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Sorrowful Heart_Salamanca_Iglesia_de_la_Vera_Cruz_crop

Seven Swords Piercing the Sorrowful Heart of Mary

Iglesia de la Vera Cruz

Church of the Holy Cross – Salamanca, Spain

Today the Church celebrates the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows. From the cross, Jesus pronounces “Behold, your mother!” (Jn 19:27). As Jesus was dying, He entrusted us, the Church to the care of His mother. While He was on earth, Mary comforted and strengthened Jesus, especially at the foot of the cross. Jesus knew that we would need the maternal closeness of the Sorrowful Mother to sustain us during the trials in our lives. As a mother, Mary especially desires to comfort us during difficulties in our families. She comforts us in our suffering and shows us how to offer our suffering back to God.

Mary, through her “Yes” at the Annunciation, gave us Jesus. It is through Mary, that we are pointed to our Savior, Jesus. From the collect of today’s Mass:

O God, who in this season
give your Church the grace
to imitate devoutly the Blessed Virgin Mary
in contemplating the Passion of Christ,
grant, we pray, through her intercession,
that we may cling more firmly each day
to your Only Begotten Son
and come at last to the fullness of his grace.

Through devotion to Mary, we learn a deeper understanding of the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross for our salvation. Following is a suggested devotion to help us love Jesus more fully and more completely.

Seven Sorrows of Mary

The Seven Sorrows (or Dolors) are events in the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

  1. The Prophecy of Simeon. (Luke 2:34–35)
  2. The Escape and Flight into Egypt. (Matthew 2:13)
  3. The Loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple of Jerusalem. (Luke 2:43–45)
  4. The Meeting of Mary and Jesus on the Via Dolorosa.
  5. The Crucifixion of Jesus on Mount Calvary. (John 19:25)
  6. The Piercing of the Side of Jesus, and His Descent from the Cross. (Matthew 27:57–59)
  7. The Burial of Jesus by Joseph of Arimathea. (John 19:40–42)

Say one Our Father and seven Hail Marys for each for each Sorrow.

Mary, thank you for being our Mother! Give us your Son so that we may sit with you at the foot of the cross, contemplating His incredible love, mercy and forgiveness of our transgressions.