This rosary is particularly meaningful to me because it allows me to enter into the sufferings of Our Blessed Mother and by so doing; she is able to enter into mine. I can not tell how or why this happens, but that it does happen and is one of the deepest mysteries of our spiritual life.
Because it has almost as many beads as a regular rosary, the Seven Sorrows chaplet is also known as the Seven Sorrows Rosary. Another name for this rosary is the Servite rosary because it originated with the order of Servites.
Because the book: My Treasury of Chaplets by Patricia S. Quintiliani does an excellent job of explaining how to pray the Seven Sorrows rosary, I have shamelessly lifted her description word for word. This can be found on pages 183 – 190 of her book. I am putting it on my blog for the convenience of people who may not own this book and who may not have access to it. The only changes I have made is to simplify the language and make it more readable for the modern English reader. Nevertheless, it is important to me to acknowledge my dept to Ms. Quintiliani.
The Seven Sorrows or Seven Dolors rosary consists of a ring of seven groups of seven beads separated by small medals or decorative beads. A further series of three beads and a medal are also attached to the chain (before the first dolor) and these are dedicated to prayer in honor of Mary's Tears, as well as to indicate the beginning of the chaplet. Traditionally, the beads are of black wood or some other black material indicating sorrow. But now, the beads can be any color. The seven groups of seven Hail Marys are recited in remembrance of the Seven Sorrows of Mary, namely:
- The prophecy of Simeon
- The flight into Egypt
- The loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple
- Mary meets Jesus carrying His cross
- The crucifixion
- Mary receives the body of Jesus from the Cross
- The body of Jesus is placed in the tomb
Three Hail Marys are added in remembrance of the tears Mary shed because of the suffering of her Divine Son. These are said to obtain true sorrow for our sins. Following is the concluding prayer
V. Pray for us, O most sorrowful Virgin
R. That we may be made worth of the promises of Christ.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, we now implore, both for the present and for the hour of our death, the intercession of the most Blessed Virgin Mary, Thy Mother, whose holy soul was pierced at the time of Thy passion by a sword of grief. Grant us this favor, O Savior of the world, Who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.
Prayers for the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows of Mary – The Long Version
With meditations by St. Alphonsus Liguori
V. God come to my assistance
R. O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be world without end. Amen.
Strophe:
My mother, share your grief with me,
And let me bear your company
To mourn Jesus’ death with you.
Meditations on the First Dolor
I pity you, O afflicted Mother, on account of the first sword of sorrow which pierced you, when in the Temple all the outrages which men would inflict on your beloved Jesus were presented before you by Saint Simeon, and which you already knew by the Sacred Scriptures; outrages which were to cause Him to die before your eyes, on an infamous Cross, exhausted of His blood, abandoned by all, all while you were unable to defend or help Him. By that bitter knowledge, then, which for so many years afflicted your heart, I beseech you, my Queen, to obtain for me the grace that during my .life and at death, I may ever keep the Passion of Jesus and your sorrows impressed upon my heart.
Our Father, seven Hail Marys, and the Strophe are repeated after each Dolor.
Meditation on the Second Dolor:
I pity you my afflicted Mother, for the second sword which pierced you, when soon after His birth you beheld your innocent Son threatened with death by those very men for whose salvation He had come into the world, so that in darkness of night, thou were obliged to fly secretly with Him into Egypt. By the many hardships, then, which you, a delicate young woman, in company with your exiled Child, endured a long and fatiguing journey through rough and desert countries, and during your residence in Egypt, where, being unknown and a stranger, you lived for so many years in poverty and contempt. I beseech you, my beloved Lady, to obtain for me the grace to suffer in your company with patience until death all of the trials of this miserable life, that I may thus in the next life escape the eternal punishments of Hell, which I have deserved.
Our Father, seven Hail Marys, and the Strophe
Meditation on the Third Dolor:
I pity you my sorrowful Mother, on account of the third sword which pierced you in the loss of they dear Son Jesus, who remained absent from you in Jerusalem for three days. No longer seeing your Beloved by your side and not knowing the cause of His absence, I can well imagine, my loving Queen, that during those nights you did not sleep and only sighed for Him, Who was your treasure. By the sighs, then, of those three days which for you were so long and bitter, I beseech you to obtain for me the grace that I may never lose my God, that so, always clinging to Him, I may leave the world united to Him.
Our Father, seven Hail Marys, and the Strophe
Meditation on the Fourth Dolor:
I pity you, my sorrowful Mother, for the fourth sword which pierced you in seeing your Son condemned to death, bound with cords and chains, covered with blood and wounds, under the heavy weight of the Cross which He carried on His wounded shoulder, going as an innocent Lamb to die for love of us. Your eyes met His, and His met yours; and your glances were as so many cruel arrows which wounded your loving hearts. By this great sorrow, then, I beseech you to obtain for me the grace to live in all things resigned to the will of my God and to carry my cross cheerfully in company with Jesus, until my last breath.
Our Father, seven Hail Marys, and the Strophe
Meditation on the Fifth Dolor:
I pity you my afflicted Mother, for the fifth sword which pierced you, when on Mount Calvary you beheld your beloved Son Jesus slowly dying before your eyes, amid so many torments and insults, on the hard bed of the Cross, where you were unable to give Him even the least of those comforts which are granted to the greatest criminals at the hour of death. I beseech you by the agony which you, my most loving Mother, endured, together with your dying Son, and by the sadness which you felt when, for the last time, He spoke to you from the Cross and bade you farewell and left all of us in the person of Saint John to you as your children; by that constancy with which you saw Him bow down His head and expire, I beseech you to obtain for me the grace from the crucified Love to live and die crucified to all earthly things, that I may spend my life for God alone and thus one day enter Paradise to enjoy Him face to face.
Our Father, seven Hail Marys, and the Strophe
Meditation on the Sixth Dolor:
I pity you my afflicted Mother, for the sixth sword which pierced your heart when you saw the sweet Heart of your Son pierced through and through. He was already dead and had died for those ungrateful creatures who, even after His death, were not satisfied with the torments they had inflicted upon Him. By this cruel sorrow, which was completely yours, I beseech you to obtain for me the grace to dwell in the Heart of Jesus, wounded and open for me; in that Heart, I say, which is the beautiful abode of love, in which all souls who love God repose; and that, living there, I may never think of or love anything but God. Most sacred Virgin, you can obtain this for me; from you do I hope for it.
Our Father, seven Hail Marys, and the Strophe
Meditation on the Seventh Dolor:
I pity you my afflicted Mother, for the seventh sword which pierced your heart on seeing your Son already dead in your arms, no longer fair and beautiful as He was when you received Him in the stable of Bethlehem, but covered with blood, livid and all lacerated with wounds, so that even His bones could be seen. At that time, you said, “My Son, my Son, to what has love reduced You!” And when He was borne to the sepulcher, you accompanied Him and placed Him with your own hands in the tomb; and bidding Him your last farewell, you left your loving heart buried with your Son. By this martyrdom of your beautiful soul, obtain for me, O Mother of Fair Love, the forgiveness of the offenses which I have committed against my beloved God, and or which I repent with my whole heart. Please defend me in temptations and assist me at the moment of my death, that, saving my soul through the merits of Jesus and you, I may one day, after this miserable exile, go to Paradise to sing the praises of Jesus and of you for all eternity. Amen
Our Father, seven Hail Marys, and the Strophe
V. Pray for us, O most sorrowful Virgin,
R. That we made be made worth of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray
O Lord, at Whose Passion, according to the prophecy of Simeon, a sword of sorrow pierced through the sweetest soul of the glorious Virgin and Mother Mary, grant that we who commemorate and reverence her Dolors may experience the blessed effect of Your Passion, You who live and reign, world without end. AMEN.
