NV- Sorrowful Heart

NOVENA TO SORROWFUL HEART OF MARY
Reflections on the Purpose, Need and Merit of Suffering

What is a Novena?
A novena is a traditional devotion consisting of specific prayers recited on nine successive days. Besides being a form of praise, a novena is frequently offered for a particular intention. The first novena took place in the Cenacle, during the nine days preceding Pentecost, or the coming of the Holy Ghost. As a regular popular custom, this practice began in 12th century Christianity and continues to be beneficial today as a way of praying for healing, protection or other blessings for ourselves or others.

This particular novena is prayed to God in honor of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Though Our Lady's whole life was a continual life of sorrow, since she was the Mother of the "Man of Sorrows", the Church has chosen the mystical number of seven for the chief sorrows that will be remembered and honored. The purpose of this novena is to try to help us understand the necessity, reasonableness, power, nobility, beauty and glory in suffering, so that we can better profit from the inevitable sufferings that God's Providence will send our way, and will help us unite our sufferings to those of the Sorrowful Heart of Mary.

In praying this Novena, as in the case of all prayer, it is good to begin by opening ourselves wholeheartedly to God's will, offering a simple act of trust in God's wisdom and in His providential love for us all, that disposes all things for the ultimate benefit of our souls and their salvation.

How to Pray This Novena
This novena is based on our ultimate goal, which is to reach God in Heaven. Each day of the novena is divided into the following parts: (1) a quote from Holy Scripture, or a quote from a Saint (2) a passage from Holy Scripture on Sin and Suffering; (3) a passage from the revelations made by Our Lady to Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich or the Venerable Mary of Agreda; (4) a Meditation; (5) a Prayer; (6) after mentioning your intention, pray the Our Father and the Hail Mary; (7) a Closing Prayer.

LITANY OF
OUR LADY OF SORROWS

Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of Heaven, Have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy on us.
God the Holy Ghost, Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, Have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, Pray for us.
Holy Mother of God, Pray for us.
Holy Virgin of virgins, Pray for us.
Mother crucified, Pray for us.
Mother sorrowful, Pray for us.
Mother tearful, Pray for us.
Mother afflicted, Pray for us.
Mother forsaken, Pray for us.
Mother desolate, Pray for us.
Mother bereft of thy Child, Pray for us.
Mother transfixed with the sword, Pray for us.
Mother consumed with grief, Pray for us.
Mother filled with anguish, Pray for us.
Mother crucified in heart, Pray for us.
Mother most sad, Pray for us.

Fountain of tears, Pray for us.
Abyss of suffering, Pray for us.
Mirror of patience, Pray for us.
Rock of constancy, Pray for us.
Anchor of confidence, Pray for us.
Refuge of the forsaken, Pray for us.
Shield of the oppressed, Pray for us.
Subduer of the unbelieving, Pray for us.

Comfort of the afflicted, Pray for us.
Medicine of the sick, Pray for us.
Strength of the weak, Pray for us.
Harbor of the wrecked, Pray for us.
Allayer of tempests, Pray for us.
Solace of mourners, Pray for us.
Terror of the treacherous, Pray for us.
Treasure of the faithful, Pray for us.

Eye of the Prophets, Pray for us.
Staff of the Apostles, Pray for us.
Crown of martyrs, Pray for us.
Light of confessors, Pray for us.
Pearl of virgins, Pray for us.
Consolation of widows, Pray for us.
Joy of all saints, Pray for us.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us.

Look down upon us, deliver us, and save us from all trouble, in the power of Jesus Christ. Amen.

R. Pray for us most Sorrowful Mother of God
V. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray:
Imprint, O Sorrowful Mother, thy wounds upon my heart, that I may read therein sorrow and love — sorrow to endure every sorrow for thee; love, to despise every love for thee. R. Amen.

This litany was written in Latin by Pope Pius VII in 1809 during his captivity under Napoleon Bonaparte.

FIRST DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted for each day)
Theme: We Must Learn to Suffer

Holy Scripture on Sin and Suffering
"And they talked one to another: 'We deserve to suffer these things, because we have sinned'" (Genesis 42:21).

Our Lord's or Our Lady's Revelations to the Saints and Mystics
taken from The Mystical City of God by the Venerable Mary of Agreda
and The Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary by Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich
and other sources.

Our Lord revealed to Berthe Petit (1870-1943), the Franciscan Tertiary: "My Mother’s Heart has the right to the title of Sorrowful. I desire that it be set before her title of Immaculate because she herself has won it. Now it is necessary and it is My wish, that this title which is by right My Mother’s should be understood and recognized. This title she earned by her identification with all My sufferings, by her sorrow, her sacrifice, her immolation on Calvary, and indeed for the salvation of mankind. This is the last help which I give before the end of time: the recourse to My Mother, under the title which I desire, shall be hers throughout the whole world.”

The Only Way of Life is the Cross
Our Lady continues: "By the divine teaching thou knowest the mysteries of the Passion and Death of Christ and the one true way of life, which is the Cross; and thou knowest that not all who are called, are chosen. Many there are who wish to follow Christ and very few who truly dispose themselves to imitate Him; for as soon as they feel the sufferings of the Cross, they cast it aside. Laborious exertions are very painful and averse to human nature according to the flesh; and the fruits of the spirit are more hidden and few guide themselves by the light. On this account, there are so many among mortals, who, forgetful of the eternal truths, seek the flesh and the continual indulgence of its pleasures. They ardently seek honors and flee from injuries; they strive after riches, and contemn poverty; they long after pleasure and dread mortification. All these are enemies of the Cross of Christ (Philippians 3:18), and with dreadful aversion they flee from it, deeming it sheer ignominy, just like those who crucified Christ, the Lord."

Illusions of Christians
Our Lady adds: "Another deceit has spread through the world―many imagine that they are following Christ their Master, though they neither suffer affliction nor engage in any exertion or labor. They are content with avoiding boldness in committing sins, and place all their perfection in a certain prudence, or hollow self-love, which prevents them from denying anything to their will and from practicing any virtues at the cost of their flesh. They would easily escape this deception, if they would consider that my Son was not only the Redeemer, but their Teacher; and that He left in this world the treasures of His Redemption―not only as a remedy against its eternal ruin, but as a necessary medicine for the sickness of sin in human nature. No one knew so much as my Son and Lord; no one could better understand the quality of love than the divine Lord, who was and is wisdom and charity itself; and no one was more able to fulfill all His wishes."

Our Lord's Preference
Our Lady stresses: "Nevertheless, although He well could do it, He chose not a life of softness and ease for the flesh, but one full of labors and pains; for He judged His instructions to be incomplete and insufficient to redeem man, if He failed to teach them how to overcome the demon, the flesh and their own self. He wished to inculcate, that this magnificent victory is gained by the Cross―by labors, penances, mortifications and the acceptance of contempt―all of which are the trade-marks and evidences of true love and the special watchwords of the predestined."

Meditation

Jesus said of Our Lady and her title of Sorrowful Heart: “She earned by her identification with all My sufferings, by her sorrow, her sacrifice, her immolation on Calvary, and indeed for the salvation of mankind.”

What Our Lady asked for at Fatima, she herself practiced during her life. She “walked the walk” while on Earth, before “talking the talk” at Fatima. When she said to the three children: “Are you willing to offer yourselves to God and bear all the sufferings He wills to send you, as an act of reparation for the conversion of sinners?... Then you are going to have much to suffer” ... she was not asking for something that she herself had neglected to do. Nobody, except her Son, had prayed like she prayed. Nobody, except Jesus, had suffered like she suffered. She had perfectly fulfilled Jesus’ commands of “We ought always to pray, and not to faint” (Luke 18:1) and “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me!” (Luke 9:23). That is the path to Heaven―the narrow path that few find.

Most ‘followers’ of Christ and Our Lady end up talking the talk, but not really walking the walk as it should be walked. To the Venerable Mary of Agreda, Our Lady complains of such ‘talking’ but not ‘walking’ souls—who, at best, only talk and limp: “Many there are who wish to follow Christ and very few who truly dispose themselves to imitate Him; for as soon as they feel the sufferings of the Cross they cast it aside ... Many imagine that they are following Christ their Master, though they neither suffer affliction nor engage in any exertion or labor. They are content with avoiding boldness in committing sins, and place all their perfection in a certain prudence or hollow self-love, which prevents them from denying anything to their will and from practicing any virtues at the cost of their flesh ... Laborious exertions are very painful and averse to human nature ... On this account there are so many among mortals, who, forgetful of the eternal truths, seek the flesh and the continual indulgence of its pleasures. They ardently seek honors and fly from injuries: they strive after riches, and contemn poverty; they long after pleasure and dread mortification. All these are enemies of the Cross of Christ.” Is Our Lady pleased with my attempts at imitating her and her Son? How much do talk the talk (we must talk to spread devotion to Our Lady)? How well do I walk the walk?

Prayer

My Blessed Mother, it is not one sword only with which I have pierced thy heart, but I have done so with as many as are the sins which I have committed! My Lady, it is not to thee―who art innocent―that sufferings are due, but to me, who am guilty of so many crimes! But since thou hast been pleased to suffer so much for me, ah, by thy merits, obtain for me great sorrow for my sins, and patience under the trials of this life, which will always be light in comparison with my demerits; for I have often deserved Hell! O Mother of Sorrows, thou, who beneath the Cross of Jesus were given to us as our Mother, look down with pity on us, thy children, who weep and mourn in this valley of tears!

[Mention Intention]

By that sword of sorrow which pierced thy Heart, when thou looked upon the Face of thy dead Son, obtain for us that comfort we so sorely need in our sufferings! Thou wast given to us as our Mother in the hour of thy greatest grief, so that thou might be mindful of our frailty and the evils that press upon us. Without thy aid, O Sorrowful Mother, we cannot gain the victory in this struggle against the devil, the world and the flesh! Therefore, we seek thy help, O Queen of Sorrows, lest we fall prey to the wiles of the enemy! We are orphans in need of the guiding hand of our Mother, amid the dangers that threaten our destruction! Thou, whose grief was boundless as the sea, grant us, by the memory of those sorrows, the strength to be victorious! Intercede further, O Mother of Sorrows, for us and all who are near and dear to us, that we may ever do the Will of thy Son, and may direct all our actions to His honor, and to the furtherance of devotion to thy sorrows! Amen.

Pray:
Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
O Most Sorrowful Heart of Mary, pray for us poor sinners who have recourse to thee.

LITANY OF
OUR LADY OF SORROWS

SECOND DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted for each day)
Theme: Making Room For Suffering

Holy Scripture Says:
"And they talked one to another: 'We deserve to suffer these things, because we have sinned'" (Genesis 42:21).

The Message Given to Berthe Petit
When, in the early eighteenth century, St. Louis Marie Grignon de Montfort exposed his special form of devotion to the Blessed Virgin, he observed that "She had scarcely been seen since the first coming of Jesus Christ . . . "Mankind," he commented, ''as yet too little enlightened and instructed concerning the Person of the Son, might have become too strongly and humanly attached to the Virgin Mother."

It was reserved therefore, he said, for those whom he calls ''the apostles of the latter days" fully to reveal her. He foresaw these apostles "as saints who will surpass in sanctity the majority of other saints, who hear upon their shoulders the bloody standard of the Cross—the crucifix in their right hand, the Rosary in their left hand, and in their hearts the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary ... Mary will raise them up, by order of the Highest, to extend His Empire over that of the wicked." When shall that hour come? God alone knows.

Quite recently, a particular aspect of Our Heavenly Mother was revealed to a humble, saintly woman, Berthe Petit, who passed to her reward as recently as 1943. For many years, this holy Franciscan Tertiary--while leading a life of hidden sufferings in the world, a voluntary victim for the expiation of sin--received repeated revelations from Our Lord of His desire that the whole world should be publicly dedicated to the SORROWFUL and Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Our Lord deigned to expound this to Berthe: "My Mother's Heart has the right to the title of Sorrowful. I desire that it be set before her title of Immaculate—because she, herself, has won it. The Church has recognized what I Myself did for My Mother—her Immaculate Conception. Now it is necessary and it is My wish, that this title—which is by right My Mother's—should be understood and recognized. This title she earned by her identification with all My sufferings, by her sorrow, her sacrifice, her immolation on Calvary, and indeed for the salvation of mankind."

On the 2nd of July 1940, Berthe heard Our Lord say to her: "This is the last help which I give before the end of time: the recourse to My Mother, under the title which I desire shall be hers, throughout the whole world."

Does not all this link up in mysterious connection with the prophecy of St. Louis de Montfort, that the reign of Our Blessed Lady should be fulfilled in the latter days?

Berthe Petit, the third daughter of a well-to-do Catholic couple, was born at Enghien, in Belgium, in 1870. From her earliest childhood the little girl was in touch with Heaven. At four years old she had a vision of Our Lady. Somewhat later, in a Convent chapel, she saw the tabernacle open and the Child Jesus, emerging, came towards her. As He made the sign of the Cross on her forehead, He said: "You will suffer always, but I shall be with you!" On her First Holy Communion day, when she was ten, her vocation of expiation was revealed to her. "I must suffer a great deal!" she said to a nun, her teacher. "I must be like Jesus!"
"Who told you that?" the nun enquired.
"The little Host which was my Great Jesus!" was the child's astonishing reply.

Meditation

"You will suffer always, but I shall be with you" ... "I must suffer a great deal. I must be like Jesus."

In 1611, Our Lady of Good Success in Quito, Ecuador, speaks of the future suffering of our times, saying: “The small number of souls, who hidden, will preserve the treasures of the Faith and practice virtue will suffer a cruel, unspeakable and prolonged martyrdom. Many will succumb to death from the violence of their sufferings and those who sacrifice themselves for the Church and their country will be counted as martyrs."

In 1830, at the Rue du Bac, Paris, when giving the Miraculous Medal, Our Lady said: "My child, the good God wishes to entrust to you a mission. You will have much to suffer, but you will rise above those sufferings by reflecting that what you do is for the glory of God. You will be contradicted, but do not fear--you will have the grace to do what is necessary. Have confidence, do not be afraid!”

In 1846 at La Salette, Our Lady says: "“Woe to the inhabitants of the Earth! God will exhaust His wrath upon them, and no one will be able to escape so many afflictions together ...  Physical and moral agonies will be suffered ... The righteous will suffer greatly."

In 1917, at Fatima , Our Lady asks: "Are you willing to offer yourselves to God and bear all the sufferings He wills to send you, as an act of reparation for the conversion of sinners? ... "Then you are going to have much to suffer, but the grace of God will be your comfort."

So you see, suffering is our lot, but it is also suffering that gives the closest resemblance to Christ and His Sorrowful Mother!

Prayer

My Blessed Mother, it is not one sword only with which I have pierced thy heart, but I have done so with as many as are the sins which I have committed! My Lady, it is not to thee―who art innocent―that sufferings are due, but to me, who am guilty of so many crimes! But since thou hast been pleased to suffer so much for me, ah, by thy merits, obtain for me great sorrow for my sins, and patience under the trials of this life, which will always be light in comparison with my demerits; for I have often deserved Hell! O Mother of Sorrows, thou, who beneath the Cross of Jesus were given to us as our Mother, look down with pity on us, thy children, who weep and mourn in this valley of tears!

[Mention Intention]

By that sword of sorrow which pierced thy Heart, when thou looked upon the Face of thy dead Son, obtain for us that comfort we so sorely need in our sufferings! Thou wast given to us as our Mother in the hour of thy greatest grief, so that thou might be mindful of our frailty and the evils that press upon us. Without thy aid, O Sorrowful Mother, we cannot gain the victory in this struggle against the devil, the world and the flesh! Therefore, we seek thy help, O Queen of Sorrows, lest we fall prey to the wiles of the enemy! We are orphans in need of the guiding hand of our Mother, amid the dangers that threaten our destruction! Thou, whose grief was boundless as the sea, grant us, by the memory of those sorrows, the strength to be victorious! Intercede further, O Mother of Sorrows, for us and all who are near and dear to us, that we may ever do the Will of thy Son, and may direct all our actions to His honor, and to the furtherance of devotion to thy sorrows! Amen.

Pray:
Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
O Most Sorrowful Heart of Mary, pray for us poor sinners who have recourse to thee.

LITANY OF
OUR LADY OF SORROWS

THIRD DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted for each day)
Theme: Appreciating the Need for Suffering

Holy Scripture Says:
"And they talked one to another: 'We deserve to suffer these things, because we have sinned'" (Genesis 42:21).

Our Lord's or Our Lady's Revelations to the Saints and Mystics
taken from The Mystical City of God by the Venerable Mary of Agreda
and The Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary by Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich
and other sources.

It is Our Lady who speaks:
"He it was who gave his own life and subjected Himself to sufferings for the good of His creatures without waiting for any merits on their part … when anything was wanting of the necessaries of life, I remained in peace and contentedness, and deemed it all perfectly reasonable and proper, in my regard, since I had merited none of the gifts and could justly be deprived of all of them. Hence, if I acknowledged this, thereby merely asserting a truth which the human reason cannot ignore nor deny, where have mortals their intellect, or what use do they make of their understanding when, at the refusal of things which they desire, and of which perhaps they do not even profit, they begin to get sad and lash themselves into fury, one against the other, and even against their God, as if they were suffering some injury at His hands? … The sons of the world are lovers of earthly riches and enemies of holy and opulent poverty.

"They do not consider, although they feel and suffer, the heavy weight of riches, which pins them to the earth and drives them into its very bowels, to seek gold and silver in great anxiety, sleeplessness, labors and sweat, as if they were not men, but wild beasts that know not what they are suffering and doing. And, if they are thus weighed down before acquiring riches, how much more when they have come into their possession? Let the countless hosts that have fallen into Hell with their burden, proclaim it; let their incalculable anxieties of preserving their riches, and much more, let the intolerable laws, which riches and those that possess them have foisted upon the world, testify what is required to retain them.

"The divine influence will urge and draw thee on, inflaming thy heart to chaste love and reverence of God, to acknowledgment of thy littleness, to abhorrence of the earthly vanities, to desire of being despised by creatures, to joyful suffering, to love of the cross and an earnest and generous acceptation of it; the divine influence will move thee to seek the last place, to love those that persecute thee, to fear and abhor sin, even the slightest, to aspire to the purest, the most perfect and refined in virtue, to deny thyself thy own inclinations, and to unite thyself to the highest and truest good."

Meditation

It is good for us to have trials and troubles at times, for they often remind us that we are on probation and ought not to hope in any worldly thing. It is good for us sometimes to suffer contradiction, to be misjudged by men even though we do well and mean well. These things help us to be humble and shield us from vainglory. When to all outward appearances men give us no credit, when they do not think well of us, then we are more inclined to seek God Who sees our hearts. Therefore, a man ought to root himself so firmly in God that he will not need the consolations of men.

When a man of good will is afflicted, tempted, and tormented by evil thoughts, he realizes clearly that his greatest need is God, without Whom he can do no good. Saddened by his miseries and sufferings, he laments and prays. He wearies of living longer and wishes for death that he might be dissolved and be with Christ. Then he understands fully that perfect security and complete peace cannot be found on earth. (Taken from the Imitation of Christ, Book 1, chapter 12).

Prayer

My Blessed Mother, it is not one sword only with which I have pierced thy heart, but I have done so with as many as are the sins which I have committed! My Lady, it is not to thee―who art innocent―that sufferings are due, but to me, who am guilty of so many crimes! But since thou hast been pleased to suffer so much for me, ah, by thy merits, obtain for me great sorrow for my sins, and patience under the trials of this life, which will always be light in comparison with my demerits; for I have often deserved Hell! O Mother of Sorrows, thou, who beneath the Cross of Jesus were given to us as our Mother, look down with pity on us, thy children, who weep and mourn in this valley of tears!

[Mention Intention]

By that sword of sorrow which pierced thy Heart, when thou looked upon the Face of thy dead Son, obtain for us that comfort we so sorely need in our sufferings! Thou wast given to us as our Mother in the hour of thy greatest grief, so that thou might be mindful of our frailty and the evils that press upon us. Without thy aid, O Sorrowful Mother, we cannot gain the victory in this struggle against the devil, the world and the flesh! Therefore, we seek thy help, O Queen of Sorrows, lest we fall prey to the wiles of the enemy! We are orphans in need of the guiding hand of our Mother, amid the dangers that threaten our destruction! Thou, whose grief was boundless as the sea, grant us, by the memory of those sorrows, the strength to be victorious! Intercede further, O Mother of Sorrows, for us and all who are near and dear to us, that we may ever do the Will of thy Son, and may direct all our actions to His honor, and to the furtherance of devotion to thy sorrows! Amen.

Pray:
Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
O Most Sorrowful Heart of Mary, pray for us poor sinners who have recourse to thee.

LITANY OF
OUR LADY OF SORROWS

FOURTH DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted for each day)
Theme: Suffering is the Price We Pay for Sin

Holy Scripture Says:
“O that my sins, whereby I have deserved wrath, and the calamity that I suffer, were weighed in a balance” (Job 6:2). “Why hath a living man murmured, man suffering for his sins?” (Lamentations 3:39). "And they talked one to another: 'We deserve to suffer these things, because we have sinned'" (Genesis 42:21).

Our Lord's or Our Lady's Revelations to the Saints and Mystics
taken from The Mystical City of God by the Venerable Mary of Agreda
and The Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary by Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich
and other sources.

It is Our Lady who speaks:
"Since the sin of Adam, the animal and earthly life of man is burdensome for all those that subject themselves to it (Job 7:29), the chains of the passions are strong, the war against the lower nature continual; sensible pleasures are always present, and easily fascinate the faculties of man, while that which is noble, as well as its immediate consequences, is often hidden from the gaze. All this fills the pilgrimage of life with hazardous dangers and difficulties. Among all these dangers and difficulties not the least are those of the flesh; for its human weakness, always present and always active, withdraws many from grace. The shortest and the most secure course to follow, both for thee and for all men, is to welcome bitterness and sorrow and put aside ease and pleasure of the senses, and inviolably to resolve not to allow them to become dissipated or enjoy greater freedom than the strict rule of reason permits."

The Venerable Mary of Agreda writes:
"Let us understand well that suffering was not only for Christ, Our Lord, but also for us; that if He suffered labors and death as the Redeemer of the World, He suffered them also as our Teacher, thereby inviting us, as his friends, to enter upon the way of his Cross; so much so, that his nearest friends receive the greatest share of suffering, and no one can merit Heaven without the price of personal exertions."

Meditation

We may be tempted to think along some Protestant lines that Christ has died and paid for our sins, so why do we need to suffer? Believing in Him should suffice. “When as yet we were sinners, Christ died for us; much more therefore, being now justified by His Blood, shall we be saved from wrath through Him” (Romans 5:8-9). “Christ also died once for our sins, the just for the unjust: that He might offer us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). “And the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all … He was wounded for our iniquities, He was bruised for our sins: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and by His bruises we are healed” (Iasias 53:5-6). “Who His own Self bore our sins in His body upon the tree: that we, being dead to sins, should live to justice: by Whose stripes you were healed” (1 Peter 2:24).“Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of Thy people: Thou hast covered all their sins” (Psalms 84:3). Those are some of the quotes that they will use to justify their thoughts and position.

Yet, they ignore the fact that even during His Life, before His Passion and Death, Our Lord spoke of the need of penance and of suffering: “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say: ‘Do penance!’” (Matthew 4:17). “Then began He to upbraid the cities wherein were done the most of His miracles, for that they had not done penance” (Matthew 11:20). He Himself embraced suffering and after His Resurrection said: “It behoved Christ to suffer” (Luke 24:46). “And He said to all: ‘If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me!’” (Luke 9:23). “I will show him how great things he must suffer for My Name's sake” (Acts 9:16). “And he that taketh not up his cross, and followeth Me, is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:38). “And whosoever doth not carry his cross and come after Me, cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:27).

After the Passion and Death of Our Lord, the Apostles still preached the need for suffering, even though Christ had just died for the sins of the world. St. Paul, who had been a persecutor of the Church before Jesus miraculously converted him, was not released from the pain of suffering. Our Lord says of Paul: “I will show him how great things he must suffer for My Name's sake” (Acts 9:16).

St. Paul reinforces this by saying, even after the redemptive work of Christ's Death, that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), thus continuing the Old Testament truth that “we suffer thus for our sins” (2 Machabees 7:32). “O that my sins, whereby I have deserved wrath, and the calamity that I suffer, were weighed in a balance” (Job 6:2). “Why hath a living man murmured, man suffering for his sins?” (Lamentations 3:39). And if one thing is certain, it is that we are sinners: “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us” (1 John 1:10) and are therefore in need of suffering.

Prayer

My Blessed Mother, it is not one sword only with which I have pierced thy heart, but I have done so with as many as are the sins which I have committed! My Lady, it is not to thee―who art innocent―that sufferings are due, but to me, who am guilty of so many crimes! But since thou hast been pleased to suffer so much for me, ah, by thy merits, obtain for me great sorrow for my sins, and patience under the trials of this life, which will always be light in comparison with my demerits; for I have often deserved Hell! O Mother of Sorrows, thou, who beneath the Cross of Jesus were given to us as our Mother, look down with pity on us, thy children, who weep and mourn in this valley of tears!

[Mention Intention]

By that sword of sorrow which pierced thy Heart, when thou looked upon the Face of thy dead Son, obtain for us that comfort we so sorely need in our sufferings! Thou wast given to us as our Mother in the hour of thy greatest grief, so that thou might be mindful of our frailty and the evils that press upon us. Without thy aid, O Sorrowful Mother, we cannot gain the victory in this struggle against the devil, the world and the flesh! Therefore, we seek thy help, O Queen of Sorrows, lest we fall prey to the wiles of the enemy! We are orphans in need of the guiding hand of our Mother, amid the dangers that threaten our destruction! Thou, whose grief was boundless as the sea, grant us, by the memory of those sorrows, the strength to be victorious! Intercede further, O Mother of Sorrows, for us and all who are near and dear to us, that we may ever do the Will of thy Son, and may direct all our actions to His honor, and to the furtherance of devotion to thy sorrows! Amen.

Pray:
Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
O Most Sorrowful Heart of Mary, pray for us poor sinners who have recourse to thee.

LITANY OF
OUR LADY OF SORROWS

FIFTH DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted for each day)
Theme: Finding Consolation and Joy in Suffering

Holy Scripture Says:
“But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ; by whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14).

Our Lord's or Our Lady's Revelations to the Saints and Mystics
taken from The Mystical City of God by the Venerable Mary of Agreda
and The Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary by Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich
and other sources.

It is Our Lady who speaks:
"Renew many times in the secret of thy heart thy esteem for the blessing of tribulations, which the hidden providence of God dispenses for the justification of mortals. These are the judgments justified in themselves and more valuable than precious stones and gold, more sweet than the honeycomb, to those who know how to hold them in proper esteem. I wish thee to remember, my beloved, that to suffer and to be afflicted, with or without one’s fault, is a benefit of which one cannot be worthy without special and great mercy of the Almighty. Moreover, to be allowed to suffer for one’s sins, is not only a mercy, but is demanded by justice. Behold, however, the great insanity of the children of Adam nowadays in desiring and seeking after advantages, benefits, and favors agreeable to their senses, and in sleeplessly striving to turn away from themselves, that which is painful, or includes any hardship or trouble. It would be to their greatest benefit to seek tribulations diligently, even when unmerited, yet they strive by all means to avoid them, even when merited, and even though they cannot be happy and blessed without having undergone such sufferings.

"Unless gold is untouched by the furnace-heat, the iron by the file, the grain by the grinding stone or flail, the grapes by the wine-press, they are all useless and will not attain the end for which they are created. Why then will mortals continue to deceive themselves, by expecting, in spite of their sins, to become pure and worthy of enjoying God, without the furnace or the file of sorrows? If they were incapable and unworthy of attaining to the crown and reward of the infinite and eternal Good when innocent, how can they attain it, when they are in darkness and in disgrace before the Almighty? In addition to this, the sons of perdition are exerting all their powers to remain unworthy and hostile to God and in evading crosses and afflictions, which are the paths left open for returning to God; in rejecting the light of the intellect, which is the means of recognizing the deceptiveness of visible things; in refusing the nourishment of the just, which is the only means of grace, the price of glory; and, above all, in repudiating the legitimate inheritance, selected by my Son and Lord for Himself and for all his elect, since He was born and lived continually in afflictions and died upon the cross.

"By such standards, my daughter, must thou measure the value of suffering, which the worldly will not understand. Since they are unworthy of heavenly knowledge, they despise it in proportion to their ignorance. Rejoice and congratulate thyself in thy sufferings, and whenever the Almighty deigns to send thee any, hasten to meet it and welcome it as one of his blessings and pledges of his glorious love. Furnish thy heart with magnanimity and constancy, so that when occasion of suffering is given thee thou mayest bear it with the same equanimity as the prosperous and agreeable things. Be not filled with sadness in executing that which thou hast promised in gladness, for the Lord loves those that are equally ready to give as to receive. Sacrifice thy heart and all thy faculties as a holocaust of patience and chant in new hymns of praise and joy the-justification of the Most High, whenever in the place of thy peregrination He signalizes and distinguishes thee as his own with the signs of his friendship which are no other than the tribulations and trials of suffering.

Meditation

"Renew many times in the secret of thy heart thy esteem for the blessing of tribulations, which the hidden providence of God dispenses for the justification of mortals."

Our Lady is telling us to go against our natural repugnance for the cross and to esteem it as a blessing and a means of salvation. St. Simon of Cyrene was forced to carry Jesus' cross, but grew to appreciate what he had been given. “And going out, they found a man of Cyrene, named Simon: him they forced to take up Jesus' cross” (Matthew 27:32). “Whosoever doth not carry his cross and come after Me, cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:27). Like it or not, your crosses are your only way to salvation. The Way of the Cross. The Key of the Cross. Don't throw away your key to Heaven!

"Remember, my beloved, that to suffer and to be afflicted, with or without one’s fault, is a benefit of which one cannot be worthy without special and great mercy of the Almighty."

Our Lady here merely repeats what her Son had said in the Gospels: "They will lay their hands upon you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and into prisons, dragging you before kings and governors, for My Name's sake" (Luke 21:12). "Remember My word that I said to you: 'The servant is not greater than his master.' If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you" (John 15:20). "If the world hate you, know ye, that it hath hated Me before you" (John 15:18). “Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice sake: for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:10). "And when they shall persecute you in this city, flee into another" (Matthew 10:23).

"Unless gold is untouched by the furnace-heat, the iron by the file, they are useless and will not attain the end for which they are created. Why do mortals deceive themselves, by expecting, in spite of their sins, to become pure and enjoy God, without the furnace or the file of sorrows? If they were incapable and unworthy when innocent, how can they attain it, when they are in darkness and in disgrace?"

Again, Our Lady echoes Holy Scripture: “As silver is tried by fire, and gold in the furnace: so the Lord trieth the hearts” (Proverbs 17:3). “As gold in the furnace God hath proved them” (Wisdom 3:6). “For gold and silver are tried in the fire, but acceptable men in the furnace of humiliation” (Ecclesiasticus 2:5). “The furnace trieth the potter’s vessels, and the trial of affliction just men” (Ecclesiasticus 27:6). “Behold I have refined thee, I have chosen thee in the furnace of poverty” (Isaias 48:10).

However, the world and most Catholics do not want to tried and proved in the furnaces of God. They prefer the furnaces of their own passions and the furnaces of the world. As Our Lady of La Salette said: "There are no more generous souls ... the spirits of darkness will spread everywhere a universal slackening of all that concerns the service of God ... The true Faith to the Lord having been forgotten ... and the Gospel of Jesus Christ having been forgotten ... disorder and the love of carnal pleasures will be spread all over the earth ... People will think of nothing but amusement."

This was also the case with the Chosen People in the Old Testament, whose negligence of God and their religious duties, brought upon them the wrath of God: “Her priests have despised My law, and have defiled My sanctuaries: they have put no difference between holy and profane: nor distinguished between the polluted and the clean: they have turned away their eyes from My Sabbaths, and I was profaned in the midst of them. Her princes are like wolves ravening the prey to shed blood, and to destroy souls, and to run after gains through covetousness. And her prophets, seeing vain things, and divining lies unto them, saying: 'Thus saith the Lord God!' : when the Lord hath not spoken. And I sought among them for a man that might set up a hedge, and stand in the gap before Me in favor of the land, that I might not destroy it: and I found none” (Ezechiel 22:26-30).

This is almost the very same thing to what Our Lady said at La Salette, concerning our days: “Woe to the Princes of the Church who think only of piling riches upon riches, to protect their authority and dominate with pride ... The chiefs, the leaders of the people of God, have neglected prayer and penance, and the devil has bedimmed their intelligence ... The priests, by their wicked lives, by their irreverence and their impiety in the celebration of the Holy Mysteries, by their love of money, their love of honors and pleasures, the priests have become cesspools of impurity. Yes, the priests are asking vengeance, and vengeance is hanging over their heads. Woe to the priests and to those dedicated to God who, by their unfaithfulness and their wicked lives, are crucifying my Son again! ... The Church will yield to large persecution ... All the civil governments will have one and the same plan, which will be to abolish and do away with every religious principle, to make way for materialism, atheism, spiritualism and vice of all kinds ... They will abolish civil rights as well as ecclesiastical, all order and all justice will be trampled underfoot and only homicides, hate, jealousy, lies and dissension will be seen ... There is no one left worthy of offering a spotless Sacrifice to the Eternal for the sake of the world" (Our Lady of La Salette). Anyone, even those who are half-blind, can these things unfolding before our very eyes today--unless. like ostriches, they have their heads buried in the sands of entertainment and fun.

The consequences of all this, for the unfaithful Chosen People in the Old Testament, show a striking parallel to what Our Lady has warned will come our way. God says in Holy Scripture: “The house of Israel is become dross to Me: all these are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace: they are become the dross of silver. Therefore thus saith the Lord God: 'Because you are all turned into dross, therefore behold I will gather you together in the midst of Jerusalem. As they gather silver, and brass, and tin, and iron, and lead in the midst of the furnace: that I may kindle a fire in it to melt it: so will I gather you together in My fury and in My wrath, and will take My rest, and I will melt you down. And I will gather you together, and will burn you in the fire of My wrath, and you shall be melted in the midst thereof. As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall you be in the midst thereof: and you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have poured out My indignation upon you” (Ezechiel 22:18-22).

Our Lady of La Salette's version is: "God will strike in an unprecedented way ... “Woe to the inhabitants of the earth! God will exhaust His wrath upon them, and no one will be able to escape so many afflictions together ... God will abandon mankind to itself and will send punishments, which will follow one after the other ... The society of men is on the eve of the most terrible scourges and of gravest events. Mankind must expect to be ruled with an iron rod and to drink from the chalice of the wrath of God."

"Measure the value of suffering, which the worldly will not understand. Rejoice and congratulate thyself in thy sufferings. Be not filled with sadness, for the Lord loves those that are equally ready to give as to receive."

Yet, despite this "iron rod" of God, Our Lady insists that all that is a positive thing, that will reverse the negativity and evil of sin. For evil is a truly a negative, being defined as: "the absence of a good that is due." Once God, with His iron rod, will have chastised the world, then, like a spoiled and unruly child, the world will come to its senses. What else can this cause in the minds and hearts of the just, but joy and happiness. "For whom the Lord loveth, He chastiseth" (Proverbs 3:12). So even though those times shall be gruesome, and, as Our Lady also said, even though the good will be killed with the bad, with God sparing neither priests, religious, nor the faithful, annihilating the greater part of humanity in His cleansing action, all this should be a cause for rejoicing and not sadness. For sin and evil will be removed, to a great extent, from the world—and, as our Faith teaches, sin is the greatest evil in the world. This is something we fail to sufficiently appreciate today, but once this starts to happen, then we will most certainly realize and appreciate that truth throughout the chastisement and in the aftermath. “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ; by whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14). “We preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews indeed a stumbling-block, and unto the Gentiles foolishness” (1 Corinthians 1:22-24).

Prayer

My Blessed Mother, it is not one sword only with which I have pierced thy heart, but I have done so with as many as are the sins which I have committed! My Lady, it is not to thee―who art innocent―that sufferings are due, but to me, who am guilty of so many crimes! But since thou hast been pleased to suffer so much for me, ah, by thy merits, obtain for me great sorrow for my sins, and patience under the trials of this life, which will always be light in comparison with my demerits; for I have often deserved Hell! O Mother of Sorrows, thou, who beneath the Cross of Jesus were given to us as our Mother, look down with pity on us, thy children, who weep and mourn in this valley of tears!

[Mention Intention]

By that sword of sorrow which pierced thy Heart, when thou looked upon the Face of thy dead Son, obtain for us that comfort we so sorely need in our sufferings! Thou wast given to us as our Mother in the hour of thy greatest grief, so that thou might be mindful of our frailty and the evils that press upon us. Without thy aid, O Sorrowful Mother, we cannot gain the victory in this struggle against the devil, the world and the flesh! Therefore, we seek thy help, O Queen of Sorrows, lest we fall prey to the wiles of the enemy! We are orphans in need of the guiding hand of our Mother, amid the dangers that threaten our destruction! Thou, whose grief was boundless as the sea, grant us, by the memory of those sorrows, the strength to be victorious! Intercede further, O Mother of Sorrows, for us and all who are near and dear to us, that we may ever do the Will of thy Son, and may direct all our actions to His honor, and to the furtherance of devotion to thy sorrows! Amen.

Pray:
Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
O Most Sorrowful Heart of Mary, pray for us poor sinners who have recourse to thee.

LITANY OF
OUR LADY OF SORROWS

SIXTH DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted for each day)
Theme: Suffering by Pardoning

Holy Scripture Says:
“I will have mercy on whom I will, and I will be merciful to whom it shall please me.” (Exodus 33:19).
“O the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, patient and of much compassion, and true” (Exodus 34:6).
“Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.” (Matthew 5:7).
“Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.” (Luke 6:36).

Our Lord's or Our Lady's Revelations to the Saints and Mystics
taken from The Mystical City of God by the Venerable Mary of Agreda
and The Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary by Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich
and other sources.

It is Our Lady who speaks:
"The sons of perdition, who serve vanity, are ignorant of the treasure of suffering injuries and of pardoning them, and they make a boast of vengeance, which, even according to the requirements of the natural reason, is reprehensible and arises from a heart that is brutal and beastly, rather than from a human heart. On the other hand, he who pardons injuries magnanimously and forgets them, although he may not have divine faith, nor the light of the Gospel, becomes noble and excellent, and does not pay vile tribute to the fierce and irrational brutality of revenge.

"And if the vice of revenge is so contrary even to the dictates of nature, consider how much it is opposed to grace and how hateful and abominable the vengeful are in the eyes of my most holy Son, who made Himself man, suffered and died for no other purpose, than to forgive and to obtain the pardon of the Almighty for the injuries committed by the human race. Against this tendency of his whole life and against his whole nature and infinite bounty, vengeance is arrayed. as far as in him lies, the vindictive man destroys entirely, as well God himself as all his works. And for this attempt he well merits, that God should destroy him with all His might. Between the person who pardons and suffers injuries, and the vindictive, there is the same difference as between the one and only heir and the deadly enemy; this one provokes all the wrath of God and the other merits and obtains all blessings; because in this virtue he exhibits a most perfect image of the celestial Father.

"I wish thee to understand, that to suffer injuries with equanimity and to pardon them entirely for the Lord, will be more acceptable in His eyes, than if thou choose, of thy own will, to do the most severe penance and shed thy own blood for Him. Humble thyself before those who persecute thee, love them and pray for them from thy true heart; thereby shalt thou turn toward thee, in love the heart of thy God, and rise to the perfection of holiness, and thou shalt overcome Hell in all things. That great dragon, who persecutes all men, was confounded many times by my humility and meekness, and his fury could not tolerate the sight of these virtues. From them he fled more swiftly than the sun’s rays. I gained great victories for my soul and won glorious triumphs for the exaltation of the Divinity. When any creature rose up against me, I conceived no anger toward it, for I knew in reality it was an instrument of the Most High, directed by His Providence for my special good."

Meditation
Great criminals sometimes achieve a certain distinction denied to the starving pauper who takes a loaf of bread. Such is the case of the servant in the Gospel who was forgiven a debt of millions of dollars (in today's equivalent value). No one could be proud of so gigantic a deficit in his account, and it should scarcely astonish us that the possessor of this distinction throttled a fellow servant whose deficit was just a few dollars, a million times less than his own. Unhappily for the criminal, the master of both servants did not consider the size of the debts a significant factor, and, revoking the gift of millions which he had made by canceling a lawful debt, he delivered the greater debtor to the torture until he should pay all. The amount of that torture is appalling, but more appalling are the words with which the story concludes: "So also shall my heavenly Father do to you, if you forgive not your brother from your hearts."'

One great reason why forgiveness from the heart is so scarce among men is to be found in the exaggerations of self-love. We think that no one deserves the consideration to which we are entitled. Our wrongs are so great, so personal, so intimate to us that no one else, we think, can appreciate them at their true value. We can always see reasons why others should feel their wrongs less keenly, hut in our case, there is something about the person or the time or the manner of the injury that persuades our brooding and distempered minds that we have discovered a new, unheard of species of sorrow — ours.

Forgiveness of enemies was a virtue dear to the Heart of Christ. It is one of those virtues, like humility and virginity, which are so sublime and so opposed to the natural impulses of human nature that their revelation and teaching by Christ seems to many to prove His divinity. Surely, then, if He may be said to love one virtue more than another, it would be one which was His own because He was the first to teach it to the world.

The unforgiving heart exaggerates the faults done to it, but the Heart of Christ has endured wrongs and sees in them a malice which, because it is infinite, cannot be exaggerated. In the depths of eternity, what was God's view of the Heart of Christ? Some answer that He saw it as a vessel full of the fire of love; others — and they are more numerous — declare that the Heart of Christ never appeared in the thoughts of God as anything other than a suffering, wounded Heart, created to be crucified, to be pierced, and to die. Christ's Heart was made to be a holocaust for sin. From first to last, and in every part of its brimming contents, it was destined for others and for the sins of others.

Prayer

My Blessed Mother, it is not one sword only with which I have pierced thy heart, but I have done so with as many as are the sins which I have committed! My Lady, it is not to thee―who art innocent―that sufferings are due, but to me, who am guilty of so many crimes! But since thou hast been pleased to suffer so much for me, ah, by thy merits, obtain for me great sorrow for my sins, and patience under the trials of this life, which will always be light in comparison with my demerits; for I have often deserved Hell! O Mother of Sorrows, thou, who beneath the Cross of Jesus were given to us as our Mother, look down with pity on us, thy children, who weep and mourn in this valley of tears!

[Mention Intention]

By that sword of sorrow which pierced thy Heart, when thou looked upon the Face of thy dead Son, obtain for us that comfort we so sorely need in our sufferings! Thou wast given to us as our Mother in the hour of thy greatest grief, so that thou might be mindful of our frailty and the evils that press upon us. Without thy aid, O Sorrowful Mother, we cannot gain the victory in this struggle against the devil, the world and the flesh! Therefore, we seek thy help, O Queen of Sorrows, lest we fall prey to the wiles of the enemy! We are orphans in need of the guiding hand of our Mother, amid the dangers that threaten our destruction! Thou, whose grief was boundless as the sea, grant us, by the memory of those sorrows, the strength to be victorious! Intercede further, O Mother of Sorrows, for us and all who are near and dear to us, that we may ever do the Will of thy Son, and may direct all our actions to His honor, and to the furtherance of devotion to thy sorrows! Amen.

Pray:
Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
O Most Sorrowful Heart of Mary, pray for us poor sinners who have recourse to thee.

LITANY OF
OUR LADY OF SORROWS

SEVENTH DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted for each day)
Theme: Suffering—Take it or Leave it!

Holy Scripture Says:
“If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (Luke 9:23).

“And he that taketh not up his cross, and followeth Me, is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:38).

Our Lord's or Our Lady's Revelations to the Saints and Mystics
taken from The Mystical City of God by the Venerable Mary of Agreda
and The Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary by Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich
and other sources.

It is Our Lady who speaks:
"All that thy earthly inclinations demand, refuse to thyself, although it may be small and licit in itself; turn thy back on all sensible things, seeking only to love and to suffer. This is the science and divine philosophy taught thee by the visits of the Most High and in it thou wilt feel the force of the divine fire, which should never through thy fault and thy negligence, be allowed to become extinguished in thy bosom.

"Moreover, to be allowed to suffer for one’s sins, is not only a mercy, but is demanded by justice. Behold, however, the great insanity of the children of Adam nowadays in desiring and seeking after advantages, benefits, and favors agreeable to their senses, and in sleeplessly striving to turn away from themselves, that which is painful, or includes any hardship or trouble. It would be to their greatest benefit to seek tribulations diligently, even when unmerited, yet they strive by all means to avoid them, even when merited, and even though they cannot be happy and blessed without having undergone such sufferings.

"Many are led into danger and made forgetful of it; some of them cast themselves into it on account of their lightheartedness, some of them for trivial reasons, others for a short and instantaneous pleasure, others through negligence, and yet others on account of their inordinate appetites, tearing themselves away from the places of refuge, in which the Almighty has placed them, to fall into the hands of such cruel and furious enemies; and not only to feel their fury for an hour, a day, a month, a year, but to suffer indescribable and unmeasured torments for all eternity."

Meditation

“Refuse thyself all thy earthly inclinations—be they small and licit; turn thy back on all sensible things, seeking only to love and to suffer. This is the science and divine philosophy taught to thee.”

Instead of putting things first, we should put God first—and He will give us, not what we want, but what we need: “Be not solicitous therefore, saying, ‘What shall we eat: or what shall we drink, or wherewith shall we be clothed?’ For after all these things do the heathens seek. For your Father knoweth that you have need of all these things. Seek ye therefore first the kingdom of God, and his justice, and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:31-33). We see this opposition between God and things in the sisters, Martha and Mary. Martha was primarily concerned about things—lawful and good in themselves, she was looking after Lord materially; whereas Mary was sat at His feet, letting Him feed her with His word and look after her spiritually—Our Lord said Mary had the better part:

“Now it came to pass as they went, that Jesus entered into a certain town: and a certain woman named Martha, received Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sitting also at the Lord's feet, heard His word. But Martha was busy about much serving. Who stood and said: ‘Lord, hast thou no care that my sister hath left me alone to serve? Speak to her therefore, that she help me!’ And the Lord answering, said to her: ‘Martha, Martha, thou art careful, and art troubled about many things! But one thing is necessary! Mary hath chosen the best part, which shall not be taken away from her!’” Luke 10:38-38-42).

“To be allowed to suffer for one’s sins, is not only a mercy, but is demanded by justice ... one cannot be happy and blessed without having undergone such sufferings … Behold the great insanity of people nowadays: in desiring and seeking after advantages, benefits, and things agreeable to their senses, while striving to turn away that which is painful hardships or troubles. They should seek tribulations diligently, even when unmerited, yet they strive to avoid them, even when merited.”

We see this withdrawal from earthly occupations, to be with God, even practiced by children. One of the three Fatima children, Jacinta, who was a very social outgoing person, resisted her inclinations—as is shown in the decree that was read during her beatification:

“Docile to the action of grace, she separated herself from the things of earth in order turn her attention to heavenly things ... She was constantly immersed in the contemplation of God … She sought silence and solitude, and at night she got out of bed to pray and freely express her love for Our Lord … She nourished an ardent devotion to the Eucharist, which she visited frequently and for long periods, in the parish Church, concealing herself in the pulpit, where no one could see or distract her. She longed to receive the Body of Christ, but that was not permitted because of her age. However, she found some consolation in spiritual communion. In the same way, she venerated the Virgin Mary … honoring her many times with the recitation of the Rosary and with pious ejaculations ... She had an insatiable hunger for immolation; she deprived herself food to give it to the poor; she did not drink water, especially in the summer heat; as a form of penance she wore a rope around her waist; she endured everything that was disagreeable in a spirit of penance and oblation” (Decree from the Congregation For The Causes Of Saints; regarding the Canonization of the Servant of God Jacinta Marto).

Prayer

My Blessed Mother, it is not one sword only with which I have pierced thy heart, but I have done so with as many as are the sins which I have committed! My Lady, it is not to thee―who art innocent―that sufferings are due, but to me, who am guilty of so many crimes! But since thou hast been pleased to suffer so much for me, ah, by thy merits, obtain for me great sorrow for my sins, and patience under the trials of this life, which will always be light in comparison with my demerits; for I have often deserved Hell! O Mother of Sorrows, thou, who beneath the Cross of Jesus were given to us as our Mother, look down with pity on us, thy children, who weep and mourn in this valley of tears!

[Mention Intention]

By that sword of sorrow which pierced thy Heart, when thou looked upon the Face of thy dead Son, obtain for us that comfort we so sorely need in our sufferings! Thou wast given to us as our Mother in the hour of thy greatest grief, so that thou might be mindful of our frailty and the evils that press upon us. Without thy aid, O Sorrowful Mother, we cannot gain the victory in this struggle against the devil, the world and the flesh! Therefore, we seek thy help, O Queen of Sorrows, lest we fall prey to the wiles of the enemy! We are orphans in need of the guiding hand of our Mother, amid the dangers that threaten our destruction! Thou, whose grief was boundless as the sea, grant us, by the memory of those sorrows, the strength to be victorious! Intercede further, O Mother of Sorrows, for us and all who are near and dear to us, that we may ever do the Will of thy Son, and may direct all our actions to His honor, and to the furtherance of devotion to thy sorrows! Amen.

Pray:
Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
O Most Sorrowful Heart of Mary, pray for us poor sinners who have recourse to thee.

LITANY OF
OUR LADY OF SORROWS

EIGHTH DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted for each day)
Theme: The Royal Road of Suffering

Holy Scripture Says:
“If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (Luke 9:23).

“And he that taketh not up his cross, and followeth Me, is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:38).

Our Lord's or Our Lady's Revelations to the Saints and Mystics
taken from The Mystical City of God by the Venerable Mary of Agreda
and The Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary by Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich
and other sources.

It is Our Lady who speaks:
"How narrow and unwilling is the human heart toward that which is contrary and distasteful to its earthly inclinations! How it chafes in labors! How impatiently it meets them! How insufferable it deems all that is contrary to its desires! How persistently it forgets, that its Teacher and Master has first accepted sufferings, and has honored and sanctified them in His own Person! It is a great shame, yea a great boldness, on the part of the faithful, that they should abhor suffering, even after my most holy Son did suffer for them; and when so many of the just, before his Death, were led to embrace the cross, solely by the hope that Christ would once suffer upon it, although they would never live to see it. He began to suffer, and, as soon as He was born into the world, He and I were banished by Herod into a desert, and His sufferings continued until He died on the Cross. Take notice at the same time, that my Son and Lord could have redeemed the human race without suffering so much, and that He wished to increase His sufferings only on account of the immensity of His love for souls.

"If the transitory labors and sufferings are accepted with joy and with serenity of heart, they spiritualize the creature, they elevate it and furnish it with a divine insight; by which the soul begins to esteem affliction at its proper value and soon finds consolation and the blessings of mortification and of freedom from disorderly passions. This is the teaching of the school of the Redeemer, hidden from those living in Babylon and from those who love vanity.

"I was made to comprehend the high value which the Lord sets upon the labors, the Passion and Death of my Son, and upon all those who were to imitate and follow Jesus in the way of the Cross. Knowing this, I not only offered to deliver my Son over to Passion and Death, but I asked Him to make me His companion and partaker of all His sorrows, sufferings and torments, which request the eternal Father granted. This desire for suffering and the wishes of my divine Son, led me on in the way of suffering. He himself granted me my desires; for those whom He loves, He chastises and afflicts.

"Hence thou wilt understand the ignorance and error of mortals, and how far they drift from the way of light, when, as a rule, nearly all of them strive to avoid labor and suffering, and are frightened by the royal and secure road of mortification and the Cross. Full of this deceitful ignorance, they do not only abhor resemblance to Christ’s suffering and my own, and deprive themselves of the true and highest blessing of this life; but they make their recovery impossible, since all of them are weak and afflicted by many sins, for which the only remedy is suffering. Sin is committed by base indulgence and is repugnant to suffering sorrow, while tribulation earns the pardon of the just judge. By the bitterness of sorrow and affliction the vapors of sin are allayed; the excesses of the concupiscible and irascible passions are crushed; pride and haughtiness are humiliated; the flesh is subdued; the inclination to evil, to the sensible and earthly creatures, is repressed."

Meditation

“How narrow and unwilling is the human heart toward that which is contrary and distasteful to its earthly inclinations! How insufferable it deems all that is contrary to its desires! It is a great shame and a great boldness, on the part of the faithful, that they should abhor suffering!”

"Do not those, who always seek consolation, deserve to be called mercenaries? Do not those, who always think of their own profit and gain, prove that they love themselves rather than Christ? Where can a man be found who desires to serve God for nothing? Rarely, indeed, is a man so spiritual as to strip himself of all things. And who shall find a man so truly poor in spirit, as to be free from every creature? His value is like that of things brought from the most distant lands." (Imitation of Christ, "Few Love the Cross of Jesus").

"Understand the ignorance and error of mortals, when, as a rule, nearly all of them strive to avoid labor and suffering, and are frightened by the royal and secure road of mortification and the Cross. Full of this deceitful ignorance, they do not only abhor resemblance to Christ’s suffering and my own, and deprive themselves of the true and highest blessing of this life; but they make their recovery impossible, since all of them are weak and afflicted by many sins, for which the only remedy is suffering."

As the Imitation of Christ says, in its chapters on "Few Love the Cross of Jesus" and "The Royal Road of the Cross":

Jesus has always many who love His heavenly kingdom, but few who bear His cross. He has many who desire consolation, but few who care for trial. He finds many to share His table, but few to take part in His fasting. All desire to be happy with Him; few wish to suffer anything for Him. Many follow Him to the breaking of bread, but few to the drinking of the chalice of His passion. Many revere His miracles; few approach the shame of the Cross. Many love Him as long as they encounter no hardship; many praise and bless Him as long as they receive some comfort from Him. But if Jesus hides Himself and leaves them for a while, they fall either into complaints or into deep dejection. Those, on the contrary, who love Him for His own sake, and not for any comfort of their own, bless Him in all trial and anguish of heart, as well as in the bliss of consolation. Even if He should never give them consolation, yet they would continue to praise Him and wish always to give Him thanks. What power there is in pure love for Jesus -- love that is flee from all self-interest and self-love!

"To many the saying, "Deny thyself, take up thy cross and follow Me," seems hard, but it will be much harder to hear that final word: "Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire." Those who hear the word of the cross and follow it willingly now, need not fear that they will hear of eternal damnation on the Day of Judgment. This Sign of the Cross will be in the heavens when the Lord comes to judge.

Prayer

My Blessed Mother, it is not one sword only with which I have pierced thy heart, but I have done so with as many as are the sins which I have committed! My Lady, it is not to thee―who art innocent―that sufferings are due, but to me, who am guilty of so many crimes! But since thou hast been pleased to suffer so much for me, ah, by thy merits, obtain for me great sorrow for my sins, and patience under the trials of this life, which will always be light in comparison with my demerits; for I have often deserved Hell! O Mother of Sorrows, thou, who beneath the Cross of Jesus were given to us as our Mother, look down with pity on us, thy children, who weep and mourn in this valley of tears!

[Mention Intention]

By that sword of sorrow which pierced thy Heart, when thou looked upon the Face of thy dead Son, obtain for us that comfort we so sorely need in our sufferings! Thou wast given to us as our Mother in the hour of thy greatest grief, so that thou might be mindful of our frailty and the evils that press upon us. Without thy aid, O Sorrowful Mother, we cannot gain the victory in this struggle against the devil, the world and the flesh! Therefore, we seek thy help, O Queen of Sorrows, lest we fall prey to the wiles of the enemy! We are orphans in need of the guiding hand of our Mother, amid the dangers that threaten our destruction! Thou, whose grief was boundless as the sea, grant us, by the memory of those sorrows, the strength to be victorious! Intercede further, O Mother of Sorrows, for us and all who are near and dear to us, that we may ever do the Will of thy Son, and may direct all our actions to His honor, and to the furtherance of devotion to thy sorrows! Amen.

Pray:
Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
O Most Sorrowful Heart of Mary, pray for us poor sinners who have recourse to thee.

LITANY OF
OUR LADY OF SORROWS

NINTH DAY OF THE NOVENA (new meditations posted for each day)
Theme: Enrolling in the School of Jesus and Mary

Holy Scripture Says:
“If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (Luke 9:23).

“And he that taketh not up his cross, and followeth Me, is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:38).

Our Lord's or Our Lady's Revelations to the Saints and Mystics
taken from The Mystical City of God by the Venerable Mary of Agreda
and The Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary by Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich
and other sources.

It is Our Lady who speaks:
"By the divine teaching, thou knowest the mysteries of the Passion and Death of Christ and the one true way of life, which is the Cross; and thou knowest that not all who are called, are chosen. Many there are who wish to follow Christ and very few who truly dispose themselves to imitate Him; for as soon as they feel the sufferings of the Cross they cast it aside. Laborious exertions are very painful and averse to human nature according to the flesh. On this account there are so many among mortals, who seek the flesh and the continual indulgence of its pleasures. They ardently seek honors and fly from injuries: they strive after riches, and despise poverty; they long after pleasure and dread mortification. All these are enemies of the Cross of Christ and with dreadful aversion they fly from it.

Another deceit has spread through the world: many imagine that they are following Christ their Master, though they neither suffer affliction nor engage in any exertion or labor. They are content with avoiding boldness in committing sins, and place all their perfection in a certain prudence or hollow self-love, which prevents them from denying anything to their will and from practicing any virtues at the cost of their flesh. They would easily escape this deception, if they would consider that my Son, although He well could do it, He chose not a life of softness and ease for the flesh, but one full of labors and pains; for He judged his instructions to be incomplete and insufficient, if He failed to teach them how to overcome the demon, the flesh and their own self. He wished to inculcate, that this magnificent victory is gained by the Cross, by labors, penances, mortifications and the acceptance of contempt: all of which are the trademarks and evidences of true love and the special watchwords of the predestined.

By such standards must thou measure the value of suffering, which the worldly will not understand. Since they are unworthy of heavenly knowledge, they despise it in proportion to their ignorance. Rejoice and congratulate thyself in thy sufferings, and whenever the Almighty deigns to send thee any, hasten to meet it and welcome it as one of his blessings and pledges of his glorious love.

My most holy Son and myself are trying to find, among those who have arrived at the Way of the Cross, some soul, whom We can instruct systematically in this divine science and whom We can withdraw from the worldly and diabolical wisdom, in which the sons of Adam, with blind stubbornness, are rejecting the salutary discipline of sufferings. If thou wishest to be our disciple enter into this school, in which alone is taught the Doctrine of the Cross and the manner of reaching true peace and veritable delights. With this wisdom, the earthly love of sensible pleasures and riches is not compatible; nor the vain ostentation and pomp, which fascinates the bleary-eyed worldlings, who are so covetous of passing honors, and so full of ignorant admiration for costly grandeur.

Meditation

“Many there are who wish to follow Christ and very few who truly dispose themselves to imitate Him”

"'He who follows Me, walks not in darkness,' says the Lord. By these words of Christ we are advised to imitate His life and habits, if we wish to be truly enlightened and free from all blindness of heart. Let our chief effort, therefore, be to study the life of Jesus Christ. The teaching of Christ is more excellent than all the advice of the saints, and he who has His spirit will find in it a hidden manna. Now, there are many who hear the Gospel often, but care little for it, because they have not the spirit of Christ. Yet whoever wishes to understand fully the words of Christ must try to pattern his whole life on that of Christ" (Imitation of Christ, Book 1; chapter 1).

"I have received the cross, from Your hand I have received it. I will carry it, carry it even unto death as You have laid it upon me. Truly, the life of a good religious man is a cross, but it leads to paradise. We have begun -- we may not go back, nor may we leave off" (Imitation of Christ, Book 3; chapter 56).

"So many among mortals seek the flesh and the continual indulgence of its pleasures"

"As the Imitation of Christ says, "External pleasure effectively bars inward and divine consolation" ... if you pondered in your heart the future pains of hell or of purgatory, I believe you would willingly endure labor and trouble and would fear no hardship. But since these thoughts never pierce the heart and since we are enamored of flattering pleasure, we remain very cold and indifferent" ... "He who has true and perfect charity seeks self in nothing, but searches all things for the glory of God. Moreover, he envies no man, because he desires no personal pleasure nor does he wish to rejoice in himself; rather he desires the greater glory of God above all things" "Many imagine that they are following Christ, though they neither suffer, nor engage in any exertion or labor. They are content with avoiding boldness in committing sins, and place all their perfection in a certain prudence, or hollow self-love."
(Imitation of Christ).

"Many imagine that they are following Christ, though they neither suffer, nor engage in any exertion or labor. They are content with avoiding boldness in committing sins, and place all their perfection in a certain prudence, or hollow self-love."

"Consider the end; how you shall stand before the strict Judge, from Whom nothing is hidden and Who will pronounce judgment in all justice, accepting neither bribes, nor excuses. In that day every trial borne in patience will be pleasing and the voice of iniquity will be stilled; the devout will be glad; the irreligious will mourn; and the mortified body will rejoice far more than if it had been pampered with every pleasure.

"We deceive ourselves by our ill-advised love of the flesh. What will that fire feed upon but our sins? The more we spare ourselves now and the more we satisfy the flesh, the harder will the reckoning be and the more we keep for the burning.

"Learn, then, to suffer little things now that you may not have to suffer greater ones in eternity. Prove here what you can bear hereafter. If you can suffer only a little now, how will you be able to endure eternal torment? If a little suffering makes you impatient now, what will hell fire do? In truth, you cannot have two joys: you cannot taste the pleasures of this world and afterward reign with Christ" (Imitation of Christ).

"My most holy Son and myself are trying to find, among those who have arrived at the Way of the Cross, some soul, whom We can instruct systematically in this divine science and whom We can withdraw from the worldly and diabolical wisdom, in which the sons of Adam, with blind stubbornness, are rejecting the salutary discipline of sufferings. If thou wishest to be our disciple, enter into this school, in which alone is taught the Doctrine of the Cross and the manner of reaching true peace and veritable delights" (Our Lady to the Ven. Mary of Agreda).

Prayer

My Blessed Mother, it is not one sword only with which I have pierced thy heart, but I have done so with as many as are the sins which I have committed! My Lady, it is not to thee―who art innocent―that sufferings are due, but to me, who am guilty of so many crimes! But since thou hast been pleased to suffer so much for me, ah, by thy merits, obtain for me great sorrow for my sins, and patience under the trials of this life, which will always be light in comparison with my demerits; for I have often deserved Hell! O Mother of Sorrows, thou, who beneath the Cross of Jesus were given to us as our Mother, look down with pity on us, thy children, who weep and mourn in this valley of tears!

[Mention Intention]

By that sword of sorrow which pierced thy Heart, when thou looked upon the Face of thy dead Son, obtain for us that comfort we so sorely need in our sufferings! Thou wast given to us as our Mother in the hour of thy greatest grief, so that thou might be mindful of our frailty and the evils that press upon us. Without thy aid, O Sorrowful Mother, we cannot gain the victory in this struggle against the devil, the world and the flesh! Therefore, we seek thy help, O Queen of Sorrows, lest we fall prey to the wiles of the enemy! We are orphans in need of the guiding hand of our Mother, amid the dangers that threaten our destruction! Thou, whose grief was boundless as the sea, grant us, by the memory of those sorrows, the strength to be victorious! Intercede further, O Mother of Sorrows, for us and all who are near and dear to us, that we may ever do the Will of thy Son, and may direct all our actions to His honor, and to the furtherance of devotion to thy sorrows! Amen.

Pray:
Say the Our Father and the Hail Mary.

Final Invocation:
O Most Sorrowful Heart of Mary, pray for us poor sinners who have recourse to thee.

ACT OF CONSECRATION TO OUR LADY OF SORROWS

Most Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, holy Queen of Martyrs and spotless Virgin, would that I could be in Heaven with thee; there to contemplate the honors rendered to thee by the Most Holy Trinity and by the whole Heavenly Court! But since I am still a pilgrim in this valley of tears, receive from me, thy unworthy servant and a poor sinner, the most sincere homage and the most perfect act of vassalage and devotion that a human creature can offer thee.

I consecrate myself to thy Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart, pierced with so many swords of sorrow, and place my poor soul therein forever. Receive me as a partaker in thy Sorrows, and never suffer that I should depart from that Cross on which thy only begotten Son expired for me and which He wishes to share with me. With thee, O Mary, I will endure all the sufferings, persecutions, adversities, failures, contradictions and infirmities, with which it will please thy Divine Son to visit me in this life.

All of them I offer to thee, in memory of the Sorrows which thou didst suffer during thy life, that every thought of my mind, every beating of my heart may henceforward be an act of compassion to thy Sorrows, and of delight for the glory thou now enjoyest in Heaven.

Since then, O Dear Mother, I now meditate thy Sorrows, and rejoice in seeing thee glorified, do thou also have compassion on me, and reconcile me to thy Son Jesus, that I may become thy true and loyal son (daughter); come on my last day and assist me in my last agony at the hour death, even as thou wert present at the Agony of thy Divine Son Jesus, that from this painful exile I may go to Heaven, there to be made partaker of thy glory. Amen.

Now pray and reflect briefly upon the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary

SHORT DEVOTION ON THE SEVEN SORROWS OF OUR LADY

V. Incline unto my aid, O Lord.
R. O Lord, make haste to help me.
V. Glory Be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost.
R. As is was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen

Our Father....

1. The Prophecy of Simeon

“And Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother: ‘Behold this Child is set for the fall and for the resurrection of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be contradicted! And thy own soul a sword shall pierce, that out of many hearts thoughts may be revealed!’” (Luke 2:34-35).

BRIEF MEDITATION: How great was the shock to Mary’s Heart at hearing the sorrowful words, in which holy Simeon told the bitter Passion and death of her sweet Jesus, since in that same moment she realized in her mind all the insults, blows, and torments which the impious men were to offer to the Redeemer of the world. But a still sharper sword pierced her soul. It was the thought of men’s ingratitude to her beloved Son. Now consider that because of your sins you are unhappily among the ungrateful.

Say one Ave Maria (Hail Mary)

2. The Flight into Egypt

“And after they (the wise men) were departed, behold an angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph, saying: ‘Arise and take the Child and His mother and fly into Egypt: and be there until I shall tell thee. For it will come to pass that Herod will seek the Child to destroy Him!’ Who arose and took the Child and His mother by night, and retired into Egypt: and He was there until the death of Herod.” (Matthew 2:13-14).

BRIEF MEDITATION: Consider the sharp sorrow which Mary felt when, St. Joseph being warned by an angel, she had to flee by night in order to preserve her beloved Child from the slaughter decreed by Herod. What anguish was hers, in leaving Judea, lest she should be overtaken by the soldiers of the cruel king! How great her privations in that long journey! What sufferings she bore in that land of exile, what sorrow amid that people given to idolatry! But consider how often you have renewed that bitter grief of Mary, when your sins have caused her Son to flee from your heart.

Say one Ave Maria (Hail Mary)

3. The Loss of the Child Jesus for Three Days

“And having fulfilled the days, when they returned, the Child Jesus remained in Jerusalem; and His parents knew it not. And thinking that He was in the company, they came a day’s journey, and sought Him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. And not finding Him, they returned into Jerusalem, seeking Him.” (Luke 2:43-45).

BRIEF MEDITATION: How dread was the grief of Mary, when she saw that she had lost her beloved Son! And as if to increase her sorrow, when she sought Him diligently among her kinsfolk and acquaintance, she could hear no tidings of Him. No hindrances stayed her, nor weariness, nor danger; but she forthwith returned to Jerusalem, and for three long days sought Him sorrowing. Great be your confusion, O my soul, who has so often lost your Jesus by your sins, and has given no heed to seek Him at once, a sign that you make very little or no account of the precious treasure of divine love.

Say one Ave Maria (Hail Mary)

4. The Meeting of Jesus and Mary on the Way of the Cross

“And there followed Him a great multitude of people, and of women, who bewailed and lamented Him.” (Luke 23:27).

BRIEF MEDITATION: Come, O ye sinners, come and see if ye can endure so sad a sight. This Mother, so tender and loving, meets her beloved Son, meets Him amid an impious rabble, who drag Him to a cruel death, wounded, torn by stripes, crowned with thorns, streaming with blood, bearing His heavy cross. Ah, consider, my soul, the grief of the blessed Virgin thus beholding her Son! Who would not weep at seeing this Mother’s grief? But who has been the cause of such woe? I, it is I, who with my sins have so cruelly wounded the heart of my sorrowing Mother! And yet I am not moved; I am as a stone, when my heart should break because of my ingratitude.

Say one Ave Maria (Hail Mary)

5. The Crucifixion

“They crucified Him ... Now there stood by the cross of Jesus, His Mother. When Jesus therefore had seen His Mother and the disciple standing whom He loved, He saith to His Mother: ‘Woman! Behold thy son!’ After that He saith to the disciple: ‘Behold thy Mother!’” (John 19:18, 25-27).

BRIEF MEDITATION: Look, devout soul, look to Calvary, whereon are raised two altars of sacrifice, one on the body of Jesus, the other on the heart of Mary. Sad is the sight of that dear Mother drowned in a sea of woe, seeing her beloved Son, part of her very self, cruelly nailed to the shameful tree of the cross. Ah me! how every blow of the hammer, how every stripe which fell on the Saviour’s form, fell also on the disconsolate spirit of the Virgin. As she stood at the foot of the cross, pierced by the sword of sorrow, she turned her eyes on Him, until she knew that He lived no longer and had resigned His spirit to His Eternal Father. Then her own soul was like to have left the body and joined itself to that of Jesus.

Say one Ave Maria (Hail Mary)

6. The Taking Down of the Body of Jesus from the Cross

“Joseph of Arimathea, a noble counselor, came and went in boldly to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. And Joseph buying fine linen, and taking Him down, wrapped Him up in the fine linen.” (Mark 15:43-46).

BRIEF MEDITATION: Consider the most bitter sorrow which rent the soul of Mary, when she saw the dead body of her dear Jesus on her knees, covered with blood, all torn with deep wounds. O mournful Mother, a bundle of myrrh, indeed, is thy Beloved to thee. Who would not pity thee? Whose heart would not be softened, seeing affliction which would move a stone? Behold John not to be comforted, Magdalen and the other Mary in deep affliction, and Nicodemus, who can scarcely bear his sorrow.

Say one Ave Maria (Hail Mary)

7. The Burial of Jesus

“Now there was in the place where He was crucified, a garden; and in the garden a new sepulcher, wherein no man yet had been laid. There, therefore, because of the Parasceve of the Jews, they laid Jesus, because the sepulcher was nigh at hand.” (John 19:41-42).

BRIEF MEDITATION: Consider the sighs which burst from Mary’s sad heart when she saw her beloved Jesus laid within the tomb. What grief was hers when she saw the stone lifted to cover that sacred tomb! She gazed a last time on the lifeless body of her Son, and could scarce detach her eyes from those gaping wounds. And when the great stone was rolled to the door of the sepulcher, oh, then indeed her heart seemed torn from her body!

Say one Ave Maria (Hail Mary)