It is difficult to imagine the amount of sorrow that the Blessed Mother experienced on Calvary. She witnessed the mutilation of her Divine Son and his public humiliation on the cross. It pierced her heart, but as Simeon prophesied, this occurred “that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed” (Luke 2:35).
Therefore, it is with confidence that we bring our petitions before the feet of our Sorrowful Mother, uniting ourselves with her suffering, making her tears our own.
St. Bonaventure wrote a heartfelt prayer to Our Lady of Sorrows, invoking her intercession while also pledging to stand with the Virgin Mother in her grief. Through this union, it is hoped that we are brought closer to Christ and keep the glory and joys of Heaven always in our sights.
O most holy virgin, mother of our Lord Jesus Christ: by the overwhelming grief you experienced when you witnessed the martyrdom, the crucifixion, and the death of your divine Son, look upon me with eyes of compassion and awaken in my heart a tender commiseration for those sufferings, as well as a sincere detestation of my sins, in order that, being disengaged from all undue affections for the passing joys of this earth, I may long for the eternal Jerusalem, and that henceforth all my thoughts and all my actions may be directed toward this one most desirable object.
Honor, glory, and love to our divine Lord Jesus, and to the holy and immaculate mother of God.
Amen.
Read more:
A short guide to praying the Chaplet of the Seven Sorrows of Mary
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A Marian alternative to the Stations of the Cross
And today we celebrate...