Seven Sorrows Pdf
Cristy Borovetz
I had never prayed the Rosary of Seven Sorrows before and didn't know anything about the devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows, but I had recently bought the special rosary because I thought it was pretty. A prompting in my heart assured me this was the right thing to do, and, determined to keep my promise, I tore open the package and read the little booklet that came with the rosary. Twenty minutes of meditating on Our Lady's sorrows each day made me realize how important this observance is not just for my friend's intentions but for all of us.
Historically, devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows began at the crucifixion as St. John stood with Mary at the foot of the Cross and comforted her, but it wasn't until Good Friday in 1239 that the practice gained in popularity. Our Lady appeared to seven holy men who lived in solitude on Mount Senario in Italy and instructed them to form an Order dedicated to her Sorrows. The men formed the Order of the Servants of Mary (or Servites) and their mission was to meditate on and propagate the Seven Sorrows of Mary. The men, all of whom are canonized saints, introduced the Chaplet (little Rosary) of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
In our time, Mary again appeared to chosen souls and asked one of them to revive the devotion. Our Blessed Mother began appearing to three school children in Kibeho, Rwanda on November 28, 1981, and the apparitions officially ended on the same date in 1989.
On March 3, 1982, Mary taught one of the visionaries, Marie-Claire Mukangango, how to pray the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows and tasked her with the mission of spreading its devotion throughout the world. Marie-Claire, who was later killed in the genocide, never traveled outside of Kibeho, but by God's grace, the efforts of this little seer continue to be used to spread the devotion. This chaplet does not replace the traditional Rosary but adds to it by meditating more closely on the Sorrowful Mysteries.
"The Blessed Virgin Mary, for the love She bore us, was willing to see Her Son sacrificied to Divine Justice by the barbarity of men. This great torment then, which Mary endured for us - a torment that was more than a thousand deaths - deserves both our compassion and our gratitude. If we can make no other return for so much love, at least let us give a few moments this day to consider the greatness of the sufferings by which Mary became the Queen of martyrs; for the sufferings of Her great martyrdom exceeded those of all the martyrs; being, in the first place, the longest in point of duration; and in the second place, the greatest in point of intensity."
While the promises and graces are intended for those who pray the Rosary of Seven Sorrows, I am confident that my faithful prayer will help my friend. At times, the suffering of the people we care about is a martyrdom of their heart and we who support them can only accompany them in their struggle. We may become frustrated because we may not be able to fix the problem, or correct the injustice, and we can't foresee how things will unfold. When we bring their sorrows (and ours) to our Mother and unite them with her Seven Sorrows, we stand with her in solidarity. And Mary, who will never be outdone as our Heavenly Mother, will present them to Jesus and He will turn them into joy.
We welcome guest contributors who graciously volunteer their writing for our readers. Please support our guest writers by visiting their sites, purchasing their work, and leaving comments to thank them for sharing their gifts here on CatholicMom.com. To inquire about serving as a guest contributor, contact edi...@CatholicMom.com.
The Rosary of the Seven Sorrows dates back to the Middle Ages, but it gained new popularity following the Marian apparitions in Kibeho, which have been approved by the Catholic Church. During Mary's apparitions to Marie-Claire Mukangango, she assigned the young visionary a mission to reintroduce this special rosary to the world. Before her untimely death, Marie Claire did just that, traveling widely to teach it to thousands of people, who then taught it to thousands of others. (Marie-Claire was killed in the genocide of over a million people in Rwanda, a tragedy that was foretold through visions of rivers of blood that the young people in Kibeho received several years before the killings.)
She (the Holy Virgin) promised that when prayed with an open and repentant heart, the rosary would win us the Lord's forgiveness for our sins and free our souls from guilt and remorse. She also promised that over time, the rosary would develop within us a deep understanding of why we sin, and that knowledge would give us the wisdom and strength to change or remove any internal flaws, weaknesses of character, or personality faults causing unhappiness and keeping us from enjoying the joyous life God intended for us...
How to pray the Seven Sorrows Rosary
The following is a description of this amazing Rosary as the Virgin Mother herself taught it to Marie-Claire in Kibeho. It may be prayed aloud or contemplated in silence, alone or with others; the key is for the prayers, reflections, and meditations to always come from the depths of our hearts...It is important that, when we reach each of the Seven Sorrows, we take a moment to meditate on the magnitude of Mary's sufferings...and the strength of Our Mother's love.
Introductory Prayer: My God, I offer You this Rosary for Your glory, so I can honor your Holy Mother, the Blessed Virgin, so I can share and meditate upon her suffering. I humbly beg you to give me true repentance for all my sins. Give me wisdom and humility, so that I may receive all the indulgences contained in this prayer.
Act of Contrition: O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended You, and I detest all my sins because I dread the loss of Heaven and the pains of hell; but most of all because they offend You, my God, You Who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Your grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life. Amen.
"And when the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, "Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord"). There, the old priest Simeon held the baby Jesus in his hands, and the Holy Spirit filled his heart. Simeon recognized Jesus as the promised Savior and held the Child high toward heaven, thanking God for granting his wish that he would live long enough to behold the Messiah.
Prayer: Beloved Mother Mary, whose Heart suffered beyond bearing because of us, teach us to suffer with you and with love, and to accept all the suffering God deems it necessary to send our way. Let us suffer, and may our suffering be known to God only, like yours and that of Jesus. Do not let us show our suffering to the world, so it will matter more and be used to atone for the sins of the world. You, Mother, who suffered with the Savior of the world, we offer you our suffering, and the suffering of the world, because we are your children. Join those sorrows to your own and to those of the Lord Jesus Christ, then offer them to God the Father. You are a Mother greater than all.
Prayer: Beloved Mother, who has suffered so much, give to us your courageous heart. Please pray for us to have strength so that we can be brave like you and accept with love the suffering God sends our way. Help us to also accept all the suffering we inflict upon ourselves and the suffering inflicted upon us by others. Heavenly Mother, you, in union with Jesus, purify our suffering so that we may give glory to God and save our souls.
Prayer: Beloved Mother, so stricken with grief, help us to bear our own suffering with courage and love so that we may relieve your Sorrowful Heart and that of Jesus. In doing so, may we give glory to God Who gave you and Jesus to humanity. As you suffered, teach us to suffer silently and patiently. Grant unto us the grace of loving God in everything. O Mother of Sorrows, most afflicted of all mothers, have mercy on the sinners of the whole world.
As the soldiers lifted the Cross to drop it into the hole they had dug, they deliberately jerked it, causing the force of His body weight to tear through the flesh and expose His bone. The pain shot through His body like liquid fire.
Jesus endured three excruciating hours skewered on the Cross, yet the physical pain was nothing compared to the agonizing heartache He was forced to bear seeing His mother suffering below Him. Mercifully, He finally died.
The friends of Jesus, Joseph and Nicodemus, took down His Body from the Cross and placed It in the outstretched arms of the Blessed Virgin. Then Mary washed It with deep respect and love because she was His mother. She knew better than anyone else that He was God incarnate who had taken a human body to become the Savior of all people.
Prayer: We thank you, Beloved Mother, for your courage as you stood beneath your dying Child to comfort Him on the Cross. As our Savior drew His last breath, you became a wonderful Mother to all of us; you became the Blessed Mother of the world. We know that you love us more than our own earthly parents do. We implore you to be our advocate before the Throne of Mercy and Grace so that we can truly become your children. We thank you for Jesus, our Savior and Redeemer, and we thank Jesus for giving you to us. Please pray for us, Mother.
Prayer: Most Beloved Mother, whose beauty surpasses that of all mothers, Mother of Mercy, Mother of Jesus, and Mother to us all, we are your children and we place all our trust in you. Teach us to see God in all things and all situations, even our sufferings. Help us to understand the importance of suffering, and also to know the purpose of our suffering as God had intended it.
c80f0f1006