November 10, 2024

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:

  • At the prophecy of Simeon: “You yourself shall be pierced with a sword – so that the thoughts of many hearts may be laid bare.” (Luke 2:35).
  • At the flight into Egypt; “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt.” (Mt 2:13).
  • Having lost the Holy Child at Jerusalem; “You see that your father and I have been searching for you in sorrow.” (Luke 2:48).
  • Meeting Jesus on his way to Calvary;
  • Standing at the foot of the Cross; “Near the cross of Jesus there stood His mother.” (John 19:25).
  • Jesus being taken from the Cross;
  • At the burial of Christ.
  • 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:

  • “I will grant peace to their families.”
  • “They will be enlightened about the divine mysteries.”
  • “I will console them in their pains and I 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 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 and I will be their eternal consolation and joy.”
  • 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.

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