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Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows
Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows

Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows

Feast Day
Sep 15, 2012
Patronage
-
<p>The Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows has been has been memorialized over many centuries, dating back to early 12<sup>th</sup> century.&nbsp; The Cistercians and the Servite orders promoted it in the early days.&nbsp; The Servite Order was also known as the &ldquo;Servite Friars&rdquo;, or the &ldquo;Order of the Servants of Mary&rdquo;.&nbsp; By the 14<sup>th</sup> and 15<sup>th</sup> centuries, it was widely celebrated throughout the Catholic Church, and in 1482 this feast was added to the Missal under the title of &ldquo;Our Lady of Compassion&rdquo;.&nbsp; Pope Benedict XIII added it to the Roman Calendar in 1727, and in 1913 Pope Pius X set the date as September 15<sup>th</sup> as the title &ldquo;Our Lady of Sorrows&rdquo;. &nbsp;</p> <p>This title, &ldquo;Our Lady of Sorrows&rdquo; focuses on Mary&rsquo;s intense suffering during the passion and death of Christ.&nbsp; The &ldquo;Seven Dolors&rdquo;, the title by which it was celebrated under in the 17<sup>th</sup> century referred to the seven swords that pierced the Heart of Mary.&nbsp; This feast is like an octave, for the birthday of Our Lady on September 8<sup>th</sup>.&nbsp; This title is dedicated to the spiritual martyrdom of Mary, Mother of God, and her compassion with the sufferings of her Divine Son Jesus.&nbsp; In her sufferings as co-redeemer, she reminds us the tremendous evil of sin and shows us the way of true repentance. &nbsp;</p> <p>The Seven Sorrows of Mary are scripturaly based.&nbsp; &nbsp;</p> <p>The Prophecy of Simeon (Luke 2:25-35)</p> <p>The Flight into Egypt (Matthew 2:13-15)</p> <p>Loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:41-50)</p> <p>Mary meets Jesus on his way to Calvary (Luke 23:27-31, John 19:17)</p> <p>The body of Jesus being taken from the Cross (Psalm 130; Luke 23:50-54) &nbsp;</p> <p>The Burial of Jesus (Isaiah 53:8; Luke 23:50-56; John 19:38-42; Mark 15:40-47)</p> <p>The Seven Sorrows of Mary are Popular Roman Catholic Devotion.&nbsp; They are devotional prayers, which consist of mediation on her Seven Sorrows.&nbsp; Also, there is a corresponding devotion to the Seven Joys of Mary.&nbsp; The term &ldquo;Sorrowful and Immaculate Hear of Mary&rdquo; refers to the combined devotion of both the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Seven Sorrows of Mary.&nbsp; Mary, as <em>Mater Dolorosa</em>, is and has been for centuries, the subject for many artists and for Marian art in the Catholic Church.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Practical Take Away</strong></p> <p>Mary as the Mother of God suffered tremendous spiritual sufferings.&nbsp; The most notable one of the Seven Sorrows of Mary was the Passion and Death of her son Jesus.&nbsp; For many centuries the faithful have been devoted to these sorrows of our Spiritual Mother Mary, and have meditated on her tremendous sufferings.&nbsp; She teaches us that our sufferings, united to Christ&rsquo;s through her sorrowful heart, can become bearable. &nbsp;</p>