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The Seven Sorrows of Mary

Our Lady of Sorrows, or The Seven Sorrows of Mary, is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in reference to the sufferings she endured as the Mother of Jesus. It is the most universal of all Marian titles, since it is not linked to an apparition, but recalls the pains that the Mother of Jesus suffered.

It is also known as the Virgin of the Bitterness, Virgin of the Pity, Virgin of the Anguish or La Dolorosa. Our Lady of Sorrows celebrates her feast day every September 15, although this devotion also enjoys considerable importance during Passion Week (both on Friday of Sorrows and Good Friday).

Christian piety has collected the Seven Sorrows of Mary. The first, just forty days after the birth of Jesus, is Simeon’s prophecy that speaks of a sword that will pierce her heart (see Lk 2:35).

The second sorrow is the flight to Egypt to save her Son’s life (see Mt 2:13-23). The third sorrow, those three days of anguish when the boy remained in the temple (see Lk 2:41-50). The fourth sorrow, when Our Lady meets Jesus on the way to Calvary (see Jn 19:25).

The fifth sorrow of Our Lady is the death of Jesus, seeing her son there, crucified, naked, dying. The sixth sorrow, Jesus’ descent from the cross, dead, when she takes Him in her arms as she held Him in her arms more than thirty years before in Bethlehem.

The seventh sorrow is Jesus’ burial. Thus, Christian piety follows this path of Our Lady who accompanies Jesus. It is good for me, late in the evening, when I pray the Angelus, to pray these seven sorrows as a remembrance of the Mother of the Church, how the Mother of the Church gave birth to us all with so much pain.