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Devotion to the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady:
01 September 2019
“Most merciful mother, remind us always about the sorrows of your son, Jesus”
September is the month devoted to the Seven Sorrows of Mary. During this month we are called to reflect on the spiritual martyrdom that the Blessed Virgin Mary experienced through the sorrows in her life which reached its high point at the foot of the Cross. She alongwith her Son conquered the evils of sin through their intense suffering in their lifetime. Even after the Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus, her sorrow continued as long as she lived, recalling each day the sufferings of her beloved Son for mankind.
The earliest known history of a feast in honor of Our Lady of Sorrows is in 1423 when it was prescribed by Archbishop Theodoric of Cologne. The feast was gradually introduced in other parts of Europe. In 1727, Pope Benedict XIII ordered the feast to be kept in the whole Church under the name of the Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In 1913 Pope Saint Pius X ordered the feast to be observed on 15th September, the day after the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. It is now known as the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows.
In a vision to Saint Bridget, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared with the holy prophet Simeon and an angel bearing a long sword red with blood. Mary revealed that she will grant those who daily honor her by saying seven Hail Marys while meditating on her tears and sorrows the following seven graces:
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 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.
Similarly St. Alphonsus Liguori, in his book The Glories of Mary mentioned that Our Lord promised the following graces to all those who have a devotion to the Seven Sorrows of His Blessed Mother.
1) That those who before death invoked the divine Mother in the name of her sorrows should obtain true repentance of all their sins.
2) That He would protect all who have this devotion in their tribulations, and that He would protect them especially at the hour of their death.
3) That He would impress upon their minds the remembrance of His Passion, and that they should have their reward for it in heaven.
4) That He would commit such devout clients to the hands of Mary, with the power to dispose off them in whatever manner she might please, and to obtain for them all the graces she might desire.
This month is therefore a time to meditate on the Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary and obtain all the graces promised to us. Praying the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady is a good way to contemplate on her sorrows.