And Thy Own Soul A Sword Shall Pierce

By Sean M. Wright

“And Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary his mother, ‘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.’” (Luke 2:34, 35).

“Now there were standing by the cross of Jesus his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.” (John 19:25).

These citations from St. Luke’s and St. John’s Gospel accounts form the scriptural inspiration for Catholic devotion to the Virgin Mary in sorrow. Members of the early Church contemplated Mary’s grief. St. Basil the Great (329-379), founder of Eastern monasticism, wrote: “If the suffering of the Martyrs could be joined, they wouldn’t be comparable with the suffering of the Virgin Mary . . . this is why She is the “Queen of Martyrs”.

In the “Manual Of Devotions In Honour Of Our Lady Of Sorrows” (R. Washburne, London, England: F.A. Little, 1868) is found this assertion:

“Devotion to the Sorrows of our Blessed Lady dates from Calvary. The Apostolic Church clung round her whom Jesus had given to be its Mother, and ever remembered that it was amid the pains, the Blood, and the agonies of the Passion, that it had become the child of Mary — literally ‘the child of her Sorrows.’”

Instigators of the Protestant Revolt of the 1500s eventually turned their backs on the age-old veneration accorded the Virgin. Despite their indifference, reflection on Mary’s anguish at the violence endured by her son, with its deep, spiritual roots in Christian belief, continued to bring souls closer to Jesus. 

In 1960, my sister Helen was part of a class of 50 young women seeking to become members of the order of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. They entered a two-year-long novitiate to discern their vocations at La Case de Maria, the order’s beautiful, extensive property in Montecito, just five miles south of Santa Barbara. Families were allowed to visit on the first Sunday of each month. Our parents never missed a visit.

I bring this up because, just to the left of the front door, was a very small, walled courtyard containing a series of pictures representing the Seven Sorrows of Mary; it is called the “Via Matris” — the Way of the Mother — depicting the Seven Sorrows of Mary. It was set up in a circuit for contemplation, a counterpart to the “Via Crucis” — the “Way of the Cross.” As a ten-year-old, I was impressed with the beauty of the enshrined pictures standing amid this garden of floral beauty.

Helen added that the rosary hanging from the belt around the habit was that of the Seven Dolors and was recited there. She later told me, “I didn’t care to be in the courtyard very long as we often saw snakes up on the walls. They usually were lying on the top stones during the day to absorb the heat.”

St. Anselm (1033-1109), a Benedictine abbot eventually consecrated Archbishop of Canterbury, wrote many theological treatises. Due to his erudition, especially found in a famous explanation of the Incarnation, “Cur Deus Homo” (Why God Became Man), he is honored as a Doctor of the Church. Archbishop Anselm was deeply devoted to contemplating Mary as the Sorrowful Mother. Following his lead, Benedictine monks in England, when Merry England rejoined at being known as “the Virgin’s Dowry,” spread the devotion of Our Lady of Sorrows.

Missionary monks in the Cistercian and Servite orders preached this devotion throughout Europe during the 14th and 15th centuries. Indeed, the Servites consider Our Lady of Sorrows as their patroness. The order commemorated her anguish at the Crucifixion as their patronal feast, called the Compassion of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the Friday before Palm Sunday. The word “compassion” (Latin: cum passio, “in anguish with”) indicating Mary’s intense grief being united to the sufferings of her Son.

Our Lady of Sorrows is also the patroness of the Congregation of Holy Cross, the order founded by Blessed Basil Moreau and which staffs Sacred Heart Parish in Colorado Springs.  

In this aspect of the Blessed Virgin’s role in nurturing the followers of her Son when they face obstacles and grief in life, she is called Our Lady of Sorrows (Latin: Beata Maria Virgo Perdolens), Our Lady of Dolors, the Sorrowful Mother or Mother of Sorrows (Latin: Mater Dolorosa), and Our Lady of Piety, Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows or Our Lady of the Seven Dolors.

The Mater Dolorosa is a popular subject in Marian art. The Virgin is portrayed with one or seven swords piercing her heart. Mary is the first disciple to accept the word of God, “I am the handmaid of the Lord, be done unto me” (Luke 1:38). This Hebrew maiden became the woman who knew Jesus most intimately during the first 30 years of his life.

The Seven Sorrows of Mary is a frequent religious theme for Catholic devotion. In common imagery, the Virgin Mary is portrayed in tears, grief etched into her face. The iconography of the lone sword piercing her heart illustrates the prophecy of Simeon in Luke 2:34–35. The seven swords represent all her sorrows found in the Gospel.

Pious Catholics composed prayers and practices in honor of Mary and this title. They include the Chaplet of the Seven Sorrows, the Seven Principal Dolors of the Blessed Virgin (a seven decade rosary upon which the faithful may ponder Mary’s Gospel hardships), the Novena in Honor of the Seven Sorrows of Mary, and the Via Matris.

The Stabat Mater is a series of stanzas inspired by St. John’s description that Mary was seen courageously “standing” at the foot of the Cross, not swooning as so often seen in art. Its composition is attributed to either the Franciscan friar, Jacopone da Todi (ca. 1230-1306), or to Pope Innocent III (1161-1216). It remains an optional Sequence for the Mass of the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. It is also known as “At the Cross Her Station Keeping,” a hymn sung throughout Lent at  weekly Stations of the Cross devotions, or on Good Friday. The number of sorrows was expanded to five or seven incidents were identified as most distressing to the Virgin Mother. In 1692, Pope Innocent XII decreed the celebration of the feast of the Seven Sorrows — sometimes referred to as “the Seven Dolors” — of the Blessed Virgin for the third Sunday of September.

In 1714, the feast was transferred to the Friday before Palm Sunday. On Sept. 18, 1814, Pope Pius VII, recently freed from abduction by Napoleon, extended the liturgical feast of the Seven Sorrows to the entire Latin Church, transferring it back to the third Sunday of September.

In 1913, Pope St. Pius X, wishing to restore the dignity of Sundays as their own particular holy days, changed the title of the observance to “Our Lady of Sorrows,” fixing its date to Sept. 15, the day following the great Solemnity of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, where it remains.

(Sean M. Wright, MA, award-winning essayist, Emmy nominee, and Master Catechist for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, is a parishioner at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Santa Clarita. He answers comments at Locksley69@aol.com.)