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The Rosary of Seven Sorrows
MARY'S PRAYERS
Handmade Chaplets and Heirloom Rosaries
Christian Jewelry and Christening Gowns
Chaplets of the Catholic Saints
The Feast of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows is on September 15.
Be sure to honor the Our Lady of Sorrows on this day
by entering into her sorrow and grief
as she watched the life of her Son Jesus Christ
unfold on the earth.
Let her teach us the meaning of redemptive suffering!
On this page is a Scriptural Chaplet Devotion to the Seven Sorrows given by the Blessed Virgin Mary. We include seven prayers in honor of the Lady of Seven Sorrows, also known as the Seven Dolors, approved in 1815 by Pope Pius VII. The following Scriptural meditations are our suggestion only, and may be substituted with those prayerful images that best speak to your devotion to Jesus Christ through His Blessed Mother. Following is listed the promises given to St. Bridget of Sweden by the Blessed Virgin Mary for those who faithfully pray this chaplet.
There are many sources for the chaplet of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows, and a great deal of information on the internet. The sources from which I gleaned this Scritpural chaplet are the Servite Order page at www.7dolors.com, the Mary Immaculate page at www.maryimmaculate.tripod.com (beware of irritating pop-ups at this site, but if you can stand them, the site has lovely artwork attached to the devotion), and a work of love called "Catholic Spiritual Direction and The Catholic Church" at www.emmerich1.com.
Many people avoid thinking about the sorrows and sufferings of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and they even attempt to sidestep the sufferings of Jesus her Son. Many Catholic churches today have no Crucifix and pride themselves on being a "resurrection church." To avoid the suffering, the sorrow, and the Crucifixion is to avoid salvation itself, for there is no salvation without suffering, for there is no resurrection without death.
God in His wisdom has tied suffering to the salvation of the world, a mystery so deep that it confounds us all. Nonetheless, it is true, whether we understand it or not, and to turn our faces from it is to turn away from Jesus the Lamb of God Himself.
Let us enter into the most perfect grief of our Lady of Sorrows; as she is perfected in every other way by her Son's grace, she is perfected in suffering also. Whom better may we learn from than she who is honored in this chaplet of the Seven Dolors, and how better to learn than to pray the chaplet and meditate thereby on the Seven Sorrows of Mary?
For more information about the devotion to the Seven Sorrows, see
THIS ARTICLE
at the wonderful "Mother of All Peoples" website, put together by the same folks that keep Catholic Culture.org.
According to the visions of St. Bridget of Sweden (1303-1373)
our Blessed Mother promises to grant seven graces
to those who honor her and draw near to her and her Son every day
by meditating on her dolors (sorrows) and entering into her grief.
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"I will grant peace to their families."
- "They will be enlightened about the divine Mysteries."
- "I will console them in their pains and will accompany them in their work."
- "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."
- "I will defend them in their spiritual battles with the infernal enemy and I will protect them at every instant of their lives."
- "I will visibly help them at the moment of their death-- they will see the face of their mother."
- "I have obtained this grace from my divine Son, that those who propagate this devotion to my tears and dolors 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."
THE CHAPLET OF SEVEN SORROWS
Bead 1: O God, come to my assistance;
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Bead 2: Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of
the living God,
have mercy on me, a sinner.
Bead 3: Sorrowful and Immaculate
Heart of Mary, pray for me.
Bead 4: Glory be to the Father...
As it was in the beginning...
First Septet: The Prophecy of Simeon.
| Our Father... |
| Prayer: I grieve for you, O Mary most sorrowful, in the affliction of your tender heart at the prophecy of the holy and aged Simeon. Dear Mother, by your heart so afflicted, obtain for me the virtue of humility and the gift of the holy fear of God. |
Hail Mary...Luke 2:22 And when the day came for them to be purified as laid down by the law of Moses, they took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord...
Hail Mary...Luke 2:25 Now in Jerusalem was a man named Simeon. He was an upright and devout man; he looked forward to Israel's comforting and the Holy Spirit rested on him..
Hail Mary...Luke 2:26 It had been bevealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death until he had set eyes on the Christ of the Lord.
He took him into his arms and blessed God;
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Hail Mary...Luke 2:29-32 "Now, Master, you can let your servant go in peace, just as you promised; because my eyes have seen the salvation which you have prepared for all the nations to see, a light to enlighten the pagans and the glory of your poeple Israel."
Hail Mary...Luke 2:33 The child's father and mother stood there wondering about the things that were being said about him...
Hail Mary...Luke 2:34,35 ...Simeon blessed them and said to his Mary his mother, "You see this child: he is destined for the fall and for the rising of many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is rejected- and a sword will pierce your own soul too- so that the secret thoughts of many will be laid bare." |
Second Septet: The Flight into Egypt.
| Our Father... |
| Prayer: I grieve for you, O Mary most sorrowful, in the anguish of your most affectionate heart during the flight into Egypt and your sojourn there. Dear Mother, by your heart so troubled, obtain for me the virtue of generosity, especially toward the poor, and the gift of piety.
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Hail Mary...Matthew 2:13 After they had left, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother with you, and escape into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, because Herod intends to search for the child and do away with him."
Hail Mary...Matthew 2:14 So Joseph got up and, taking the child and his mother with him, he left that night for Egypt...
Hail Mary...Matthew 2:15 ...where he stayed until Herod was dead. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: "I called my son out of Egypt."
Hail Mary...Matthew 2:16 Herod was furious when he realized he had been outwitted by the wise men, and in Bethlehem and its surrounding district he had all the male children killed who were two years old or under, reckoning by the date he had been careful to ask the wise men.
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Hail Mary...Matthew 2:18 "A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loudly lamenting: it was Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted because they were no more."
Hail Mary...Matthew 219,20 After Herod's death, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother with you and go back to the land of Israel, for those who wanted to kill the child are dead."
Hail Mary...Matthew 2: 21-23 So Joseph got up and, taking the child and his mother with him, went back to the land of Israel. But when he learnt that Archelaus had succeeded his father Herod as ruler of Judea,he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he left for the region of Gallile. There he settled in a town called Nazareth. In this way the words spoken through the prophets were to be fulfilled: "He will be called a Nazarene." |
Third Septet: The Missing of Jesus
| Our Father... |
| Prayer: I grieve for you, O Mary most sorrowful, in those anxieties which tried your troubled heart at the loss of your dear Jesus. Dear Mother, by your heart so full of anguish, obtain for me the virtue of chastity and the gift of knowledge. |
Hail Mary...Luke 2: 41
Hail Mary...Luke 2:42
Hail Mary...Luke 2:43
Hail Mary...Luke 2:44,45
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Hail Mary...Luke 2:46,47
Hail Mary...Luke 2: 48
Hail Mary...Luke 2: 49,50 |
Fourth Septet: Mary Meets Jesus on the Way of the Cross
| Our Father... |
| Prayer: I grieve for you, O Mary most sorrowful, in the consternation of your heart at meeting Jesus as he carried his cross. Dear Mother, by your heart so troubled, obtain for me the virtue of patience, and the gift of fortitude.
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Hail Mary...Luke 23:25
Hail Mary...Luke 23:26
Hail Mary...Luke 23:27
Hail Mary...Luke 23:28
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Hail Mary...Luke 23:29
Hail Mary...Luke 23:30,31
Hail Mary...Luke 23:32 |
Fifth Septet: Jesus Dies on the Cross
| Our Father... |
| Prayer: I grieve for you, O Mary most sorrowful, in the martyrdom which your generous heart endured in standing near Jesus in his agony. Dear Mother, by your afflicted heart, obtain for me the virtue of temperance and the gift of counsel. |
Hail Mary...Luke 23:33
Hail Mary...Luke 23:35
Hail Mary...John 19:25
Hail Mary...John 19:26,27
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Hail Mary...Mark 15:34
Hail Mary...Luke 23:44
Hail Mary...Luke 23:45,46 |
Sixth Septet: Jesus is Taken from the Cross
| Our Father... |
| Prayer: I grieve for you, O Mary most sorrowful, in the wounding of your compassionate heart, when the side of Jesus was struck by the lance before his body was removed from the cross. Dear Mother, by your heart thus transfixed, obtain for me the virtue of fraternal charity and the gift of understanding. |
Hail Mary...John 19:31
Hail Mary...John 19:32
Hail Mary...John 19:33
Hail Mary...John 19:34
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Hail Mary...John 19:36,37
Hail Mary...John 19:38
Hail Mary...Lamentations 1:12 |
Seventh Septet: Jesus is Laid in the Tomb
| Our Father... |
| Prayer: I grieve for you, O Mary most sorrowful, for the pangs that wrenched your most loving heart at the burial of Jesus. Dear Mother, by your heart sunk in the bitterness of desolation, obtain for me the virtue of diligence and the gift of wisdom. |
Hail Mary...John 19:39 "Nicodemus came as well- the same one who had first come to Jesus at night-time- and he brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds."
Hail Mary...John 19:40 "They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the Jewish burial customs."
Hail Mary...John 19:41 "At the place where he had been crucified there was a garden, and in this garden was a new tomb in which no one had yet been buried."
Hail Mary...John 19:42 "Since it was the Jewish Day of Preparation and the tomb was near at hand, they laid Jesus there."
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Hail Mary...Matthew 27:60 "He then rolled a large stone across the entrance of the tomb and went away. Now Mary of Magdala and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the sepulchre." (Thanks to the gentleman who called my attention to this error!)
Hail Mary...Mark 15:47 "Mary of Magdala and Mary the mother of Joset were watching and took note of where he was laid.
Hail Mary...Luke 23:55,56 "Meanwhile the women who had come from Gallilee with Jesus were following behind. They took note of the tomb and of the position of the body." |
THE SEVEN SORROWS OF MARY by Albrecht Dürer
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