Today is the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Can you name them?
Here the entry from the Roman Martyrology:
Memoria beatae Mariae Virginis perdolentis, quae, iuxta crucem Iesu adstans, Filii salutiferae passioni intime fideliterque sociata est et nova exstitit Eva, ut, quemadmodum primae mulieris inoboedientia ad mortem contulit, ita mira eius oboedientia ad vitam conferret.
In the older, pre-Conciliar Missale Romanum we find this wonderful Collect for today’s Holy Mass.
COLLECT (1962MR):
Deus, in cuius passione,
secundum Simeonis prophetiam
dulcissimam animam gloriosae Virginis Matris Mariae
doloris gladius pertransivit:
concede propitius;
ut qui dolores eius venerando recolimus,
passionis tuae effectum felicem consequamur.
LITERAL VERSION:
O God, at whose Passion,
according to the Simeon’s prophecy,
the most sweet soul of the glorious Virgin, Mary our Mother,
was pierced by a sword of sorrow:
mercifully grant
that we who observe her sorrows by veneration
may attain to the happy result of Your Passion.
Also, in the old Communion Antiphon we have a connection between the great sorrow of Mary at the Cross and how she merits to be called Queen of Martyrs:
ANTIPHONA AD COMMUNIONEM:
Felices sensus beatae Mariae Virginis,
qui sine morte meruerunt martyrii palmam
sub Cruce Domini.
Sensus is an incredibly complicated word. It means, among other things, the faculties of sensing and perceiving, but also of the sentiments of the heart and mind. In a collective “sense” sensus stands for “the common feelings of humanity, the moral sense”. Sensus is also our disposition of mind or humor and inclination. It signifies understanding of the thinking faculty, in the sphere of reason.
LITERAL VERSION:
Blissful the sentiments of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
which beneath the Cross of the Lord,
without death merited the martyr’s palm.
This antiphon underscores how the totality of Mary’s being, “magnified” by God at every point of her life, was united with her Son as He endured the sufferings of the Cross.
This feast reminds us that there is a path to holiness through the sufferings and sorrows we endure. We must learn to unite them to the sufferings of our Lord. Mary teaches us to do this. The martyrs teach us to do this.
UPDATE:
Fr. Dwight Longenecker sent this:
Your readers might be interested in this post which shows how the devotion to the seven dolors of Mary can help heal hurting mothers.
HERE.
I made a similar but less specific comment, above. I am glad that Fr. L posted.
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Sure, I know them, Father Z:
1) The Prophecy of Simeon
2) The Flight Into Egypt
3) The Three Days’ Loss of Jesus
4) The Meeting of Jesus and Mary On The Road to Calvary
5) The Death of Jesus on the Cross
6) The Taking of Jesus’ Body Down From The Cross
7) The Placing of Jesus’ Body In the Tomb
There is a ‘Chaplet / Rosary of the Seven Sorrows, and I prayed that this morning to commemorate this feast day.
I have several chaplets of the Seven Sorrows that date from around the turn of the century, with each large bead engraved with one of the Sorrows.
My husband’s aunt died last year – she was a faithful, old-fashioned Irish Catholic and I know that she prayed fervently for our conversion (and it worked!) When the old family homestead was cleaned preparatory to sale, I received a large paper bag filled with sacramentals of all kinds, including the chaplets.
I have been able to distribute many of them where they will do the most good. A friend with a very difficult pregnancy, on complete bed rest, received the St. Gerard Majella medal – and I’m pleased to report that she was safely delivered of a healthy, full term baby girl just a few weeks ago.
The OF collect for the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows:
2002 Missale Romanum
Deus, qui Filio tuo in cruce exaltato compatientem Matrem astare voluisti,
da Ecclesiae tuae,
ut, Christi passionis cum ipsa consors effecta,
eiusdem resurrectionis particeps esse mereatur.
1973 Lame Duck ICEL
Father, as your Son was raised on the cross,
his mother Mary stood by him, sharing his sufferings.
May your Church be united with Christ
in his suffering and death
and so come to share in his rising to new life.
2011 Corrected English
O God, who willed that, when your Son was lifted high on the Cross,
his Mother should stand close by and share his suffering,
grant that your Church,
participating with the Virgin Mary in the Passion of Christ,
may merit a share in his Resurrection.
Reading Fr. L’s entry reminded me of a powerful spiritual experience with motherly sorrow. When our oldest went off to fly in the first “Gulf War”, I felt a hole in my heart I could not even begin to describe. As the weeks went by the Lord showed me that the hole in my heart was now a receptacle that He could fill with even more love. This was one more step in my spiritual journey. It is really difficult to put it all into words, but I hope this will help someone use their suffering in this way. It’s something God does, and we can’t make it happen, but He will do it if we allow Him.
The Blessed Virgin Mary “has experienced every joy and pain imaginable”], by Carl Olson at Ignatius Insight.
At Mass today, Father said that Mary was the first faithful and true member of the Catholic Church, that there would be the Church even if there were no other faithful. Thought this was an interesting, revealing perspective on the depth of God’s love for the mother of our Lord.