Catholic Faith Refresher Course

Devotion to the sorrows of Mary has always been a favorite devotion among Catholics. It has been sanctioned by the Church and introduced into the Missal and Breviary. In order to keep before our minds the inexpressible sufferings endured for us by the Mother of God while she lived here on earth with her Divine Son, the Church observes two feasts in honor of the Seven Dolors of Mary: one on the Friday before Good Friday and the other on September 15. She has enriched with numerous indulgences the Rosary of the Seven Dolors, as well as a number of other devotions to the Mother of Sorrows. How touching is the beautiful hymn, Stabat Mater Dolorosa, which the Church intertwines with the public recitation of the Way of the Cross. The Church spares no pains to induce her children to venerate the sufferings of their Heavenly Mother.

Seven of her Sorrows have been chosen for our special veneration. These are the ones selected for the mysteries of the Rosary of the Seven Dolors. They are:

1. The prophecy of Simeon.

2. The flight into Egypt.

3. The loss of the Child Jesus in the temple.

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

5. The Crucifixion.

6. The taking down of the Body of Jesus from the Cross.

7. The burial of Jesus.

Because of these seven sorrows which pierced her maternal heart, the Mother of God is often represented either as standing beneath the Cross, or as holding the lifeless Body of Jesus on her lap, her heart transfixed by seven swords, according to the prophecy of holy Simeon: "Thine own soul a sword shall pierce" [Luke 2 : 35].

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