The Seven Sorrows of Mary
Among the oldest and most tender of Catholic devotions is the honoring of the Seven Sorrows of Mary, also called the Seven Dolours. It asks us to walk beside the Mother of God through the seven great griefs of her life, from the prophecy of the old man Simeon in the Temple to the moment she laid her Son in the tomb. This is not a devotion of gloom. It is a way of loving Mary by keeping her company in her pain, and of learning from her how to carry our own crosses without losing faith.
The sorrows are prayed in a special chaplet, known as the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows, the Chaplet of the Seven Dolours, or the Servite Rosary. On this page you will find what the devotion means, the seven sorrows themselves with a short meditation on each, how the chaplet is prayed, the promises Our Lady is said to have made to St. Bridget of Sweden, and a prayer to Our Lady of Sorrows.
The Meaning of the Devotion
To meditate on Mary's sorrows is to gaze at her Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart. The Gospel tells us she "kept all these things, pondering them in her heart" (Luke 2:19), and Simeon warned her that a sword would one day pierce that same heart (Luke 2:35). Mary never stood at a safe distance from the Passion of her Son. She felt every wound in her own soul, and she offered her suffering with his for the salvation of the world.
When we pray this devotion we are asking to share, in a small way, in that love. We do not pity Mary from the outside. We ask her to draw us into the compassion of her heart, so that we come to hate sin as she hated it, and to love the Cross as she loved it. This devotion is closely tied to the tender mystery of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the heart that suffered so much and yet never wavered in trust.
The Servite Order and the Feast
The devotion was spread above all by the Servite Order, the Order of the Servants of Mary, founded near Florence in the thirteenth century by seven merchants who left their businesses to live in poverty and to serve Our Lady. The Servites made the sorrows of Mary the very heart of their spiritual life, and it is largely through their preaching that the Chaplet of the Seven Dolours became known across the Church.
The Church honors these griefs each year on the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, September 15, the day after the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Placing the two feasts side by side is deliberate: on one day we lift up the Cross of Christ, and on the next we stand with the Mother who stood beneath it.
The Seven Sorrows of Mary
These are the seven griefs of Our Lady, drawn from the Gospels. Read each one slowly and let the scene rest in your mind before you move to the next.
1. The Prophecy of Simeon
Forty days after the birth of Jesus, Mary and Joseph carry the child into the Temple. The aged Simeon takes him in his arms, blesses God, and then turns to Mary with hard words: this child is set for the fall and rising of many, and a sword will pierce her own soul (Luke 2:34-35). From this moment the shadow of the Cross falls across her joy.
2. The Flight into Egypt
An angel warns Joseph that Herod means to kill the child. In the night the little family flees into a foreign land (Matthew 2:13-14). Mary knows the fear of a mother whose son is hunted, the hardship of the road, and the loneliness of exile among strangers.
3. The Loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple
On the journey home from Jerusalem, Mary and Joseph realize the twelve-year-old Jesus is not among their company. For three days they search in anguish before they find him in the Temple (Luke 2:41-50). Any parent who has lost sight of a child for a moment knows a little of this fear stretched over three long days.
4. Mary Meets Jesus Carrying the Cross
On the way to Calvary, Mary meets her Son as he struggles under the weight of the Cross, scourged and crowned with thorns. Their eyes meet in the crowd. She can give him no help but her presence, and that presence is itself a gift and a wound.
5. The Crucifixion and Death of Jesus
Mary stands at the foot of the Cross and watches her Son die (John 19:25-27). Here the sword of Simeon reaches her heart in full. From the Cross Jesus gives her to the beloved disciple, and so to all of us: "Behold your mother." She becomes the mother of the whole Church in the hour of her deepest grief.
6. Mary Receives the Body of Jesus
When Jesus is taken down from the Cross, his body is placed in the arms of his mother. This is the scene the Church remembers in the image of the Pieta: Mary holding the lifeless body she once cradled as an infant in Bethlehem.
7. The Burial of Jesus
Mary follows as the body of her Son is carried to the tomb, wrapped in linen, and laid in the earth. The stone is rolled across the entrance. She goes home in silence, holding fast to faith through the long darkness of Holy Saturday, waiting in hope for the morning of the Resurrection.
These seven sorrows overlap closely with the events we ponder in the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary, seen this time through the eyes of the Mother rather than the Son.
How to Pray the Seven Sorrows Rosary
The Servite chaplet is simple and needs no special beads, though sets of beads made for it do exist, with seven groups of seven small beads and a medal of Our Lady of Sorrows. Here is the traditional way to pray it:
- Begin with an Act of Contrition, sorrowing for your sins and asking the grace to keep Mary company in her sorrows.
- For each of the seven sorrows, announce the sorrow, then pray one Our Father and seven Hail Marys while quietly meditating on that scene in Mary's life.
- Continue through all seven sorrows in order, so that in all you pray seven Our Fathers and forty-nine Hail Marys.
- Conclude with three Hail Marys in honor of the tears Our Lady shed in her sorrows, asking her to grant you true sorrow for sin and a share in her compassion.
The Seven Promises to St. Bridget of Sweden
According to a long tradition, Our Lady made seven promises to St. Bridget of Sweden for those who are faithful to the devotion of her Seven Sorrows. These promises are part of Catholic devotional piety rather than defined doctrine, but they have encouraged the faithful for centuries:
- Peace in their families. Those devoted to her sorrows will have peace in their households.
- Light in divine mysteries. They will be enlightened about the mysteries of God.
- Consolation in their trials. She will console them in their pains and stay close to them in their troubles.
- Protection and defense. She will defend them in their spiritual battles against the evil one and guard them through life.
- Grace at the hour of death. She will assist them at the hour of their death, and they will see her face.
- The fruits of the Passion. Those who spread this devotion will be granted a share in the merits of the Passion of her Son.
- A place near her Son in glory. The names of the devout will be written on her heart, and she will bring them close to Jesus in heaven.
When to Pray It and Its Benefits
The Seven Sorrows Rosary can be prayed on any day, but it has natural homes in the calendar. Many pray it on the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows on September 15, throughout the season of Lent, and especially on Fridays, the day of the Lord's Passion. Some families make it a regular Friday devotion, and others turn to it in times of grief, illness, or family trouble, when Mary's own suffering feels close.
Faithful practice of this devotion is said to bear rich spiritual fruit:
- A deeper hatred of sin, seeing in Mary's tears what our sins cost her Son.
- Strength in suffering, learning from Mary how to bear sorrow with faith and without bitterness.
- Tender love for Our Lady, drawing us into the compassion of her heart.
- Closeness to the Passion of Christ, since to stand with the Mother is to stand beneath the Cross of the Son.
A Prayer to Our Lady of Sorrows
Pray this after the chaplet, or at any time you wish to console the heart of Mary:
O most holy Virgin, Mother of Sorrows, by the sword that pierced your gentle heart when you stood beneath the Cross of your Son, obtain for me true sorrow for my sins and the grace to carry my own crosses with faith.
Teach me to keep you company in your griefs, from Simeon's prophecy to the silence of the tomb, that I may learn from you never to lose hope in the darkness.
Mother of Sorrows, pray for me now and at the hour of my death, and lead me at the last to your risen Son, who lives and reigns forever. Amen.
Pray Beside the Mother of Sorrows
Carry the sorrows of Mary into your prayer, and let them lead you deeper into the mystery of the Cross.
