Our Lady 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 the
feast in honor of the Seven Dolors (sorrows)
of Mary on September 15.

Mary herself desires us to venerate her

sorrows. Devotion to the sorrows of Mary has
been practiced in the Church at all times.
This is proved by numerous passages from
the writings of the Holy Father, by prayers,
pictorial representations and touching hymns.
But God desired that devotion to the sorrows
of the Mother of His Son should remain an
abiding practice among all the faithful. To accomplish His design, He called into
existence an Order whose special object should be to practice and foster devotion to
the sorrows of Mary.

In 1233, seven young men in Tuscany founded the Servite Order (“Order of the
Servants of Mary”). Their purpose was to spread devotion to the Seven Sorrows of
Mary.
(Devotion to the Sorrowful Mother, Tan Books, 2002)

The feast of the Our Lady of Sorrows was instituted by a provincial synod of Cologne in
1413 as a response to the Protestant Hussites (by the way, the Hussites were the ones
that put the sword gashes on the face of the portrait Our Lady of Czestochowa).

Pope Saint Pius X placed the feast on September 15 so that it would be close to the
feast of the Holy Cross on September 14.
(taylormarshall.com/2011/09/history-and-seven-graces-of-seven.html)

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 Our Lady of Sorrows

During the Middle Ages, when the ordinary

Catholic no longer knew the language of the
official prayer of the Church, many other
prayer forms or devotions developed to fill
the prayer vacuum that resulted. One of
these was the rosary. And one of the
adaptations of this prayer-form was the
Rosary of the Seven Sorrows of Mary.

Like all rosaries, the Servite Rosary is

meditation on the mystery-events of God’s
love for us as reflected in the life of Jesus
and Mary. Specifically, it invites us to
meditate on those times in the life of Mary
when she experienced the pain and
suffering that tested her faith and invited her
to a full sharing of the mystery of God’s
salvation in her Son, Jesus.

By this reflection, in the context of the verbal

prayers of the Our Father and the Hail Mary, we open our hearts to the power of this
mystery, and so allow His Word to enter and change our lives.

This Servite Rosary consists of Seven Mysteries or Sorrows. Each mystery is

introduced by a meditation to guide our reflection as we pray the Our Father and seven
Hail Marys. The Rosary concludes with three Hail Marys, as an added petition for true
sorrow and a desire to model our lives on the example of the life and faith of Mary.
Source: The Servite Rosary, My Daily Devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows
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 Our Lady of Sorrows

The Blessed Virgin Mary revealed to Saint

Bridget of Sweden (died1373) that those
that pray a Hail Mary while meditating on
Mary’s Seven Sorrows will receive
Seven Graces.

1. I will grant peace to their families.

2. They will be enlightened about the
Divine mysteries.
3. I will console them in their pains and
I will accompany them in their work.
4. 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.
5. I will defend them in their spiritual
battles with the infernal enemy and I will
protect them at every instant of their lives.
6. I will visibly help them at the
moment of their death; they will see the
face of their Mother.
7. I have obtained (this grace) from my Divine Son, that those who propagate this
devotion to my tears and sorrows, 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.

Source: Devotion to the Sorrowful Mother, Tan Books, 2002

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