some text to explain a little what this feast means to us and some prayers to encourage.

Deo gratias et Mariae!

Mater Dolorosa, Our Lady of Quito

The picture of Our Lady of Quito, an image of Our Lady with the seven swords piercing her heart, was first placed in the boarding school of the Jesuit Fathers in Quito. On April 20, 1906, Father Andrew Roesch along with 36 boys of the academy witnessed the first miracle of this famous picture. While in the refectory they saw the Blessed Mother slowly open and shut her eyes. The same miracle occurred several times after this. The canonical process of examination was carried out by the ecclesiastical authorities, and the Vicar General ordered the picture to be transferred in procession from the College to the Church of the Jesuit Fathers in the downtown plaza, not far from the Conceptionist Convent. At the Church of the Jesuits, the prodigy was repeated many times, and many conversions took place. In Quito this image is known as the Mater Dolorosa del Colegio [Sorrowful Mother of the College].  

On the 50th anniversary of the first miracle, His Holiness Pope Pius XII ordered the Canonical Coronation of the miraculous image of Our Sorrowful Mother, declaring her Queen of the Catholic Education in Ecuador.

Text taken from: http://militia-immaculatae.asia/english/Prade385.php

Today is Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary . The Church twice commemorates the sorrows of its heavenly Mother. The Friday of Passion week, since the 15th century, has also been dedicated by the universal Church to Her Compassion. Why is this so? To understand this double liturgy, we must know that Mary is also the Mother of the Mystical Body. 

In 1668 the feast in honor of the Seven Dolors was set for the Sunday after September 14, the Feast of the Holy Cross. The present feast was instituted by Pius VII after his return from his captivity and exile, which lasted from 1809 to 1814. The feast was inserted into the Roman calendar in 1814, and Pope Pius X fixed the permanent date of September 15 for the Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 

The essence of the feast

“O all ye that pass by the way, attend and see if there be any sorrow like to my sorrow.” Abbot Gueranger says in the Liturgical year “The Savior to come is not only the reason of Mary’s existance, He is also her exemplar in all things. It is as his Mother that the Blessed Virgin came, and therefore as the ‘Mother of Sorrows’; for the God whose future birth was the very cause of her own birth, is to be in this world ‘a Man of sorrows and acquainted with infirmity.’” Christ is the reason for Mary’s birth and existence. Jesus and Mary suffered together for the whole world. Mary suffered so much from watching her Son suffer. All throughout Our Lord’s life swords were piercing the heart of His Mother, starting with the prophesy of Simeon all the way to His death and burial. A total of Seven swords were to pierce her motherly heart. Saint Bernard says “the sword would not have reached Jesus if it had not pierced Mary’s heart.” Mary’s sorrow is unlike any sorrow that anyone could ever know. And she suffered it all with her Son for souls, for us, that we may see the truth and be able to live happily with her and her Son forever in Heaven.

Christ no longer suffers, and for Our Lady also, all suffering as we understand it has ceased. Nonetheless, the prophet Jeremias in his Lamentations, asks: To whom shall You be compared, O Virgin? Your affliction is like the ocean. A mother who is happy in her home weeps just the same over the sorrows of her children. The statues and pictures of Mary all over Europe wept before the Revolution in France, and Her statues weep again today, in many places. The Passion of Christ continues in His elect, in particular in His Vicar on earth, from whom He does not separate Himself, and against whom the force of hell is deployed unceasingly. The mysterious compassion of the Mother is forever acquired for the Mystical Body of Her Son, which must reproduce the divine death in its human nature, elevated above its natural condition by the superhuman power of grace. 

Mary's great sorrows began at the prediction of Simeon that a sword would transpierce Her heart. Soon afterwards, She was obliged to flee with the newborn Infant, already object of a fatal search. She lost Him in the temple for three inexpressibly painful days; She met Him on the road to Calvary, and the sight indeed pierced Her heart. She saw Him die, heard His final cry, and witnessed the opening of His side with the effusion of His last drops of blood, mingled with water; She received in Her arms the inert body of the most beautiful of the sons of men. Finally, She was obliged to depose Him in a tomb, leave Him there and return with Her adopted son, John, to a deicidal Jerusalem. 

The Queen of Martyrs has never ceased to encourage Her children on earth to bear their own crosses, which complement the Passion of Christ. He suffered first the ordinary contradictions of life; for three years He was taunted and regarded as a menace by those who should have recognized Him and His mission. He knew hunger, cold and fatigue; He slept so heavily in a boat amid a tempest, that we can only suppose He was exhausted. He knew what it was to be abandoned in need and to lose, to the empire of various passions, followers He had called His. Christ is our forerunner in all human sorrows and difficulties. Mary, as His Mother, offered to God with Him all the afflictions of His earthly life, and She continues to offer those of the Church, for its sanctification, for the souls in Purgatory and the salvation of souls. 

We propose book about Severn Sorrows of Our Lady: “At the foot of the Cross” by Fr. William Faber. 

The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary: 

I. The Prophecy of Simeon (Lk 2:22-35): 

1. When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 

2. Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 

3. He took Jesus up in his arms and blessed God and said, "Lord, now let thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word; 

4. for mine eyes have seen thy salvation which thou hast prepared in the presence of all peoples. 

5. And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him; 

6. and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, "Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against" 

7. (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed." 

II. The Flight into Egypt (Mt 2:13-21):

1. When the Magi had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream 

2. He said, "Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there till I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him." 

3. Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night, and departed to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. 

4. Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, was in a furious rage. 

5. He sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under. 

6. But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. 

7. "Rise, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead." And he rose and took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. 

III. The Loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple (Lk 2:41-50): 

1. Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom; 

2. When the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. 

3. His parents did not know it, but supposing him to be in the company they went a day's journey, 

4. They sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintances; and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking him. 

5. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 

6. His mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been looking for you anxiously." 

7. He said to them, "How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" 

IV. The Meeting of Jesus and Mary on the Way of the Cross (John 19:1; Luke 23:26-32): 

1. So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross. 

2. And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus. 

3. And there followed him a great multitude of the people, and of women who bewailed and lamented him. 

4. But Jesus turning to them said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. 

5. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, 'Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never gave suck!' 

6. For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?" 

7. And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull). 

V. The Crucifixion and Jesus Dies on the Cross (Mark 15:22; John 19:18, 25-27; Mark 15:34; Luke 23:46): 

1. And they brought him to the place called Gol'gotha (which means the place of a skull). 

2. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. 

3. Standing by the cross of Jesus were his Mother, and his Mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 

4. When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son!" 

5. Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your Mother!" And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. 

6. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, "E'lo-i, E'lo-i, la'ma sabach-tha'ni?" which means, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" 

7. Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, "Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit!" And having said this he breathed his last. 

VI. The Taking down of the Body of Jesus from the Cross (John 19:31-34, 38; Lam 1:12): 

1. In order to prevent the bodies from remaining on the cross on the sabbath, the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. 

2. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him; 

3. but when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 

4. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. 

5. After this Joseph of Arimathe'a, who was a disciple of Jesus, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus. 

6. Pilate gave him leave. So he came and took away his body. 

7. "Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow. 

VII. Jesus is Laid in the Tomb (Matthew 27:59; John 19:38-42; Mark 15:46; Luke 27:55-56): 

1. Joseph took the body, and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud, 

2. Nicodemus also, who had at first come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds' weight. 

3. They took the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. 

4. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb where no one had ever been laid. 

5. So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, as the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there. And Joseph rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. 

6. The women who had come with him from Galilee followed, and saw the tomb, and how his body was laid. 

7. Then they returned, and prepared spices and ointments. On the sabbath they rested according to the commandment. 

The Promises:

According to the visions of St. Bridget of Sweden (1303–1373) our Blessed Mother promises to grant seven graces to those who honor her and draw near to her and her Son every day by meditating on her dolors (sorrows) and entering into her grief. 

"I will grant peace to their families." 

"They will be enlightened about the divine Mysteries." 

"I will console them in their pains and will accompany them in their work." 

"I will give them as much as they ask for as long as it does not oppose the adorable will of my divine Son or the sanctification of their souls." 

"I will defend them in their spiritual battles with the infernal enemy and I will protect them at every instant of their lives." 

"I will visibly help them at the moment of their death — they will see the face of their mother." 

"I have obtained this grace from my divine Son, that those who propagate this devotion to my tears and dolors will be taken directly from this earthly life to eternal happiness, since all their sins will be forgiven and my Son will be their eternal consolation and joy."

Prayers in Honor of the Seven Dolors of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Approved by Pope Pius VII in 1815

V. O God, come to my assistance 

R. O Lord, make haste to help me 

V. Glory be to the Father, etc. 

R. As it was in the beginning, etc. 

1. We grieve for you, O Mary most sorrowful, in the affliction of your tender heart at the prophecy of the holy and aged Simeon. Dear Mother, by your heart so afflicted, obtain for us, and for all men, the virtue of humility and the gift of the Holy Fear of God. Hail Mary, full of grace... etc. 

2. We grieve for you, O Mary most sorrowful, in the anguish of your most affectionate heart during the flight into Egypt and your sorrowful journey there. Dear Mother, by your heart so troubled, obtain for us, and for all men, the virtue of generosity, especially toward the poor, and the gift of Piety. Hail Mary, etc. 

3. We grieve for you, O Mary most sorrowful, in the anxieties which tried your troubled heart at the loss of your dear Jesus. Dear Mother, by your heart so full of anguish, obtain for us, and for all men, the virtue of chastity and the gift of Knowledge. Hail Mary, etc. 

4. We grieve for you, O Mary most sorrowful, in the consternation of your heart at meeting Jesus as He carried His Cross. Dear Mother, by your heart so troubled, obtain for us, and for all men, the virtue of patience and the gift of Fortitude. Hail Mary, etc. 

5. We grieve for you, O Mary most sorrowful, in the martyrdom which your generous heart endured in standing near Jesus in His agony. Dear Mother, in your agony, obtain for us, and for all men, the virtue of temperance and the gift of Counsel. Hail Mary, etc. 

6. We grieve for you, O Mary most sorrowful, in the wounding of your compassionate heart, when the side of Jesus was struck by the lance before His Body was removed from the Cross. Dear Mother, by your heart thus transfixed, obtain for us, and for all men, the virtue of fraternal charity and the gift of Understanding. Hail Mary, etc. 

7. We grieve for you, O Mary most sorrowful, for the pangs that wrenched your most loving heart, at the burial of Jesus. Dear Mother, by your heart sunk in the bitterness of desolation, obtain for us, and for all men, the virtue of diligence and the gift of Wisdom. Hail Mary, etc. 

Let us pray: Let intercession be made for us, we beseech You, O Lord Jesus Christ, now and at the hour of our death, before the throne of Your Mercy, by the Blessed Virgin Mary, Your Mother, whose most Holy Soul was pierced by a sword of sorrow in the hour of Your bitter Passion. Through You, O Jesus Christ, Savior of the world, Who with the Father and the Holy Ghost lives and reigns world without end. Amen. 

---

Mater Dolorosa: Feast of the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady, Our Dearest Mother

+J.M.J.A.T.

Today is the feast day of the Seven Sorrows of Our Mother Dearest:

The Mater Dolorosa del Colegio in Quito, Ecuador.

Use the picture to help you understand the 7 sorrows of Our Dearest Mother. See the swords (seven in total) piercing her Most Immaculate Heart. Look at her expression. See that she is holding the nails that pinned dearest Jesus, Her Only Son to the cross! Notice her clutching the most dreadful crown of thorns? She is hugging them all. Why does she hug them at all? She knows, oh yes she knows how much it is so necessary for our salvation.  

What sorrow it must have been, coming from such an intense, most loving heart of our dearest mother? How a mother must feel, when people tell you things about your child, when you lose your child, when you have to watch your child suffer, unjustly?

The Seven Sorrows of Our Lady:

1. The announcement by Simeon, "and thy soul a sword shall pierce." (during the Feast of the Presentation of Dearest Baby Jesus in the Temple)
2. The flight into Egypt.
3. The loss of Jesus in the temple at the age of 12.
4.  The meeting with Jesus on the Way of the Cross.
5. Standing at the foot of the Cross.
6. The taking of Jesus down from the Cross.
7. The burial of Our Lord - Desolation of Our Lady.

Yesterday's Feast Day: Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
(A relic of the true cross is shown in veneration on this side altar that was prepared specially on Good Friday)

Padre Pio on The Mother of Sorrows

The story behind the first picture in this blog post:

Reposted from: http://www.catholictradition.org/Mary/del-colegio.htm

The Miracle of the DOLOROSA DEL COLEGIO

Quito, Ecuador

1906 

On April 20, 1906, the thirty-six boarding students at St. Gabriel's Academy, conducted by the Jesuit Fathers in Quito, Ecuador, had just finished their evening meal. Brother Luis Alberdi was about to take them to the study hall when Father Andrés Roesch, the Prefect, came in and gave the boys a recreation. While the younger lads played or talked as usual, Father Roesch began speaking to the older boys about the recent earthquake in San Francisco. [1] 

As four of the younger boys, who had recently made their First Communion, were conversing on pious subjects, Jaime Chaves, the youngest of the four, lifted his eyes to a picture of Our lady of Sorrows hanging on a wall 

in the refectory about three meters away.

Prompted by an interior inspiration, the lad gazed attentively at the picture. Then he saw the Blessed Virgin slowly open and close Her eyes. 

Without attempting to explain what he saw, he told his three classmates. Frightened, they drew the attention of the Prefect and the other students. The phenomenon lasted around a quarter of an hour. Father Prefect claimed that it was an illusion and led the boys to the chapel to say the Rosary even before the prodigy had ended.

The picture in question is an oil painting of medium size (15" x 17"---38 cm x 42 cm), which represents the Mother of Sorrows holding the crown of thorns and the three nails, Her Heart pierced by seven swords. This very expressive painting inspires devotion, above all by the profound sorrow and indescribable kindness visible on the face of the Mother of God.

  

The miracle is repeated 

The miracle of the animation of the Virgin's eyes occurred on several occasions. The second time it was again on behalf of the students at the academy. It took place at eight o'clock in the evening as the students were praying before the holy image, which had been moved into the chapel. After they finished the Rosary, when they came to the Litany of the Blessed Virgin, all the boys spontaneously exclaimed, "Her eyes are moving!"

Such extraordinary events, observed by so many people, soon became the object of a serious examination by the Ecclesiastical Authorities. The canonical procedures were conducted with great prudence, much to the consolation of the faithful. 

Solemn triduum 

Six weeks after the first miracle, the Vicar General of the diocese ordered the transfer of the miraculous image. It was carried in procession from the academy chapel to the adjacent Jesuit Fathers' church, where a solemn triduum was to be celebrated.

It was a magnificent procession. All the communities in the city, the various associations and solidarities, the academies and schools, most of the aristocracy of the capital and over thirty thousand people took part. Such a manifestation of faith, so spontaneous and on such a grand scale, had seldom been seen in the peaceful city of Quito. In the church, the wonder was renewed several times before the crowd; many conversions followed.

"A tree is known by its fruit" 

One remarkable conversion was that of the editor of the Tiempo, one of the most anti-religious newspapers of the period. The unbelieving journalist had joined the crowd of the faithful with the sole intention of mocking the Blessed Virgin. However, almost as soon as he saw Her open and close Her eyes, he fell to his knees and broke into tears of true repentance. His way of life subsequently proved the sincerity of his conversion.

Another unbeliever came to church at the very moment the people were enthusiastically exclaiming that the prodigy was being renewed. With great insolence he remained standing in front of the image. When he saw the Blessed Virgin's eyes move, he exclaimed, "I don't believe it!" and then left. Once outdoors, he retraced his steps, saw the movement of the eyes as he had the first time, repeated the same declaration of unbelief and left again. But something kept forcing him to go back to the church. This disturbed him, and he went in a third time. Grace triumphed over his obstinacy at last and he fell to his knees, weeping like a child.

Many people who witnessed this miracle attested that when they saw it, they felt strongly moved by grace and drawn to the practice of virtue. Numerous conversions ensued.

Further developments 

Shortly after the triduum, a novena was begun to ask for Our Lady's help on behalf of Ecuador. The prodigy of the eyes was renewed on three consecutive days and witnessed by many people.

When the first miracle had occurred, the episcopal see of Quito was vacant. Bishop Federico Gonzáles Suárez of Ibarra was named to fill the vacancy. Appointed Archbishop of Quito, he took possession of his new see on July 6, 1906; that day the miracle was renewed three times. The third occurrence took place at two o'clock in the afternoon, at the very moment the new archbishop entered the city, and as the choir was singing: 

Once again, O Mary, 

Turn thy motherly eyes 

Upon those who kneel before thee, 

Imploring thy compassion. [2] 

The Blessed Virgin in the picture moved Her eyes slowly. Then the background of the image faded and only the face stood out in relief. Its complexion was that of a living person. The Blessed Virgin opened and closed Her eyes. Twice She lifted them to Heaven. At times She seemed to be making an effort to hold back Her tears. Then Her face turned pale and waxen, as though She were about to die. Filled with dismay, the faithful burst into tears and cried out, begging for pardon and mercy. At last the face of the Blessed Virgin returned to its usual serenity and natural color. 

The same miracle took place in Riobamba with a reproduction of the holy image. Members of one of the leading families of that town and over twenty other persons, including the local president, saw Her eyes open and close very distinctly. 

Canonical investigation

As we mentioned above, the canonical investigation was conducted with all due gravity. Before the new Archbishop's appointment, the Vicar General had gathered all the witnesses, over forty in number, and explained the importance and magnitude of the written declaration they were about to sign. These declarations were to be made under oath before unbiased witnesses. The Commission of Inquiry also proceeded scrupulously in the scientific study of the event in question. Several commissions made up of men of science were formed; they were to establish whether any kind of natural explanation were possible. Physicists, chemists, photographers, physicians and theologians deliberated at great length. To avoid the slightest suspicion of partiality or self-interest, the Jesuits were not authorized to participate in these commissions.

Calumniators did not fail to attack these proceedings and label everything as a hoax. Therefore, it had to be proven that there was no reasonable foundation to their critical allegations.

Once the inquiry and the prescribed formalities were concluded, the Vicar General issued the following declaration in Quito on June 3, 1906: 

1. The event which occurred on April 20th in the Jesuit Fathers' Academy is established as historically certain. 

2. The event, considering the circumstances in which it occurred, cannot be explained by natural laws. 

3. The event, because of what preceded it as well as what followed it, cannot be attributed to any diabolical influence. 

And the decree adds: Consequently, it is permitted to believe in it. The faithful may render to the image that occasioned this event the public devotions permitted by the Church, [3] and pray before the image with legitimate confidence. 

To understand the declaration in the third paragraph in reference to what preceded the phenomenon, let us mention that this miracle had been predicted, though obscurely, by the Blessed Virgin Herself to a young girl of high virtue, well known for her supernatural gifts. Several days before the event, Mary had revealed to her that She intended to give a special sign of Her approval of the practice of children being raised by religious. St. Gabriel's Academy had reached a point of total decline. But then, in 1906, at the height of the anti-clerical era, the April 20th miracle occurred in the presence of the students and Fathers of the academy. The academy received a new lease on life, and from that day on it experienced a flourishing revival. 

  

[1] That earthquake, 8.3 on the scale, occurred on April 18, 1906; it almost entirely destroyed the city of San Francisco and took the lives of about 3,000 people.

[2] Vuelve otra vez, Maria, Los maternales ojos, A los que aqui de hinojos, Te piden compasión.

[3] Devotions permitted by the Church: that is, to honor, venerate and expose the image and pray before the image, which reminds us of the Mother of God and Her kindness. Those who oppose the cult of images or call it an idolatry are simply manifesting their ignorance. We are happy to display photos of our loved ones in our home or carry them on our person, to remind us of them and to prove our love. Can that be called idolatry? 

Jesus, Mary, Joseph, Anne, Therese, I love You; Save Souls!

Jesu mitis et humilis corde, Fac cor nostrum secundum Cor tuum. (ter)

Deus propitius esto mihi peccatori.

+AMDG

Good Friday

[31] For if in the green wood they do these things, what shall be done in the dry? 

Quia si in viridi ligno haec faciunt, in arido quid fiet?

said Jesus to the Filiae Jerusalem 

with His Cross, bearing heavily on His most precious, yet bruised and scourged body,

on His Way to Mount Calvary

Parce Domine, parce populo tuo. Ne in aeternum, irascaris nobis. 

Parce Domine, parce populo tuo. Ne in aeternum, irascaris nobis. 

Parce Domine, parce populo tuo. Ne in aeternum, irascaris nobis. 

Juxta crucem tecum stare,

Et me tibi sociare

In planctu desidero

By the †cross with thee to stay,

There with thee to weep and pray,

Is all I ask of thee to give.

(From the Stabat Mater)

[Prayer for the Sovereign Pontiff] St Catherine of Siena

O Most High and ineffable God, I have sinned and am not worthy to pray to Thee, but Thou canst render me less unworthy. Punish, O Lord, my sins and do not look upon my misery. 

I received a body from Thee. I give it back to Thee and I offer it to Thee. Here is my person and my very blood; strike, destroy! Reduce my bones to dust, but grant that which I ask for the Sovereign Pontiff, Unique Spouse of Thy Unique Spouse.

May he always know Thy Will. May he love and follow it, so that we do not perish. Give to him, O my God, a new heart; so that Thy grace may always grow in him. May he not tire in carrying the standard of Thy Holy Cross. May he dispense to the [unbelievers], the treasures of Thy Mercy, as he does to us who benefit from the Passion and Blood of the Lamb without blemish, Thy beloved Son. 

I have sinned, Lord. Eternal God, have mercy on me. Amen.

Jesus, Mary, Joseph, Anne, Therese, I love You; Save Souls!

Jesu mitis et humilis corde, Fac cor nostrum secundum Cor tuum. (ter)

Deus propitius esto mihi peccatori. 

Feast of the Seven Dolors of Our Lady

On the occasion of this great feast, I would like to say a little prayer, for all the priests in the world today, that dearest Mother Mary blest will bless and protect them, her sons, all of whom are so wronged, so badly treated just because they are not of this world.

Ave Maria, ora, ora, pro nobis.

Keep them, I pray Thee, dearest Lord,

Keep them, for they are Thine.

Thy Priests, whose lives burn out before

Thy consecrated shrine.

Keep them, for they are in the world,

Though from the world apart.

When earthly pleasures tempt, allure,

Shelter them in Thy Heart.

Keep them and comfort them in hours

Of loneliness and pain.

When all their lives of sacrifice

For souls seem but in vain.

Keep them; and, oh, remember them, O dearest Lord

They have no one but Thee;

Yet they have only human hearts,

With human frailty.

Keep them as spotless as the Host

That daily they caress.

Their every thought and word and deed

Deign, dearest Lord, to bless.

Amen.

Jesu mitis et humilis corde, Fac cor nostrum secundum Cor tuum. (ter)

Jesus, Mary, I love You; Save Souls!

Deus propitius esto mihi peccatori.

The Seven Sorrows of Our Dearest Mother

See the Passion and the Compassion, the greatest Love and the greatest Pain, contemplate the two most beautiful and sorrowful hearts in the world: the most Sacred Heart of Jesus and the most Immaculate and Sorrowful Heart of Mary.

Here is THE Most Beautiful Seven Sorrows of Our Dearest Mother:

Exercises and Prayers

In Honour of Our Lady of Seven Dolours

Taken from "The Servite Manual: BEHOLD THY MOTHER" pages 169-176

The CROWN or ROSARY of the SEVEN DOLOURS OF OUR LADY

An Act of Contrition

Oh my most loving Saviour, behold me before Thy divine presence, full of confusion for the many offences I have committed against Thee. I repent of them from my whole heart, and detest them above all evils, because they offend Thine infinite goodness; and I firmly purpose to wash my soul in the Sacrament of Penance, and never to offend Thee again. Forgive me, my crucified Svaiour, in Thine infinite mercy. And thou, most tender Virgin, Refuge of Sinners, do thou, by thy bitter pains, obtain for me the pardon of all my sins, and grace never to crucify thy Son again.

Come, O Holy Ghost, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and inkindle in them the fire of Thy love.

V. Send forth Thy Spirit and they shall be created.

R. And Thou shalt renew the face of the Earth.

V. Remember Thy congregation.

R. Which THou hast possessed from the beginning.

V. O Lord, hear my prayer.

R. And let my cry come unto Thee.

Let us pray.

Enlighten our minds, we beseech Thee, Oh Lord, with thelight of Thy brightness, that we may see what we ought to do, and be able to do what is right. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

I. The First Sorrow of our Blessed Lady was when, having presented Jesus, her Divine Son, in the Temple, she heard the words of holy Simeon, "Thy own soul a sword shall pierce;" by which he foretold the Passion and Death of her Son Jesus.

Our Father ... Hail Mary ... V. Virgin most sorrowful, R. Pray for us.

II. The Second Sorrow of our Blessed Lady was when she was obliged to flee into Egypt, because King Herod was seeking the Child to destroy Him.

Our Father ... Hail Mary ... V. Virgin most sorrowful, R. Pray for us.

III. The Third Sorrow of our Blessed Lady was when, returning from Jerusalem after the feast of the Pasch, she lost her beloved Son Jesus and for three days, with St. Joseph, sought Him sorrowing.

Our Father ... Hail Mary ... V. Virgin most sorrowful, R. Pray for us.

IV. The Fourth Sorrow of our Blessed Lady was when she met on the way to Calvary her dear Son Jesus, carrying on His bruised shoulders a heavy cross, whereon He was to be crucified for our salvation.

Our Father ... Hail Mary ... V. Virgin most sorrowful, R. Pray for us.

V. The Fifth Sorrow of our Blessed Lady was when she saw her Divine Son nailed to the cross, shedding blood from all parts of His sacred body, and after three hours' agony beheld Him die.

Our Father ... Hail Mary ... V. Virgin most sorrowful, R. Pray for us.

VI. The Sixth Sorrow of our Blessed Lady was when a soldier with a spear opened the sacred Side of Jesus, and when His sacred body, being taken down from the cross, was laid on her most pure bosom.

Our Father ... Hail Mary ... V. Virgin most sorrowful, R. Pray for us.

VII. The Seventh Sorrow of our Blessed Lady was when she saw the most sacred Body of her Son Jesus laid in the sepulcher.

Our Father ... Hail Mary ... V. Virgin most sorrowful, R. Pray for us.

In honor of the tears which our Lady shed in her Dolors, that we may obtain a true sorrow for our sins and gain the holy indulgences.

Hail Mary ...

Optional:

The Stabat Mater

V. Pray for us, most sorrowful Virgin.

R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray.

Grant, we beseech Thee, Oh Lord Jesus Christ, that the most blessed Virgin Mary, Thy Mother, whose most holy soul was pierced with the sword of sorrow in the hour of Thy Passion, may intercede for us before the throne of Thy mercy, now and at the hour of our death. Through Thee, Jesus Christ, Savior of the world, who, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, livest and reignest world without end. Amen.

In honor of the Seven Holy Founders, who were so devoted toour Blessed Lady.

Our Father ... Hail Mary ... Glory be to the Father ...

For our benefactors, living and dead, and for those whopractice this devotion.

Hail Holy Queen ...

For the Sovereign Pontiff, the wants of Holy Church, andfor all our necessities, spiritual and temporal.

V. Virgin most sorrowful, R. Pray for us.

V. May the sorrowful Virgin Mary

R. Bless us with her loving Child.

Deus propitius esto mihi peccatori

Jesus, Mary, I love Thee; Save Souls!

Jesu mitis et humilis corde, Fac cor nostrum secundum Cor tuum. (ter)

Mater Dolorosa

What words can ever describe the unspeakable anguish that rent the sacred heart of Mary as she looked upon her Divine Son hanging on the cross! Every wound in Jesus' body was also a wound in the heart of Mary: every fiber, every nerve throbbing in agony, every pang He suffered re-echoed in her heart. She endured by her compassion a share in all the anguish of His Passion. Why did Mary suffer all this? That she might be our Mother, the Mother of mankind. She who brought forth her Divine Son without a pang suffered many a piercing pang when from the cross her dying Son commended to her the sinful sons of men. It was indeed a motherhood of sorrow that she suffered for our sins: for mine.

- As taken from the 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal.

More on the The Seven Sorrows of Our Lady: An Introduction Part I of Behold Thy Mother.

Alone with God
By Fr. J. Heyrmann S.J.

OUR LADY OF DOLOURS

15th September

Although the feast of our Lady of Dolours, which used to be kept on this Friday (Friday of Passion Week), has been suppressed, yet we deem it fit to meditate on this subject, because Mary, more than any one else had a share in the bitter and saving passion of her Son. Jesus willed that His Mother should be in a very special manner connected with the work of our salvation, even, in a way, associated with it.

1. Mary stands near the cross and hears Jesus saying to her, “Woman, behold thy son! … and to the disciple, Behold thy mother” (John 19:26,27).

2. Petition: The grace to be given a share in the sufferings of Mary, the grace to understand better her motherhood of men.

I. Mary’s Via Dolorosa

By her unconditional Fiat at the time of the visit of the Angel, Mary had accepted whatever was implied in being the Mother of the Redeemer. This would be gradually revealed to her and experienced by her.

Gabriel had said that her Son “would be great, the Son of the Most High, seated on the throne of David …” But much had happened to her since that moment: Old Simeon had told her that her Child, who was to reign in the house of Jacob for ever, “was set for the fall and the resurrection of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be contradicted” and “thy own soul a sword shall pierce …” Her destiny will therefore be closely linked with that of her Son, which will be a tragic one. These forebodings she surely has kept in her heart, pondering over them.

During the years of the public ministry Mary remains in the background. That He is “a sign which is contradicted”, she learns soon enough, in her own neighbourhood, and from her own kith and kin. Again and again she hears reports of the hostility of the Pharisees; she is aware of the violence of their hatred; she knows they are plotting to take her Son’s life. Mary accepts it all, maintaining her Fiat, though the sword ever enters deeper into her heart.

These things are not mentioned in the Gospel. Was there any need to mention them? “The Evangelists supposed that we have common sense” is St. Ignatius’ annotation in connection with the meager details found in the Scriptures concerning Mary. All the more precious, then, to us are the details which St. John supplies in his account of the Passion.

During those days before the Passover Mary was at Jerusalem, and she would thus be a witness of the great tragedy. Did she, after the arrest of our Lord, follow from a distance all the proceedings? Did she hear the mad yells of the mob, “Not this man, but Barrabas” … “Crucify him!”? If so they were so many torturing thrusts of the sword penetrating ever more deeply into her soul. Did Jesus meet His Mother along the Via Dolorosa? … These are devout surmises to supplement the sober Gospel account.

But one thing is absolutely certain: Mary, in the company of John, of Mary Cleophas and of Mary Magdalen, went up to Mount Calvary and stood by the Cross of her dying Son. It has all the appearance of a summons from God Himself: When the Word was made Flesh to dwell among us, she had by her Fiat called Him down and welcomed Him. The sacrifice whereof that was the beginning is now about to be consummated: she ought, therefore, to be present at its completion too, and by her ultimate Fiat to be associated with its final oblation.

II. Christ’s Creative Words

“When Jesus therefore had seen His Mother and the disciple standing whom He loved, He said to His Mother, Woman, behold thy son. After that He said to His disciple, Behold Thy Mother. And from that hour the disciple took her to his own” (John 19:26,27). Words most painful to hear, but how “blessed” too!

St. Bernard has pointed out to us in burning accents how soul-torturing they must have been for Mary. “What an exchange! In the place of Jesus thou receivest John, the servant in stead of the Lord, the disciple in place of the Master, the son of Zebedee to replace the Son of God, a mere man in exchange for the true God. How is it impossible that at the hearing of those words thy soul should not have been pierced through, since the mere remembrance of them breaks our hearts of stone and steel?”

Painful words to Mary, but how full of solace to us, nay creative words, according to the opinion of many theologians and exegetes. By these simple words, quietly spoken, now that “His hour is come”, Jesus in the fullness of His power solemnly appoints Mary Mother of all those who, like John, will believe in Him. Thus in sorrow and pain Mary becomes the Mother of all the living. And so she is for ever associated in a unique manner with her Son in the work of redemption, becoming the Mediatrix of all graces.

Just as, “from that moment, the disciple took her to his own”, i.e. took her into his house as the Mother of Jesus and his own Mother, so will we give to Mary in our lives the place that is her due as the Mother of Jesus and our own Mother.

III. Mary Unites Her Sacrifice with That of Her Son

At no other moment did Mary feel, live, and suffer so closely in union with her divine Son as when He, utterly surrendering Himself to the Father, consummated His work of salvation. By a most sublime Fiat she associated herself with and acceded to, the Sacrifice which achieved our and her own redemption. “As Jesus, with arms stretched out on the cross, and His Body naked, offered Himself to the Father a willing victim for our sins, so that nothing remained in Him which was not entire offered in sacrifice” (4 Imitation of Christ 8:1), so also Mary, standing by the Cross, offered herself to the Father, together with her Son and through Him, with all her powers and desires, a pure and holy sacrifice. Consummatum est. It is consummated.

Prayer: O God, at whose Passion, as Simeon had prophesied, the most gentle soul of Mary, Thy Virgin Mother, was pierced with a sword of sorrow; mercifully grant through the glorious merits and intercession of all the Saints who loyally stood around Thy Cross, that we, who devoutly recall to mind her transfixion and sorrows, may attain to the happiness won for us by Thy Passion; Who livest and reignest world without end.
(Collect of today’s Mass).

Deus propitius esto mihi peccatori

Jesus, Mary, I love Thee; Save Souls!

Jesu mitis et humilis corde, Fac cor nostrum secundum Cor tuum. (ter)