Seven Sorrows Of Mary
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The Seven Sorrows of Mary as accepted today are the following:
1.PRESENTATION IN THE TEMPLE
Forty days after Christ’s birth, Mary presented Him in the temple. The aged Simeon, a just and devout servant of the Lord, took Jesus into his arms, and inspired by the Holy Spirit, exclaimed: “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and for the rise of many in Israel, and for a sign that shall be contradicted. And thy own soul a sword shall pierce, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
2.FLIGHT INTO EGYPT
No sooner did the heartless Herod hear that Jesus, the Infant King of the Jews, had been born, then he sought His life. But an angel of the Lord appeared to St. Joseph in a dream and warned: “Arise, take the Child and His mother and flee into Egypt, and remain there until I tell thee.”
3.THE LOSS IN THE TEMPLE
The third sword that pierced Our Lady’s heart was the three-day loss in the temple. At the age of twelve, Jesus went with Mary and Joseph to Jerusalem. Only when they were returning did Mary and Joseph realize that Jesus was not with them. They hurried back and for three days sought Him among friends and relatives. Finally, they found Him in the temple, listening to the teachers there and asking them questions.
4.THE WAY OF THE CROSS
Her fourth great sorrow we remember in the fourth station of the Way of the Cross. Mary meets Jesus carrying His cross to Calvary. What a mournful meeting. Imagine the pain in Mary’s heart to see her Jesus groaning and staggering under the cruel cross. What an anguish to see the One she loved so dearly being tortured by the taunts of the crowd as well as the weight of the heavy wood. And all the while she was prevented from helping him.
5.JESUS DIES ON THE CROSS
But the sword will plunge still deeper. She must see Him shamefully stripped of His garments, rudely thrown upon the cross, and then hear the sickening pounding of the hammer. Helpless and heartbroken, she must stand beneath His deathbed watching Him writhe in torture, listening to His parting words, listening for His parting breath.
6.JESUS IS LAID IN THE ARMS OF HIS MOTHER
And now comes the moment when they take Him down from the cross. As each nail and each thorn was pulled from His body, it was a new blow to the heart of His Mother. How she must have hugged Him to her heart. How she must have tried to kiss Him back to life.
7. JESUS IS LAID IN THE TOMB
The seventh sword was to witness that broken body laid in the grave. It was a Mother putting her child to bed. What a grief-stricken good-night that was. Mary must have wished that she could bury her heavy heart with Him.
During Passiontide, on the Friday before Palm Sunday a second feast of Mary’s Dolors is held which emphasizes particularly the four last mentioned above.
