Our Lady of Sorrows For the Marian apparition with the same title, see Our based on the prophecy of the Rabbi Simeon. Common Lady of Kibeho. examples of piety under this title are Servite rosary, or the Our Lady of Sorrows (Latin: Beata Maria Virgo Per- Chaplet of the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady and the Seven Joys of Mary and more recently, extquotedblSorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary extquotedbl. The feast of Our Lady of Sorrows is liturgically cele- brated each 15 of September, while a feast of Friday of Sorrows was also commemorated before the changes of the Second Vatican Council. 1 Seven Sorrows Regarded as the most famous in Spain during Holy Week, Our Lady of Sorrows is nationally referred to as the Virgin of Hope of Macarena, showing in her sorrowful theme while wearing Im- Mary, surrounded by the Seven Sorrows perial regalia beginning on Friday of Sorrows before Palm Sun- day. The Seven Sorrows (or Dolors) are events in the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary which are a popular devotion dolens), the Sorrowful Mother or Mother of Sorrows and are frequently depicted in art.[1] (Latin: Mater Dolorosa), and Our Lady of Piety, Our It is a common devotion for Catholics to say daily one Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows or Our Lady of the Seven Father and seven Hail Marys for each. Dolours are names by which the Blessed Virgin Mary is referred to in relation to sorrows in her life. As Mater Dolorosa, it is also a key subject for Marian art in the 1. The Prophecy of Simeon.(Luke 2:34–35) or the Catholic Church. Circumcision of Christ The Seven Sorrows of Mary are a popular Roman 2. The Flight into Egypt.(Matthew 2:13) Catholic devotion. In common religious Catholic im- agery, the Blessed Virgin Mary is portrayed in a sorrowful 3. The loss of the child Jesus in the Temple.(Luke and lacrimating affect, with seven daggers piercing her 2:43–45) heart, often bleeding. Devotional prayers which consist of meditation began to elaborate on her Seven Sorrows 4. Mary meets Jesus on the way to Calvary. 1 2 3 LITURGICAL FEAST 5. Jesus dies on the cross.(John 19:25) 6. The piercing of the side of Jesus, and Mary’s receiv- ing the body of Jesus in her arms.(Matthew 27:57– 59) 7. The body of Jesus is placed in the tomb.(John 19:40–42) These Seven Sorrows should not be confused with the five Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary. 2 Devotions to the Seven Sorrows 2.1 Western Christianity Our Lady who softens evil hearts, Russian icon, 19th century 2.2 Eastern Christianity See also: Eastern Orthodox iconography Archetypal Gothic Lady of Sorrows from a triptych by the Master On February 2, the same day as the Great Feast of the of the Stauffenberg Altarpiece, Alsace c. 1455 Meeting of the Lord, Orthodox Christians and Eastern Catholics commemorate a wonder-working icon of the The feast of the Our Lady of Sorrows was originated by a Theotokos (Mother of God) known as “the Softening of provincial synod of Cologne in 1423 as a response to the Evil Hearts” or “Simeon’s Prophecy”.[5][6] iconoclast Hussites. It was designated for the Friday after It depicts the Virgin Mary at the moment that Simeon the third Sunday after Easter. It had the title: Commem- the Righteous says, “Yea, a sword shall pierce through oratio angustiae et doloris B. Mariae V.. Before the 16th thy own soul also....” (Luke 2:35). She stands with her century, the feast was celebrated only in parts of northern hands upraised in prayer, and seven swords pierce her Europe. heart, indicative of the seven sorrows.[5] This is one of the Earlier, in 1233, seven youths in Tuscany founded the few Orthodox icons of the Theotokos which do not depict Servite Order (also known as the “Servite Friars”, or the the infant Jesus. The refrain “Rejoice, much-sorrowing “Order of the Servants of Mary”). Five years later, they Mother of God, turn our sorrows into joy and soften the took up the sorrows of Mary, standing under the Cross, hearts of evil men! extquotedbl is also used.[6] as the principal devotion of their order.[2] Over the centuries several devotions, and even orders, arose around meditation on Mary’s Sorrows in particu- 3 Liturgical feast lar. The Servites developed the two most common de- votions to Our Lady’s Sorrows, namely the Rosary of The first altar to the Mater Dolorosa was set up in 1221 at the Seven Sorrows and the Black Scapular of the Seven the monastery of Schönau. Especially in Mediterranean Dolours of Mary. The Black Scapular is a symbol of the countries, parishioners traditionally carry statues of Our Confraternity of Our Lady of Sorrows, which is associ- Lady of Sorrows in processions on the days leading to ated with the Servite Order.[3] Most devotional scapulars Good Friday. In Malta and Gozo there are also Two have requirements regarding ornamentation or design. Servites of Mary – Third Order in two parishes. In Malta The devotion of the Black Scapular requires only that it there is the Third Order of the Servites of Mary at the be made of black woollen cloth.[4] Parish of Stella Maris Sliema. The other Third Order of 3 bines and continues both is known as the Feast of “Our Lady of Sorrows” (Latin: Beatae Mariae Virginis Perdo- lentis), and recitation of the Stabat Mater is optional. Observance of the calendar as it stood in 1962 is still per- mitted as an extraordinary form of the Roman Rite, and even where the calendar as revised in 1969 is in use, some countries, such as Malta, have kept it in their national cal- endars. In every country, the 2002 edition of the Roman Missal provides an alternative collect for this Friday:[12] O God, who in this season give your Church the grace to imitate devoutly the Blessed Virgin Mary Procession in honor of Our Lady of Sorrows as part of Holy in contemplating the Passion of Christ, Week observances in Cocula, Guerrero, Mexico grant, we pray, through her intercession, that we may cling more firmly each day to your Only Begotten Son the Servites of Mary is at the Parish of San Lawrenz in and come at last to the fullness of his grace. San Lawrenz, Gozo. The Third Order of the Servites of Mary at the Parish of 4 Artistic representations Stella Maris Parish in Sliema was previously known as the Pia Unjone di Maria Desolata. In 1872 this was blessed by Pope (Blessed) Pius IX and by the Bishop of Malta Mgr Carmelo Scicluna in 1878. On 8 September 1892 the Pia Unione was alleviated to a Third Order by a Decree of the Prior General of the Order of the Servites of Mary and with another Decree by Bishop of Malta Mgr Pietro Pace on the 27 October 1896.[7][8] No feast in her honour was included in St Pius V's 1570 Tridentine Calendar. Vatican approval for the celebra- tion of a feast in honor of Our Lady of Sorrows was first granted to the Servite order in 1667. By inserting the feast into the General Roman Calendar in 1814, Pope Pius VII extended the celebration to the whole of the Latin Church. It was assigned to the third Sunday in September. In 1913, Pope Pius X moved the feast to September 15, the day after the Feast of the Cross.[9] It is still observed on that date. Another feast, originating in Germany in the 15th cen- tury, spread to several other countries, and was extended to the whole of the Latin Church in 1727 by Pope Bene- dict XIII, who assigned it the Friday in Passion Week, one week before Good Friday.[10] In 1954, it still held the rank of major double (slightly lower than the rank of the Dieric Bouts, Netherlandish, Mater Dolorosa, 1480/1500 September feast) in the General Roman Calendar. Pope John XXIII's 1960 Code of Rubrics reduced it to the level Our Lady of Sorrows, depicted as extquotedblMater Do- of a commemoration. lorosa extquotedbl (Mother of Sorrows) has been the sub- in 1969 the celebration was removed from the General ject of some key works of Roman Catholic Marian art. Roman Calendar as a duplicate of the feast on 15 Mater Dolorosa is one of the three common artistic rep- [11] resentations of a sorrowful Virgin Mary, the other two September. Each of the two celebrations had been [13] called a feast of “The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Vir- being Stabat Mater (stood the mother) and Pietà. gin Mary” (Latin: Septem Dolorum Beatae Mariae Vir- In this iconography, Our Lady of Seven Sorrows is at ginis) and included recitation of the Stabat Mater as a times simply represented in a sad and anguished mode sequence. Since then, the 15 September feast that com- by herself, her expression being that of tears and sadness. 4 8 REFERENCES In other representations the Virgin Mary is depicted with 7 See also seven swords in her heart, a reference to the prophecy of Simeon at the Presentation. • Acts of Reparation to the Virgin Mary • Life of Jesus in the New Testament 5 Patronages • Mission San Francisco de Asís in San Francisco, California, known also as Mission Dolores Our Lady of Sorrows is the patron saint of: • Pietà • Roman Catholic Marian art • Slovakia • Scapular of the Seven Sorrows of Mary • the Congregation of Holy Cross • Seven Joys of Mary • Order of the Servants of Mary • Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary • Mola di Bari and the Molise region of Italy • Stabat Mater (art) • Mississippi, United States • Stabat Mater • Dolores, Abra, The Philippines • The Glories of Mary • Lanzarote, Canary Islands[14] • Mater Dolorosa (Berlin-Lankwitz) 8 References • ^Pinabacdao, Samar, Philippines [1] Ball, Ann (2003).