The 6th Sorrow Mary receives her Son’s body (Ps 130)
Truly I have set my soul in silence and peace. A weaned child on its mother’s breast, even so is my soul. O Israel, hope in the Lord both now and for ever.
The 7th Sorrow The burial of Jesus (Mt 27: 59-60)
So Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean shroud and put it in his own new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock. He then rolled a large stone across the entrance of the tomb and went away. Meditating on the seven sorrows of Mary we take her as a model in uniting our sufferings to those of Christ.
Dolour Rosary
Final Prayer
V. Pray for us, O most Sorrowful Virgin. R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Amen.
The Rosary of the Seven Sorrows of Mary
Lord Jesus, we now implore, both for the present and for the hour of our death, the intercession of the most Blessed Virgin Mary, Your Mother, whose holy soul was pierced at the time of your Passion by a sword of grief. Grant us this favour, O Saviour of the world, Who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen. Sign of the Cross In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
4 Dolour Rosary.indd 1
5
PC 79
THE CATHOLIC TRUTH SOCIETY Front cover & inside image: The Madonna & Child. Painted in the iconography studios of Fraternita de Gesu (Family of Jesus). Monastero di CTS Vallechiara, Rome, Italy. www.fraternitadigesu.org
he sword would have not reached Jesus if it had not pierced Mary’s heart. St Bernard
The dolour rosary or chaplet of the seven sorrows of Mary began in the Servite order.
16/04/2012 14:54
The rosary itself has 49 beads (seven sets of 7) and 7 medals – each depicting one of the seven sorrows. You pray the Our Father on the medals and Hail Marys on the beads meditating on the seven sorrows. At the end of the chaplet there are 4 extra beads on which 1 Our Father and 3 Hail Marys are added in remembrance of the tears Mary shed for her Son’s suffering and where we ask for true contrition for our sins. Our Father Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen. Hail Mary Hail Mary, Full of Grace, The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of death. Amen. 1 Dolour Rosary.indd 2
The Seven Sorrows The 1st Sorrow Simeon’s prophecy (Lk 2: 25-35)
Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, ‘You see this child: he is destined for the fall and for the rising of many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is rejected—and a sword will pierce your own soul too— so that the secret thoughts of many may be laid bare’.
The 2nd Sorrow Flight into Egypt (Mt 2: 13-15)
The angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother with you, and escape into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, because Herod intends to search for the child and do away with him’.
he replied ‘Did you not know that I must be busy with my Father’s affairs?’
The 4th Sorrow Jesus meets his mother on the road to Calvary (Lk 23: 27-29)
Large numbers of people followed him, and of women too, who mourned and lamented for him. But Jesus turned to them and said, ‘Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep rather for yourselves and for your children. For the days will surely come when people will say, “Happy are those who are barren, the wombs that have never borne, the breasts that have never suckled!”
The 5th Sorrow
Losing of the Child Jesus (Lk 2: 41-50)
Mary at the foot of the Cross ( Jn 19: 25-30) Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. Seeing his mother and the disciple he loved standing near her, Jesus said to his mother, ‘Woman, this is your son’. Then to the disciple he said, ‘This is your mother’. And from that moment the disciple made a place for her in his home.
2
3
The 3rd Sorrow They were overcome when they saw him, and his mother said to him, ‘My child, why have you done this to us? See how worried your father and I have been, looking for you.’ ‘Why were you looking for me?’
16/04/2012 14:54