The SEVEN SORROWS of our BLESSED MOTHER Scripture Quotes and Meditations for Each Sorrow
1. The prophecy of Simeon: "And Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary his mother: Behold this child is set for the fall and for the resurrection of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be contradicted; And thy own soul a sword shall pierce, that out of many hearts thoughts may be revealed" (Luke II: 34-35).
Meditation: How great was the shock to Mary's Heart at hearing the
sorrowful words, in which holy Simeon told the bitter Passion and death
of her sweet Jesus, since in that same moment she realized in her mind
all the insults, blows, and torments which the impious men were to offer
to the Redeemer of the world. But a still sharper sword pierced her soul.
It was the thought of men's ingratitude to her beloved Son. Now consider
that because of your sins you are unhappily among the ungrateful.
2. The flight into Egypt: "And after they (the wise men) were
departed, behold an angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph, saying:
Arise and take the child and His mother and fly into Egypt: and be there
until I shall tell thee. For it will come to pass that Herod will seek
the child to destroy Him. Who arose and took the child and His mother by
night, and retired into Egypt: and He was there until the death of Herod" (Matt. II: 13-14).
Meditation: Consider the sharp sorrow which Mary felt when, St.
Joseph being warned by an angel, she had to flee by night in order to preserve
her beloved Child from the slaughter decreed by Herod. What anguish was
hers, in leaving Judea, lest she should be overtaken by the soldiers of
the cruel king! How great her privations in that long journey! What sufferings
she bore in that land of exile, what sorrow amid that people given to idolatry!
But consider how often you have renewed that bitter grief of Mary, when
your sins have caused her Son to flee from your heart.
3. The loss of the Child Jesus in the temple: "And having
fulfilled the days, when they returned, the Child Jesus remained in Jerusalem;
and His parents knew it not. And thinking that he was in the company, they
came a day's journey, and sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance.
And not finding Him, they returned into Jerusalem, seeking Him" (Luke
II: 43-45).
Meditation: How dread was the grief of Mary, when she saw that she
had lost her beloved Son! And as if to increase her sorrow, when she sought
Him diligently among her kinsfolk and acquaintance, she could hear no tidings
of Him. No hindrances stayed her, nor weariness, nor danger; but she forthwith
returned to Jerusalem, and for three long days sought Him sorrowing. Great
be your confusion, O my soul, who has so often lost your Jesus by your
sins, and has given no heed to seek Him at once, a sign that you make very
little or no account of the precious treasure of divine love.
4. The meeting of Jesus and Mary on the Way of the Cross: "And
there followed Him a great multitude of people, and of women, who bewailed
and lamented Him" (Luke XXIII: 27).
Meditation: Come, O ye sinners, come and see if ye can endure so
sad a sight. This Mother, so tender and loving, meets her beloved Son,
meets Him amid an impious rabble, who drag Him to a cruel death, wounded,
torn by stripes, crowned with thorns, streaming with blood, bearing His
heavy cross. Ah, consider, my soul, the grief of the blessed Virgin thus
beholding her Son! Who would not weep at seeing this Mother's grief? But
who has been the cause of such woe? I, it is I, who with my sins have so
cruelly wounded the heart of my sorrowing Mother! And yet I am not moved;
I am as a stone, when my heart should break because of my ingratitude.
5. The Crucifixion: "They crucified Him. Now there stood by
the cross of Jesus, His Mother. When Jesus therefore had seen His Mother
and the disciple standing whom he loved, He saith to His Mother: Woman:
behold thy son. After that he saith to the disciple: Behold thy Mother" (John XIX: l8, 25-27).
Meditation: Look, devout soul, look to Calvary, whereon are raised
two altars of sacrifice, one on the body of Jesus, the other on the heart
of Mary. Sad is the sight of that dear Mother drowned in a sea of woe,
seeing her beloved Son, part of her very self, cruelly nailed to the shameful
tree of the cross. Ah me! how every blow of the hammer, how every stripe
which fell on the Saviour's form, fell also on the disconsolate spirit
of the Virgin. As she stood at the foot of the cross, pierced by the sword
of sorrow, she turned her eyes on Him, until she knew that He lived no
longer and had resigned His spirit to His Eternal Father. Then her own
soul was like to have left the body and joined itself to that of Jesus.
6. The taking down of the Body of Jesus from the Cross: "Joseph
of Arimathea, a noble counselor, came and went in boldly to Pilate, and
begged the body of Jesus. And Joseph buying fine linen, and taking Him
down, wrapped Him up in the fine linen" (Mark XV: 43-46).
Meditation: Consider the most bitter sorrow which rent the soul
of Mary, when she saw the dead body of her dear Jesus on her knees, covered
with blood, all torn with deep wounds. O mournful Mother, a bundle of myrrh,
indeed, is thy Beloved to thee. Who would not pity thee? Whose heart would
not be softened, seeing affliction which would move a stone? Behold John
not to be comforted, Magdalen and the other Mary in deep affliction, and
Nicodemus, who can scarcely bear her sorrow.
7. The burial of Jesus: "Now there was in the place where
He was crucified, a garden; and in the garden a new sepulcher, wherein
no man yet had been laid. There, therefore, because of the parasceve of
the Jews, they laid Jesus, because the sepulcher was nigh at hand"
(John XIX: 41-42).
Meditation: Consider the sighs which burst from Mary's sad heart
when she saw her beloved Jesus laid within the tomb. What grief was hers
when she saw the stone lifted to cover that sacred tomb! She gazed a last
time on the lifeless body of her Son, and could scarce detach her eyes
from those gaping wounds. And when the great stone was rolled to the door
of the sepulcher, oh, then indeed her heart seemed torn from her body!
The Miraculous Image of Our Lady of
Sorrows
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 thirty-six boys of the academy
witnessed the first miracle of this famous picture
of Our Lady of Sorrows; while in the refectory they saw the Blessed
Mother slowly open and shut her eyes.
The same miracle occurred several times after this,
once more in front of the boys at the school, but this time in the
chapel, to which the picture had been taken. Subsequently 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.
At the church the prodigy was repeated several times
before the crowds gathered there, and many conversions took place. Again
and again, the wonder repeated itself, at one time for three consecutive
days.
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.
DEVOTION TO OUR MOTHER OF SORROWS
Devotion to the Sorrows of Mary has always been a favorite devotion
among Catholics. It has been sanctioned by the Church and introduced
into the Missal and Breviary. In order to keep before our minds the
inexpressible sufferings endured for us by the Mother of God while she
lived here on earth with her Divine Son, the Church observes two feasts
in honor of the Seven Dolors of Mary; one on the Friday before Good
Friday and the other on September 15. She has enriched with numerous
indulgences the Rosary of the Seven Dolors, as well as a number of other
devotions to the Mother of Sorrows. How touching is the beautiful hymn,
Stabat Mater Dolorosa, which the Church intertwines with the
public recitation of the Way of the Cross. The Church spares no pain to
induce her children to venerate the sufferings of their Heavenly Mother.
Seven of her sorrows have been chosen for our special veneration. Holy
Church recalls to our mind only seven of Our Lady's Dolors, but who
could form an estimate of their real number! The sufferings of the
Mother of God cannot be comprehended; they are inconceivable. But
although her whole life was, like that of her Divine Son, a continuous
series of sufferings and tribulations, the greatest woes and trials came
to her during the week of the bitter passion and death of Jesus, when
the storm of hatred and fury burst forth with all violence against Him.
The precise object of the devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows consists of a
heartfelt and sincere compassion for the Sorrows
which the most holy Virgin endured through her whole life, especially
for her long martyrdom, which began with the prophecy of holy Simeon and
was consummated on Calvary.
Devotion to the sorrows of Mary should be practiced especially by souls
who wish to rid themselves of sinful habits. This devotion nourishes the
spirit of compunction, affords great consolation, strengthens
confidence in God's mercy, draws down the special protection of the
Blessed Mother in the hour of temptation and preserves the converted
sinner from relapsing into sin. The Mother of God once said to her
faithful servant St. Bridget: "No matter how numerous a person's sins
may be, if he turns to me with a sincere purpose of amendment, I am
prepared forthwith to receive him graciously, for I do not regard the
number of sins he has committed, but look only upon the dispositions
with which he comes to me; for I feel no aversion in healing his wounds,
because I am called and am in truth the Mother of Mercy." One of the
gifts granted to those who have a devotion to the Dolors of Mary is the
grace of a good and holy death. In recompense for her fidelity in
remaining near to Jesus as He died on the Cross,
Our Lady of Sorrows has received from Him a special power to assist
souls in their last agony and no doubt she will above all exercise this
power in behalf of those who have wept with her and compassionated her.
Our Lord once said to Veronica of Binasco: "My daughter, the tears which
you shed in compassion for My sufferings are pleasing to Me, but bear
in mind that on account of My infinite love for My Mother, the tears you
shed in compassion for her sufferings are still more precious."
Conversion of a Sinner Through the
Intercession of Our Lady of Sorrows
In the revelations of St. Bridget we read that there was a rich man, as
noble by birth as he was vile and sinful in his habits. He had given
himself, by an express compact, as a slave to the devil; and for sixty
successive years had served him, leading such a life as may be imagined,
and never approached the sacraments. Now this prince was dying; and
Jesus Christ, to show him mercy, commanded St. Bridget to tell her
confessor to go and visit him and exhort him to confess his sins. The
confessor went and the sick man said that he did not require confession,
as he had often approached the sacrament of Penance. The priest went a
second time; but this poor slave of hell persevered in his obstinate
determination not to confess. Jesus again told the saint to have her
confessor return. He did so; and of the third occasion told the sick man
the revelation made to the saint, and that he had returned so many
times because our Lord, who wished to show him mercy, had so ordered. On
hearing this the dying man was
touched, and began to weep: "But how," he exclaimed, "can I be saved; I,
who for sixty years have served the devil as his slave, and have my
soul burdened with innumerable sins?" "My son," answered the Father,
encouraging him, "doubt not; if you repent of them, on the part of God I
promise you pardon." Then, gaining confidence, he said to the
confessor, "Father, I looked upon myself as lost, and already despaired
of salvation; but now I feel a sorrow for my sins, which gives me
confidence; and
since God has not yet abandoned me, I will make my confession." In fact,
he made his confession four times on that day, with the greatest marks
of sorrow, and on the following morning received holy Communion. On the
sixth day, contrite and resigned, he died. After his death, Jesus Christ
again spoke to St. Bridget, and told her that the sinner was saved;
that he was then in purgatory, and that he owed his salvation to the
intercession of the Blessed Virgin His Mother; for the deceased,
although he had lead so wicked a life, had nevertheless always had a
great love and compassion for His Blessed Mother's Sorrows.
