Seven Sorrows of Mary | How to pray the Seven Sorrows Chaplet

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Madonna and Child Mary and Jesus

The Seven Sorrows of Mary

Introductory Prayer

My God, I offer You this rosary for Your glory. I want to honour Your Holy Mother, the Blessed Virgin, by meditating upon and sharing in her suffering.

O my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, trusting in your infinite love, I turn to You for forgiveness and mercy. I am truly sorry for the pains you suffered in Your most bitter Passion because of my sins. For love of You, and before Your Holy Presence, I utterly renounce and forsake all the sins of my whole life. I ask pardon of You with all my heart. I firmly resolve to amend my life, and would rather die than offend You again.

O Blessed Virgin Mary, you are our tender Mother and the refuge of sinners. I run to you with confidence and love. Hide me under your mantle of love and protection. As I meditate upon the swords of sorrow that pierced your Immaculate Heart, obtain for me the forgiveness of my sins and the grace to live a life of heroic holiness.

O Blessed Mother, I unite my heart to yours and offer this rosary for priests: for their growth in holiness, obedience to the Magisterium, boldness in the proclamation of the Gospel, and a profound love for the people of God. May all priests humbly lead the souls entrusted to their care into an intimate relationship with the Lord.

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of Your love. Send forth Your Spirit and they shall be created, and You shall renew the face of the earth.

Most Merciful Mother, remind us always about the sorrows of your Son, Jesus.

___________________________

O God, come to my assistance; O Lord make haste to help me. Glory be to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

3 x Hail Mary
1 Glory Be

The First Sorrow - The Presentation

Sorrow as sharp as a sword shall pierce Mary's heart because of her Child. Mary gives the baby to Simeon, who foretells the passion and death of her Son Jesus, with his prophetic word. 'The sword of grief shall pierce thy soul.'

I grieve for you, O Mary most sorrowful, in the affliction of your tender heart at the prophecy of the holy and aged Simeon. Dear Mother, by your heart so afflicted, obtain for me the virtue of humility, and the gift of the holy fear of God.

Reflection: Dear Mother, how early the sword pierced your heart! Even as Simeon spoke, your heart started to break at his prophecy. You must have wondered so, about what his troubling words could mean about the future of your Son, and your own future. When I am worried about my future, help me to remember that you knew uncertainty too.

1 x Our Father

7 x Hail Mary

The Second Sorrow - The Flight to Egypt

Soon the sword of sorrow strikes. Herod the king seeks to kill her well beloved Son. Warned in sleep by an angel, Joseph takes Jesus and His Mother Mary, setting out for Egypt, where they lived in obscurity and poverty until it was safe to return.

I grieve for you, O Mary most sorrowful, in the anguish of your most affectionate heart during the flight into Egypt and your sojourn there. Dear Mother, by your heart so troubled, obtain for me the virtue of generosity, especially toward the poor, and the gift of piety.

Reflection: Dear Mother, how sorrowful you must have been when you were forced by Herod to escape to Egypt. Sorrowful for your own Son, and the dangers that already surrounded Him, but also sorrowful for all those children and mothers who did not manage to escape as you did. By this sorrow you experienced, help me to care tenderly for others as you did.

1 x Our Father

7 x Hail Mary

The Third Sorrow - The Loss of Jesus for Three Days

On the return journey from Jerusalem, Joseph and Mary find at the end of the first day that Jesus is not with them. Wracked with anxiety, they search for Him. Nobody in the streets, not even the beggars, can tell them where He is. For 3 days, Mary bewailed the loss of her only love.

I grieve for you, O Mary most sorrowful, in those anxieties which tried your troubled heart at the loss of your dear Jesus. Dear Mother, by your heart so full of anguish, obtain for me the virtue of chastity and the gift of knowledge.

Reflection: Dear Mother, how worried you must have been! Grief already pulled at your heart, as you wondered what may have happened to your poor son - you had no way of knowing if he was safe. Every hour that went by must have felt longer and longer. When I cannot feel Jesus close to me, help me to remember that you have experienced this sorrow too.

1 x Our Father

7 x Hail Mary

The Fourth Sorrow - Meeting Jesus as He carried His Cross

Mary has known fear and sorrow, but none so great as seeing her beloved Son stumbling under the cross, the weight excessive on His tender shoulders. She hears the jeering shouts from the crowd and has no power to help Him. Pity and love are in her eyes as she gazes at His blood-stained face. To many around her, He is no better than a criminal, and her heart is breaking as she follows Him.

I grieve for you, O Mary most sorrowful, in the consternation of your heart at meeting Jesus as He carried His cross. Dear Mother, by your heart so troubled, obtain for me the virtue of patience, and the gift of fortitude.

Reflection: Dear Mother, how piercing this sword of sorrow was for you! As Jesus could hardly bear the weight of the cross, so you could hardly bear the weight of sorrow in your heart as your eyes met His on the way to Calvary. Your most innocent, loving Jesus, treated so horribly, broke your heart. When I start to become apathetic towards Jesus' passion, Mother, fill me with your sorrow.

1 x Our Father

7 x Hail Mary

The Fifth Sorrow - The Crucifixion

With John, Mary stands at the foot of the Cross. 'A sword shall pierce thy soul' Simeon told her. Truly her heart is pierced with sorrow. Her beloved Son is dying, blood flowing from every part of His sacred body, and she shares in His suffering. She does not ask God to take away this agony. She is His Mother, so close to Him that His pain is hers, too. She then beheld Him die after 3 hours agony.

I grieve for you, O Mary most sorrowful, in the martyrdom which your generous heart endured in standing near Jesus in His agony. Dear Mother, by your afflicted heart, obtain for me the virtue of temperance, and the gift of counsel.

Reflection: Dear Mother, how agonising these 3 hours must have been. You could not look away from Him, yet the ghastly sight of Him caused so much pain in your loving heart. How you wanted to comfort Him, to save Him, yet the only comfort you could offer your beloved Son was your presence by His side. When following Christ becomes hard, give me a heart like yours, which persevered for love of Him.

1 x Our Father

7 x Hail Mary

The Sixth Sorrow - The Descent From the Cross

Dark clouds have appeared in the sky and upon the world. Jesus is dead. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus take down the Body from the cross, and Mary receives it in her arms. She is filled with a sadness that no human heart has known. This is her Son. Once she had cradled Him in her arms, listened to His sweet voice, watched Him working at the carpenter's bench. Now He is dead. There has never been a grief as deep as this.

I grieve for you, O Mary most sorrowful, in the wounding of your compassionate heart when the side of Jesus was struck by the lance before His Body was removed from the cross. Dear Mother, by your heart thus transfixed, obtain for me the virtue of fraternal charity, and the gift of understanding.

Reflection: Dear Mother, when the lance was struck into the side of Jesus, it felt to you as if the lance had been struck through your own heart. Help me to feel this sorrow for His passion too.

1 x Our Father

7 x Hail Mary

The Seventh Sorrow - The Burial of Jesus

Hastily the Body is wrapped in a clean linen cloth. Nicodemus has brought myrrh and aloes, and the Body is bound in the Shroud with them, in the nearby tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. Mary and John and the holy women follow them and watch as the great stone is rolled. It is the end.

I grieve for you, O Mary most sorrowful, for the pangs that wrenched your most loving heart at the burial of Jesus. Dear Mother, by your heart sunk in the bitterness of desolation, obtain for me the virtue of diligence, and the gift of wisdom.

Reflection: Dear Mother, how long did you stay outside the tomb after the stone had been rolled away? Your son was dead, and your grief was so strong, your love for Him so fervent, that you could not understand why you were not buried in the tomb with Him. When I go through grief, comfort me with the knowledge that no-one has experienced it greater than you.

1 x Our Father

7 x Hail Mary

Ending Prayer

O sorrowful Virgin, unite me at least to the humiliations and wounds of thy Son, so that both He and thee may find comfort in having someone sharing thy sufferings. Oh, how happy I would be if I could do this! For is there perhaps anything greater, sweeter, or more advantageous for a person? Why dost thou not grant me what I ask? If I have offended thee, be just and pierce my heart. If I have been faithful to thee, leave me not without a reward: give me thy sorrows.

O afflicted Virgin, O soul great in virtues, as in sorrows, both one and the other spring from that great fire burning in thy heart for God, the only love of thy heart!

Mother, have pity on me, who has not loved God, and who has so greatly offended Him. Thy sorrows, it is true, assure me of pardon, but that is not sufficient. I wish to love God. Who could obtain for me that grace if not thee, who are the Mother of Holy Love. O Mary, Thou consolest everyone; favour me also with thy consolation.

Amen.

I pray the seven sorrows rosary LIVE most days at 9:15pm GMT: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7IljEJYli_EseGdryBAVAg

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