Our Lady of Sorrows | |
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 Seven Swords Piercing the Sorrowful Heart of Mary in the Church of the Holy Cross,Salamanca, Spain | |
| Venerated in | Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church[1] |
| Feast | 15 September Friday of Sorrows |
| Attributes | Blessed Virgin Mary in mournful state, tears, bleeding heart pierced by seven daggers |
| Patronage | |
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Our Lady of Sorrows (Latin:Beata Maria Virgo Perdolens),Our Lady of Dolours, theSorrowful Mother orMother of Sorrows (Latin:Mater Dolorosa), andOur Lady of Piety,Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows orOur Lady of the Seven Dolours arenames by whichMary, mother of Jesus, is referred to in relation to sorrows in life. AsMater Dolorosa, it is also a key subject forMarian art in the Catholic Church.
The Seven Sorrows of Mary are a popular religious theme and aCatholic devotion. In common imagery, the Virgin Mary is portrayed sorrowful and in tears, with one or seven swords piercing her heart, iconography based on the prophecy ofSimeon inLuke 2:34–35. Pious practices in reference to this title include theChaplet of the Seven Sorrows,the Seven Principal Dolors of the Blessed Virgin, theNovena in Honor of the Seven Sorrows of Mary, and theVia Matris.
The feast of Our Lady of Sorrows is liturgically celebrated every 15 September, while a feast, theFriday of Sorrows, is observed in someCatholic countries.
The Seven Sorrows (orDolors/dolours) are events in the life of Mary that are a popular devotion and are frequently depicted in art.[2]
These Seven Sorrows should not be confused with the fiveSorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary.
Traditionally, the Seven Sorrows are (with some variations, using nearby episodes):
The Catholic devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows started to develop around the end of the 11th century, particularly in areas around theMediterranean.[4]
In 1233,seven youths in Tuscany founded theServite Order (also known as the "Servite Friars", or the "Order of the Servants of Mary").[5] Later in 1239, they took up the sorrows of Mary, standing under the Cross, as the principal devotion of their order.[6] That year, according toAlphonsus Liguori in his bookThe Glories of Mary, Mary appeared to the seven founders presenting them the black "garment of mourning" that they would wear, telling them that they should often meditate upon her dolors.[7][8] This Order greatly contributed to the spread of the devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows.[4] The Servites developed the three most common devotions to Our Lady's Sorrows, namely theRosary of the Seven Sorrows, the BlackScapular of the Seven Dolours of Mary and theNovena to Our Sorrowful Mother. The rosary consists of a chaplet of seven septets of beads, upon which is said anAve, (Hail Mary), separated by one bead, on which is prayed aPater Noster (the Lord's Prayer, orOur Father). Meditations for each dolor were composed byPope Pius VII in 1818. The Black Scapular is a symbol of the Confraternity of Our Lady of Sorrows, which is associated with theServite Order.[9] Most devotionalscapulars have requirements regarding ornamentation or design. The devotion of the Black Scapular requires only that it be made of black woollen cloth.[10]
Over the centuries several other devotions, and even orders, arose around meditation on Mary's Sorrows in particular.
Related to this devotion is theStabat Mater, a hymn composed in honor of the sufferings of Mary during the Crucifixion, generally attributed toJacopone da Todi (1230-1306).[4]
Alphonsus Liguori dedicated a whole chapter of his bookThe Glories of Mary (1750) to the seven dolors of Mary, and wrote reflections on each of the seven dolors.[11] In this chapter, he also relates four promises made by Jesus to Mary for those who were devoted to her seven sorrows. These promises were reportedly revealed toElizabeth of Hungary (1207-1231).
From theNational Shrine of Saint Peregrine spread the Sorrowful Mother Novena, the core of which is the Via Matris.[15] The core of the prayers in the novena is theVia Matris.[16]
On February 2, the same day as theGreat Feast of theMeeting of the Lord,Orthodox Christians andEastern Catholics commemorate awonder-workingicon of theTheotokos (Mother of God) known as "the Softening of Evil Hearts" or "Simeon's Prophecy".[17][18]
It depicts Mary at the moment thatSimeon the Righteous says, "Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also...." (Luke 2:35). She stands with her hands upraised in prayer, and seven swords pierce her heart, indicative of the seven sorrows.[17] This is one of the few Orthodox icons of the Theotokos which do not depict theinfant Jesus. The refrain "Rejoice, much-sorrowing Mother of God, turn our sorrows into joy and soften the hearts of evil men!" is also used.[18]
In the Western Rite Vicariate of theAntiochian Orthodox Church, the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows is celebrated on the Friday before Palm Sunday and as a separate feast on September 15.[19]
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The Five Lances (Latin:Quinque Lanceis) of theImmaculate Heart of Mary refer to events, that according toSt. Bridget, were revealed by the Blessed Virgin Mary as having pierced her heart,while she was standing by the Cross. These are not the same as the five sorrowful mysteries of the Rosary.
According to St. Bridget, Mary stated that the Five Lances were:[20]
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The Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows grew in popularity in the 12th century, although under various titles. Some writings would place its roots in the eleventh century, especially among the Benedictine monks.[22]
The feast of the Our Lady of Sorrows was originated by a provincial synod ofCologne in 1423. It was designated for the Friday after the third Sunday after Easter and had the title:Commemoratio angustiae et doloris B. Mariae V. Its object was the sorrow of Mary during the Crucifixion and Death of Christ. Before the sixteenth century this feast was limited to the dioceses of North Germany, Scandinavia, and Scotland.[6]
According to Fr. William Saunders, "in 1482, the feast was officially placed in the Roman Missal under the title ofOur Lady of Compassion, highlighting the great love our Blessed Mother displayed in suffering with her Son. The word compassion derives from the Latin rootscum andpatior which means "to suffer with".[22]
After 1600 it became popular in France and was set for the Friday before Palm Sunday. By a Decree of 22 April 1727,Pope Benedict XIII extended it to the entire Latin Church, under the title "Septem dolorum B.M.V.".[6] In 1954, it still held the rank of major double (slightly lower than the rank of the September feast) in theGeneral Roman Calendar.Pope John XXIII's 1960Code of Rubrics reduced it to the level of acommemoration.
In 1668, a separate feast of the Seven Sorrows of Mary, celebrated on the third Sunday in September, was granted to theServites.[6]Pope Innocent XII renamed it theFeast of Our Lady of Sorrows.[23]Pope Pius VII introduced it into theGeneral Roman Calendar in 1814. In 1913,Pope Pius X, in view of his reform giving precedence to Sundays over ordinary feasts, moved this feast to September 15, the day after theFeast of the Cross.[24] It is still observed on that date.
Since there were thus two feasts with the same title, on each of which theStabat Matersequence was recited, the Passion Week celebration was removed from the General Roman Calendar in 1969 as a duplicate of the September feast.[25] Each of the two celebrations had been called a feast of "The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary" (Latin:Septem Dolorum Beatae Mariae Virginis). Recitation of theStabat Mater was made optional.
On the second Sunday of September, the congregation of Maria SS. Addolorata in the Carroll Gardens neighborhood of Brooklyn, hold an annual procession with a statue of Our Lady of Sorrows. The tradition started in the 1940s with Italian immigrants fromMola di Bari celebrating the Feast of their hometown patroness, Our Lady of Sorrows.[26]
Our Lady of Sorrows, depicted as "Mater Dolorosa" (Mother of Sorrows) has been the subject of some key works ofCatholic Marian art.Mater Dolorosa is one of the three common artistic representations of a sorrowful Virgin Mary, the other two beingStabat Mater and thePietà.[27]
In thisiconography, Our Lady of Seven Sorrows is at times simply represented in a sad and anguished mode by herself, her expression being that of tears and sadness. In other representations the Virgin Mary is depicted with seven swords in her heart, a reference to the prophecy of Simeon at thePresentation of Jesus at the Temple.[28] The type dates from the latter part of the 15th century.[29]
Our Lady of Sorrows is thepatron saint of:
Churches:
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This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
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