SFOM-Sep 15

For the Novena of the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady click here
For the Novena to the Sorrowful Heart of Our Lady click here

LITANY OF THE
SEVEN SORROWS OF THE
BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

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.

Mother of Sorrows,
Pray for us.
Mother whose soul was pierced by the sword,
Pray for us.
Mother who fled with Jesus into Egypt,
Pray for us.
Mother who sought Him sorrowing for three days,
Pray for us.
Mother who saw Him scourged and crowned with thorns, Pray for us.
Mother who stood by Him while He hung upon the Cross, Pray for us.
Mother who received Him into thine arms when He was dead, Pray for us.
Mother who saw Him buried in the tomb,
Pray for us.

O Mary, Queen of Martyrs,
Save us by thy prayers.
O Mary, comfort of the sorrowful,
Save us by thy prayers.
O Mary, help of the weak,
Save us by thy prayers.
O Mary, strength of the fearful,
Save us by thy prayers.
O Mary, light of the despondent,
Save us by thy prayers.
O Mary, nursing mother of the sick,
Save us by thy prayers.
O Mary, refuge of sinners,
Save us by thy prayers.

Through the bitter Passion of thy Son,
Save us by thy prayers.
Through the piercing anguish of thy heart,
Save us by thy prayers.
Through thy heavy weight of woe,
Save us by thy prayers.
Through thy sadness and desolation,
Save us by thy prayers.
Through thy maternal pity,
Save us by thy prayers.
Through thy perfect resignation,
Save us by thy prayers.
Through thy meritorious prayers,
Save us by thy prayers.

From immoderate sadness,
Save us by thy prayers.
From a cowardly spirit,
Save us by thy prayers.
From an impatient temper,
Save us by thy prayers.
From fretfulness and discontent,
Save us by thy prayers.
From sullenness and gloom,
Save us by thy prayers.
From despair and unbelief,
Save us by thy prayers.
From final impenitence,
Save us by thy prayers.

We sinners, beseech thee, hear us.
Preserve us from sudden death,
We beseech thee, hear us.
Teach us how to die,
We beseech thee, hear us.
Succor us in our last agony,
We beseech thee, hear us.
Guard us from the enemy,
We beseech thee, hear us.
Bring us to a happy end,
We beseech thee, hear us.
Gain for us the gift of perseverance,
We beseech thee, hear us.
Aid us before the Judgment Seat,
We beseech thee, hear us.

Mother of God,
We beseech thee, hear us.
Mother, most sorrowful,
We beseech thee, hear us.
Mother, most desolate,
We beseech thee, hear 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.

V. Help us, Most Sorrowful Mother of God
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ

Let us pray:
O Lord Jesus Christ, God and Man, grant, we beseech Thee, that Thy dear Mother Mary, whose soul the sword pierced in the hour of Thy Passion, may intercede for us, now and in the hour of our death, through Thine own merits, O Saviour of the world, Who with the Father and the Holy Ghost livest and reignest, God, world without end. Amen.

THE HISTORY ... THE REASON ... THE POWER

WHY DEVOTION TO THE SORROWFUL HEART OF MARY?

1. Jesus wants this devotion.

Jesus Christ Himself revealed to Blessed Veronica of Binasco, that, He is more pleased in seeing compassion being shown towards His Mother than Himself. He said to her: “My daughter, tears shed for My Passion are dear to Me; but as I loved My Mother Mary with an immense love, the meditation on the torments, which she endured at My death, is even more agreeable to Me.” As St. Alphonsus Liguori writes: “Wherefore, the graces promised by Jesus, to those who are devoted to the Dolors of Mary, are very great” (The Glories of Mary).

2. Our Lady also wants this devotion.

Our Lady lamented to St. Bridget that very few consoled her by meditating on her Sorrows, and “that the greater part of the world lived in forgetfulness of them: ‘I look around at all who are on earth, to see if by chance there are any who pity me, and meditate upon my Sorrows; and I find that there are very few. Therefore, my daughter, though I am forgotten by many, at least do you not forget me; consider my anguish, and imitate, as far as you can, my grief” (St. Alphonsus Liguori, The Glories of Mary).

“For this purpose the Blessed Virgin herself appeared in the year 1239, to the founder of the Order of the Servites, or Servants of Mary, to ask them to institute a religious order in remembrance of her sorrows” (St. Alphonsus Liguori, The Glories of Mary).

3. Saints and Doctors of the Church Promote this Devotion

St. Albert the Great said, “that as we are under great obligations to Jesus for His Passion endured for our love, so also are we under great obligations to Mary for the martyrdom which she voluntarily suffered for our salvation in the death of her Son.” He said “voluntarily (suffered), since, as St. Agnes revealed to St. Bridget, ‘our compassionate and benign Mother was satisfied rather to endure any torment than that our souls should not be redeemed.’”

“The grief of Mary was so great that, were it divided amongst all men, it would suffice to cause their immediate death” (St. Bernardine of Sienna)

“While other martyrs suffered by sacrificing their own lives, the Blessed Virgin suffered by sacrificing her Son’s life – a life that she loved far more than her own; so that she not only suffered in her soul all that her Son endured in His body, but moreover the sight of her Son’s torments brought more grief to her heart than if she had endured them all in her own person.” (St. Antoninus).

“The Passion of Jesus began with His birth. So also did Mary, in all things like unto her Son, endure her martyrdom throughout her life” (St. Bernard).

It was revealed to St. Bridget by an angel, “that the Blessed Virgin, even before she became His Mother, knowing how much the Incarnate Word was to suffer for the salvation of men, and compassionating this innocent Savior, Who was to be so cruelly put to death for crimes not His own, even then began her great martyrdom.”

“The martyrs endured their torments in their bodies; Mary suffered hers in her soul” (St. Alphonsus Liguori).

Now, as the soul is more noble than the body, so much greater were Mary’s sufferings than those of all the martyrs, as Jesus Christ Himself said to St. Catherine of Siena: “Between the sufferings of the soul and those of the body there is no comparison.”

“The Blessed Virgin Mary, for the love she bore us, was willing to see her Son sacrificed to Divine Justice by the barbarity of men. This great torment, then, which Mary endured for us — a torment that was more than a thousand deaths — deserves both our compassion and our gratitude. If we can make no other return for so much love, at least let us give a few moments this day to consider the greatness of the sufferings by which Mary became the Queen of martyrs; for the sufferings of her great martyrdom exceeded those of all the martyrs; being, in the first place, the longest in point of duration; and in the second place, the greatest in point of intensity.” (St. Alphonsus Liguori).

“So great a love has our Heavenly Mother for us, that she deserves our gratitude, and that gratitude should be shown by at least meditating upon, and pitying her in Her Sorrows” (St. Alphonsus Liguori).

4. The Church Recommends this Devotion

Pope Benedict XIII, in 1724, promulgated and encouraged the practice of the devotion to Our Lady’s Sorrows when he bestowed many indulgences for the recitation of the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows.

Our Lady’s Sorrows are commemorated twice a year on the liturgical calendar: on September 15th, and the Friday before Palm Sunday. Commemorating the Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary twice a year on the Roman Liturgical Calendar demonstrates how important this devotion is to Heaven.

HISTORY OF THE DEVOTION

Devotion to the Mother of Sorrows dates back to the beginning of the Church. The first example we have is St. John at the foot of the Cross. This devotion was enshrined in Church history by the gospel narrative of St. John — “Now there stood by the Cross of Jesus, His Mother...” (John 19:25).

Though the devotion has always been part of Catholic piety, it was not until the 13th Century that the devotion of meditating on the sorrows of Our Lady began to flourish much more. In Florence, Italy seven holy men of noble birth left the city seeking solitude on Mount Senario and together formed a community dedicating their lives to prayer and penance. The seven holy men all had a strong devotion to Our Lady.

On Good Friday in 1239, while meditating on Our Lord’s Passion and Our Lady’s sufferings, Our Lady appeared to the 7 holy men and revealed to them her wish for them to form an Order dedicated to practicing and promoting the devotion to her Sorrows. These men became the founders of the religious Order of the Servants of Mary (or Servites) and are all canonized saints today.

At Our Lady’s request, the seven founders made the object of their Order meditation on the pains suffered by Our Lady in the Life, Passion and Death of her Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and undertook promoting this devotion of meditating on the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady to all Catholics, introducing the Chaplet (or Little Rosary) of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The Seven Sorrows of Our Lady

1. St. Simeon’s Prophecy
2. The Flight into Egypt
3. The Loss of Jesus in the Temple
4. The Meeting of Mary and Jesus on the Way to Calvary
5. The Crucifixion and Death of Jesus
6. The Piercing of the Side of Jesus, and His Descent from the Cross
7. The Burial of Jesus.

THE POWER OF THE DEVOTION

There are many graces and promises attached to the practice of the devotion to the Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary. According to St. Alphonsus Liguori (The Glories of Mary) it was revealed to St. Elizabeth that, at the request of Our Lady, Our Lord promised four principal graces to those devoted to Her Sorrows:

1. That those who before death invoke the divine Mother, in the name of her Sorrows, will obtain true repentance of all their sins;

2. That He will protect all who have this devotion in their tribulations, and will protect them, especially at the hour of death;

3. That He will impress on their minds the remembrance of His Passion;

4. That He will place such devout servants in Mother Mary’s hands, to do with them as she wishes and to obtain for them all the graces she desires.

In addition to these four graces, there are also seven promises attached to the practice of daily praying seven Hail Mary’s, while meditating on Our Lady’s Tears and Sorrows. These seven promises were revealed to St. Bridget of Sweden:

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 will be their eternal consolation and joy.”

For the Novena of the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady click here
For the Novena to the Sorrowful Heart of Our Lady click here