Archetypal Gothic Lady of Sorrows from a triptych by the Master of the Stauffenberg Altarpiece, active in Alsace around 1455 (Unterlinden Museum, Colmar)
Our Lady of Sorrows (Latin: Beata Maria Virgo Perdolens), the Sorrowful Mother or Mother of Sorrows (Latin: Mater Dolorosa, at times just Dolorosa), and Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows or Our Lady of the Seven Dolours are names by which the Blessed Virgin Mary is referred to in relation to sorrows in her life. As "Mater Dolorosa", it is also a key subject for Marian art in the Catholic Church.
The Seven Sorrows of Mary are a popular devotion in the Roman Catholic Church. There is a devotional prayer which consists of meditation on her Seven Sorrows. Also, there is a corresponding devotion to the Seven Joys of Mary. The term "Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary" refers to the combined devotion of both the Immaculate Heart and the Seven Sorrows of Mary as first used by the Franciscan Tertiary Berthe Petit.
The Seven Sorrows
The Seven Sorrows (or Dolors) are events in the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary which are a popular devotion and are frequently depicted in art.
It is a common devotion for Catholics to say daily 1 Our Father and 7 Hail Mary for each.
1.The Prophecy of Simeon over the Infant Jesus. (Gospel of Luke 2:34)
2.The Flight into Egypt of the Holy Family. (Gospel of Matthew 2:13)
3.The Loss of the Child Jesus for Three Days. (Luke 2:43)
4.The Meeting of Jesus and Mary along the Way of the Cross. (Luke 23:26)
5.The Crucifixion, where Mary stands at the foot of the cross. (Gospel of John 19:25)
6.The Descent from the Cross, where Mary receives the dead body of Jesus in her arms. (Matthew 27:57)
7.The Burial of Jesus. (John 19:40)
Devotions to the Seven Sorrows
The feast of the Our Lady of Sorrows was originated by a provincial synod of Cologne in 1413 as a response to the iconoclast Hussites. It was designated for the Friday after the third Sunday after Easter. It had the title: Commemoratio angustix et doloris B. Marix V.. Before the 16th century, the feast was celebrated only in parts of Northern Europe.
Earlier, in 1233, seven youths in Tuscany founded the Servite Order (also known as the "Servite Friars", or the "Order of the Servants of Mary"). Five years later, they took up the sorrows of Mary, standing under the Cross, as the principal devotion of their order.
Over the centuries several devotions, and even orders, arose around meditation on Mary's Sorrows in particular. The Servite developed the two most common devotions to Our Lady's Sorrows, namely the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows and the Black Scapular of the Seven Dolours of Mary. The Black Scapular is a symbol of the Confraternity of Our Lady of Sorrows, which is associated with the Servite Order. Most devotional scapulars have requirements regarding ornamentation or design. The devotion of the Black Scapular requires only that it be made of black woollen cloth.
Liturgical feast
The first altar to the Mater Dolorosa was set up in 1221 at the monastery of Schönau. Especially in Mediterranean countries, parishioners traditionally carry statues of Our Lady of Sorrows in processions on the days leading to Good Friday.
No feast in her honour was included in St Pius V's 1570 Tridentine Calendar. Vatican approval for the celebration of a feast in honor of Our Lady of Sorrows was first granted to the Servite order in 1667.
By inserting the feast into the Roman Catholic calendar of saints in 1814, Pope Pius VII extended the celebration to the whole of the Latin Church. It was assigned to the third Sunday in September. In 1913, Pope Pius X moved the feast to September 15, the day after the Feast of the Cross. It is still observed on that date.
In connection with this feast, two processions are held in Malta, one in Zebbug on September 15, and another in St Paul's Bay on the following Sunday. The main parishes of Malta celebrate the feast on the last Friday before Good Friday, where it is a day of fasting. The most popular procession is held in Valletta.
Each celebration was called a feast of "The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary." The September 15 feast that now combines and continues both of them is known as the Feast of "Our Lady of Sorrows" (Beatae Mariae Virginis Perdolentis). The sequence known as Stabat Mater may be sung at mass on that day.
Stabat Mater by St. Thomas Aquinas
Latin Version
Stabat mater dolorosa
juxta Crucem lacrimosa,
dum pendebat Filius.
Cuyus animam gementem,
contristatam et dolentem,
pertransivit gladius.
O quam tristis et afflicta
fuit illa benedicta
Mater Unigeniti.
Quae moerebat et dolebat,
Pia Mater cum videbat
Nati poenas incliti.
Quis est homo qui non fleret,
Matrem Christi si videret
in tanto supplicio?
Quis non posset contristari,
Christi Matrem contemplari
dolentem cum Filio?
Pro peccatis suae gentis
vidit Jesum in tormentis
et flagellis subditum.
Vidit suum dulcem natum
moriendo desolatum,
dum emisit spiritum.
Eia Mater, fons amoris,
me sentire vim doloris
fac, ut tecum lugeam.
Fac ut ardeat cor meum
in amando Christum Deum,
ut sibi complaceam.
Sancta mater, istud agas,
crucifixi fige plagas
cordi meo valide.
Tui nati vulnerati,
tam dignati pro me pati,
poenas mecum divide.
Fac me tecum pie flere,
crucifixo condolere,
donec ego vixero.
Iuxta crucem tecum stare,
et me tibi sociare
in planctu desidero.
Virgo virginum praeclara,
mihi iam non sis amara:
fac me tecum plangere.
Fac ut portem Christi mortem,
passionis fac consortem,
et plagas recolere.
Fac me plagis vulnerari,
fac me cruce inebriari,
et cruore Filii.
Flammis ne urar succensus
per te Virgo, sim defensus
in die judicii
Christe, cum sit hinc exire,
da per matrem me venire
ad palmam victoriae.
Quando corpus morietur,
fac ut animae donetur
Paradisi gloria.
Amen.
At the cross her station keeping,
Stood the mournful Mother weeping,
Close to Jesus to the last.
Through her heart, His sorrow sharing,
All His bitter anguish bearing,
Now at length the sword had pass'd.
Oh, how sad and sore distress'd
Was that Mother highly blest
Of the sole-begotten One!
Christ above in torment hangs;
She beneath beholds the pangs
Of her dying glorious Son.
Is there one who would not weep,
Whelm'd in miseries so deep
Christ's dear Mother to behold?
Can the human heart refrain
From partaking in her pain,
In that Mother's pain untold?
Bruis'd, derided, curs'd, defil'd,
She beheld her tender child
All with bloody scourges rent.
For the sins of His own nation,
Saw Him hang in desolation,
Till His spirit forth He sent.
O thou Mother! fount of love!
Touch my spirit from above;
Make my heart with thine accord.
Make me feel as thou hast felt;
Make my soul to glow and melt
With the love of Christ our Lord.
Holy Mother! pierce me through;
In my heart each wound renew
Of my Saviour crucified.
Let me share with thee His pain,
Who for all my sins was slain,
Who for me in torments died.
Let me mingle tears with thee,
Mourning Him who mourn'd for me,
All the days that I may live.
By the cross with thee to stay,
There with thee to weep and pray,
Is all I ask of thee to give.
Virgin of all virgins best,
Listen to my fond request
Let me share thy grief divine.
Let me, to my latest breath,
In my body bear the death
Of that dying Son of thine.
Wounded with His every wound,
Steep my soul till it hath swoon'd
In His very blood away.
Be to me, O Virgin, nigh,
Lest in flames I burn and die,
In His awful Judgment day.
Christ, when Thou shalt call me hence,
Be Thy Mother my defence,
Be Thy cross my victory.
While my body here decays,
May my soul Thy goodness praise,
Safe in Paradise with Thee.
Amen.
