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)

Happy Birthday Dearest Mamma Mary! =D

From the Antiphon at the Magnificat of today's Vespers:

Thy Nativity, O Virgin Mother of God, was the herald of joy to the whole world: since from thee arouse the Sun of Justice, Christ our God, Who, destroying the curse, bestowed the blessing, and, confounding death, brought us the gift of life everlasting.

Nativitas tua, Dei Genitrix Virgo, gaudium annuntiavit universo mundo: ex te enim ortus est sol justitiae, Christus Deus noster: qui solvens maledictionem, dedit benedictionem, et confundens mortem, donavit nobis vitam sempiternam.
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Today's the birthday of a person very very dear to me, whom I love alot :D and I am also very sure, also very dear to many others too! :)

YAY!

and, I am all hers! :)

Here's a link to my post on Mammma Mary's birthday last year ... time really flies and how fast!

A Prayer to Mother Mary, taken from the prayer said after The Little Crown of the Blessed Virgin Mary which is also another prayer:

Hail, Mary, Daughter of God the Father; Hail, Mary, Mother of God the Son; Hail, Mary, Spouse of the Holy Ghost; Hail Mary, Temple of the Most Holy Trinity; Hail, Mary, my Mistress, my treasure, my joy, Queen of my heart; my Mother, my life, my sweetness, my dearest hope - yea, my heart and my soul! I am all thine and all that I have is thine, O Virgin blessed above all things! Let thy soul be in me to magnify the Lord; let thy spirit be in me to rejoice in God. Set thyself, O faithful Virgin, as a seal upon my heart, that in thee and through thee I may be found faithful to God. Receive me, O gracious Virgin, among those whom thou lovest and teachest, whom thou leadest, nourishest and protectest as thy children. Grant that for love of thee I may despise all earthly consolations and ever cling to those of Heaven until, through the Holy Ghost, thy faithful Spouse, and through thee, His faithful spouse, Jesus Christ, thy Son, be formed in me for the glory of the Father. Amen.

and

Since this September month is dedicated to our Dearest Mother of Sorrows or Mater Dolorosa as in the picture on the left, here's more about devotion to her Sorrowful Heart. :D

Notice that in this picture of Mother Mary, she appears looking older than in her other representations, in her other pictures (e.g. like the picture above, known as the Immaculate Heart of Mary, how Mother Mary appeared to the 3 children at Fatima). This is precisely because she is the Mother of Sorrows and as St. Bernardine of Sienna says, "So great were the sorrows of the Most Holy Virgin that if they had been divided among all the creatures on earth, they would have killed all of them in an instant."

See Mother Mary's dearest Heart, pierced with 7 swords, representing the 7 Dolors or 7 Sorrows of our Blessed Mother.

See Mother's hands and arms, one, holding the precious Crown of thorns, the other holding the 3 nails that nailed her Son, my Jesus, to the Cross. Notice the heavenly look on her face even amidst so much anguish, so much sorrow, showing such great resignation to the Will of the Almighty.

So Beautiful! and O so Painful!

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September, the month dedicated to Our Mother of Sorrows

J.M.J.

Taken from: "The Servite Manual: BEHOLD THY MOTHER - a Collection of Devotions Chiefly in Honor of Our Lady of Sorrows," compiled by The Servite Fathers; 6th ed; Servite Fathers, Chicago, 1947; pages xv-xxix.

INTRODUCTION

The Devotion and Confraternity of Our Lady of Seven Dolors

Origin and Propagation of the Devotion to the Seven Dolors of our Blessed Lady

The devotion to the Dolors of Mary is as old as Holy Church: it had its birth on the day of the Passion at the foot of the cross, when our Lord gave us His Mother to be our Mother also. She to whom He bade us turn our eyes, when in the person of St. John He said to us, "Behold thy Mother," is not Mary in her Immaculate Conception, in her Annunciation, or her Assumption, but Mary plunged in sorrow and bathed in tears, the Mother of Dolors. Thus we see that among the manifestations of Christian piety towards the most holy Mother of God, compassion for her Dolors is one of the most ancient; and among the oldest archaeological remains it is by no means rare to find her image at the foot of the cross beside that of the crucified Savior.

Like all the devotions of Holy Church, that to the Dolors of Mary developed by degrees and took a more precise and definite form. In the middle ages it had become extremely popular; and we may venture to say that there was no cathedral or principal church wherein was not exposed for the veneration of the faithful the image or statue of Mary at the foot of the cross, or holding the dead body of Jesus on her knees. Nay more, the same was often found in even the humblest village churches. But in order that this worship might be still more extended, God willed that there should be in His Church an Order especially set apart for its propagation, and in the persons of the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order, of St. Philip Benizi and their successors, He raised up indefatigable apostles to travel through Italy and the whole of Europe, preaching everywhere compassion for the sufferings of Jesus crucified and of Mary desolate, as well as hatred for sin, the accursed cause of these sufferings.

Nothing is more touching and wonderful than the manner in which this mission was entrusted to the Seven HolyFounders. These men where seven Florentine patricians who, according to the custom of that period, were also engaged in commerce. Their names were Bonfilius, Monaldi, Bonagiunta Manetti, Amideus de Amedei, Manettus dell Antella, Sosteneus Sostegni, Hugh Uguccioni and Alexius Falconieri. They were enrolled in the ranks of canonized Saints by Pope Leo XIII, January 5, 1888.

We designate them now by the names of Saints Bonfil, Bunajunt, Amideus, Manettus, or Manette, Sostene, Hugh and Alexis. Members of a pious Confraternity of the most holy Virgin, they were engaged in reciting her office on the 15th of August, the feast of her Assumption, in the year 1233, when she herself appeared to them in the glory of her triumph, and exhorted them to leave the world, in order to dedicate themselves under her auspices to the service of God. They renounced their riches and their families without delay, and retiring to an hermitage near their native town of Florence, lived a life of prayer and penance in the closest brotherly love. God was soon pleased to manifest by a wondrous miracle how pleasing to Mary were these holy men. In the following month of January, when two of them were traversing the streets of Florence and asking alms, infants still unweaned cried: "Behold the Servants of Mary; give alms to the Servants of Mary." Among these infants was St. Philip Benizi, who was to become one of the most glorious in the Order of Servites. Owing to the crowds drawn to them by this miracle, the Seven Holy Founders were obliged to seek a more secluded retreat, and chose Mount Senario, a wild and desert spot about nine miles North of Florence. There, after six years passed in extreme austerities, Mary showed them, by many miracles, the design she had in calling them out of the world. First of all, in the month of March 1240, a time of the year in which the mountain is still covered with hoar frost, a young vine, which they had planted in the previous year, grew miraculously during the night, and was clothed at once with foliage, flower, and fruit, symbol of the speedy increase of their little company, as was revealed at the same time to the Bishop of Florence, Ardingo Trotti. Shortly afterwards, on Good Friday of the same year, after having meditated and wept all day over the sufferings of Jesus and the Dolors of His most holy Mother, the Holy Founders were gathered together at eventide in their little oratory, when our Lady of Dolors appeared to them, gentle and majestic in aspect, her eyes streaming with tears, in black garments, and covered with a long mourning robe. She bore in her hands habits of like color and form. Around her was a numerous choir of angels and heavenly spirits. One of these bore a kind of label, on which, in letters as of gold, glowed the words "Servi Mariae" (Servants of Mary), another held an open book, whereon were inscribed the first words of the Rule of St. Augustine, while a third gently waved a magnificent palm, emblem of victory.

Looking upon them with love, while she slowly drew near, she signed to them to approach and take the habits which she delivered to them, saying in gentle tones: "It is I, my beloved, I upon whom you have so often called. I have chosen you out of the world, in order that you may be my Servants, and under that name work in the vineyard of my Son, producing fruits of salvation in abundance. Look upon the habit wherewith I am clothed; symbol, symbol of mourning and sadness, it indicates the profound grief which filled my soul at the death of my only Son. Take this mourning habit," and as she said this, she gave to them the garments which she held in her hands, "this habit like unto mine, and, in memory of the extreme dolor which I suffered, when I witnessed the cruel death of my dear Son, wear it through life and until the hour of your death, spreading everywhere the memory of my Dolors and of the Passion of my Jesus." Then she gave them the Rule of St. Augustine, and commanded them to observe it diligently, as also to keep always the name of Servants of Mary, promising as their reward the palm of eternal life. Thus having spoken, she vanished from the eyes of the Seven Founders, leaving their hearts filled with pity, gratitude and sweet consolation.

[FOOTNOTE: These facts, as well as those which follow, are told with greater detail in the "Story of the Seven Holy Founders," by Fr. Ledoux (Burns & Oates), and in the "Storia dei Sette Santi Fondatori," published in Rome at Propaganda, in 1888, on the occasion of their canonization.]

Such is the origin of the black scapular of our Lady of Dolors, such its touching significance. It recalls to usthe profound grief of the most holy Virgin, and associates us with it, in making us wear with her a garb of mourning. It should be still more venerable in our eyes from its great antiquity, since it even preceded that of Mount Carmel, which is often supposed to be the most ancient in the Church, but was given to St. Simon Stock only several years after the gift of that of the Seven Dolors....

(to be continued)

EXERCISES AND PRAYERS IN HONOUR OF OUR LADY OF SEVEN DOLORS

Jesus, Mary, I love Thee; Save Souls!

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