Our Lady of Sorrows teaches us compassion for the suffering
Our Lady of Sorrows #OurLadyofSorrows
CATHOLICS are invited to contemplate the seven sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary in a special way on September 15, the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows.
The feast of Our Lady of Sorrows commemorates the seven great sorrows which Mary lived in relation to Her Son, as they are recorded in the Gospels or through Tradition.
Today we are invited to reflect on Mary’s suffering:
Prior to the Second Vatican Council, there were two feasts devoted to the sorrows of Mary.
The first feast was insitituted in Cologne in 1413 as an expiation for the sins of the iconoclast Hussites.
The second is attributed to the Servite order whose principal devotion are the Seven Sorrows.
It was instituted in 1668, though the devotion had been in existence since 1239 – five years after the founding of the order.
Reflecting on Our Lady of Sorrows in Slovakia in 2021, Pope Francis highlighted Mary’s response to these sorrows.
“Mary, Mother of Sorrows, remains at the foot of the cross. She simply stands there. She does not run away, or try to save herself, or find ways to alleviate her grief,” he said.
“Here is the proof of true compassion – to remain standing beneath the cross. To stand there weeping, yet with the faith that knows that, in her son, God transfigures pain and suffering and triumphs over death.”
Through these sorrows, Our Blessed Mother also offers hope.
She revealed seven promises to St Bridget of Sweden in the 14th century for those who recite seven Hail Marys daily while reflecting on her tears and sorrows, according to Our Sorrowful Mother’s Ministry (OSMM) in Vandalia, Illinois.
OSMM lists those seven promises from Mary as:
The faithful can also ask for the intercession of Our Lady of Sorrows through the seven sorrows rosary, or chaplet.
OSMM provides general instructions on how to pray it: The prayer resembles a regular rosary, except that there are seven sets of seven Hail Marys. Each of the seven sets — consisting of an Our Father and seven Hail Marys — focuses on one of the seven sorrows.