When Mary and Joseph brought the infant Jesus to the temple, Simeon the prophet took the child into his arms and spoke words that surely remained with Mary for the rest of her life. Her Son would be a “sign that will be contradicted,” and then Simeon turned directly to her: “And you yourself a sword will pierce” (Luke 2:34-35).
The sword he described would not only pierce Mary’s heart (or “soul” as some translations render it) once, but would be a constant thread throughout her life and participation in her Son’s passion.
The Church has long contemplated the mystery of Mary’s compassion (suffering with her Son) through devotion to the Seven Sorrows of Mary, traditionally represented by an image of the Immaculate Heart pierced by seven swords.
Catholics are known for their seemingly gloomy devotions, which constantly remind us of our own death—memento mori. When we walk into a Church, we see there Jesus hanging on the crucifix. But these devotions are not meant to be dreary; instead, they call our affection and devotion to the suffering servant, Christ who died for our sins. As we die to ourselves, we unite our suffering to his to become more united to him.
Acknowledging Mary as the perfect disciple, the mold for our own sanctity and union with her Son, the Seven Sorrows teach us something essential about the Christian life: suffering unites us to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus—pierced for our transgressions—and conforms us more intimately to him.
An Ancient Devotion to the Sorrowful Mother
Christians have contemplated Mary’s suffering since the earliest centuries of the Church, particularly her presence at the foot of the cross. But devotion to her sorrows developed more explicitly during the Middle Ages.
Beginning around the twelfth century, meditation on the sorrows of Mary appeared increasingly in monastic spirituality. The Cistercians helped foster this devotion, but it became especially associated with the Order of Servants of Mary—the Servites—founded in the thirteenth century. The Servites made contemplation of the sorrowful Mother an important part of their spirituality and helped spread the devotion throughout the Church.
By the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows had become widespread, and confraternities dedicated to the Sorrowful Mother appeared in parts of Europe. The Church eventually incorporated these devotions into its liturgical life.
For a time, the Roman calendar contained two celebrations connected with Mary’s sorrows. One occurred near Passiontide, emphasizing her suffering during Christ’s passion, and the Servite tradition celebrated another in September. Pope Pius VII extended the September feast to the universal Church in the nineteenth century, and St. Pius X eventually fixed its celebration on September 15. Today the Church celebrates the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows on this date.
Its placement is fitting. September 15 falls immediately after the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. On September 14, the Church looks upon the cross of Christ; on September 15, we look upon the Mother standing beneath it.
What Are Mary’s Seven Sorrows?
The devotion gathers seven moments from the life and passion of Christ in which Mary suffered particularly:
- The Prophecy of Simeon (Luke 2:34-35).Mary learns that her Son will be rejected and that a sword will pierce her own soul. Even amid the joy of presenting Jesus in the temple, the shadow of Calvary appears.
- The Flight into Egypt (Matt. 2:13-15).Mary and Joseph flee their homeland to save the child Jesus from Herod. Mary experiences fear, displacement, and uncertainty, entrusting her family entirely to God’s providence.
- The Loss of the Child Jesus (Luke 2:41-50).For three days Mary and Joseph search anxiously for Jesus before finding him in the temple. Her sorrow reminds us what it means to hunger for the presence of Christ when he seems absent.
- Mary Meets Jesus Carrying the Cross.Christian tradition contemplates the encounter between Mother and Son on the road to Calvary. Mary cannot remove his cross. She can only remain with him and accompany him.
- The Crucifixion and Death of Jesus (John 19:25-30).Mary stands beneath the cross and watches her Son die. She does not flee from suffering. She remains—faithful even when nearly everything visible seems to contradict God’s promises.
- Jesus Is Taken Down from the Cross.Christian art has immortalized this sorrow in the Pietà: Mary receiving the broken body of the Son she once held as an infant. The hands that wrapped him in swaddling clothes now receive his body from the cross.
- The Burial of Jesus (John 19:38-42).Finally, Mary sees her Son placed in the tomb. The stone is rolled into place, and she must wait in faith.
These are not seven unrelated tragedies, but seven expressions of the one sword foretold by Simeon. They illustrate Mary’s loving participation in the mission of her Son (and as the Church says, she suffers her Son’s passion in her heart—Lumen Gentium 58).
How to Pray the Chaplet of the Seven Sorrows
With the devotion of contemplation and medication upon the individual sorrows came the Chaplet of the Seven Sorrows.
The chaplet begins with the sign of the cross and introductory prayers. We offer the devotion to God in honor of the Blessed Virgin, express sorrow for our sins and ask for the grace of conversion, place ourselves beneath Mary’s maternal protection, and present our intentions. An invocation of the Holy Spirit prepares us to meditate prayerfully rather than simply recite words.
Then we contemplate each of the seven swords in turn.
For each sorrow, announce the mystery and recall its corresponding passage of Scripture. A short meditation considers both what Mary suffered and the particular grace we should seek through her intercession. Then pray one Our Father and seven Hail Marys while remaining spiritually with Mary in that sorrow.
After each set, pray, “Holy Mother, hear my prayers, and renew in my heart each wound of Jesus my Savior.”
This pattern continues through all seven sorrows, resulting in forty-nine Hail Marys. After the seventh sorrow, three additional Hail Marys are prayed in honor of the tears of our sorrowful Mother.
The chaplet concludes by asking Mary, queen of martyrs, to obtain for us true contrition, conversion, and the grace to carry our own crosses faithfully. The Litany of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows, traditionally attributed to Pope Pius VII, may then be prayed.
For a booklet on how to pray the Chaplet of the Seven Sorrows, see here.
Learning to Stand at the Cross
Perhaps the greatest lesson of Our Lady of Sorrows is contained in one simple sentence from St. John’s Gospel: “Standing by the cross of Jesus [was] his mother” (John 19:25). Mary stood—stabat (from which we get the famous Stabat Mater).
She could not stop the scourging, carry the cross in her Son’s place, or pull the nails from his hands. Yet she could remain with him.
This is our calling in the Christian life. We grow in holiness by the law of universal mortification: to deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Jesus (see Matthew 16:24). Rather than fleeing suffering, Mary teaches us to remain at the foot of the cross with her Son.
The Seven Sorrows therefore do not invite us to dwell morbidly on suffering. They teach us how suffering can be transformed when it is joined to love. Mary suffered precisely because she loved Christ so perfectly, and because she loved him perfectly, even her sorrow became an act of fidelity to God.