7 Sorrows (Dolors) of Mary

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 15 May 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Jeanette	15 May 2002
Does anyone include devotions to the Blessed Mother, as a Christian and/or as a Goddess type of thing? I kind of incorporate both, and my best friend just made me aware of the 7 sorrows of Mary. Briefly, they are the prophecy of Simeon (that Mary's heart would be pierced) the flight into Egypt the loss of the child Jesus in the temple the meeting of Jesus and Mary on the way of the cross the crucifixion the taking down of the body of Jesus from the cross the burial of Jesus I've also found out they are referred to as the 7 Dolors. Also, the Blessed Mother revealed to St. Bridget that 7 graces would be given to individuals that meditate on these sorrows: I will grant peace to their families. They will be enlightened about the divine mysteries. I will console them in their pains and I will accompany them in their work. I will give them as much as they ask for as long as it does not oppose the adorable will of my divine Son or the sanctification of their souls. I will defend them in their spiritual battles with the infernal enemy and I will protect them at every instant of their lives. I will visibly help them at the moment of their death, they will see the face of their Mother. I have obtained (this Grace) from my divine Son, that those who propagate this devotion to my tears and dolors, will be taken directly from the earthly life to eternal happiness since all their sins will be forgiven and my Son and I will be their eternal consolation and joy. I just thought others might enjoy this; since I've incorporated it into my prayers, I have felt more peaceful. Let me know what you think!

Logiatrix	15 May 2002
jeanette, this is a rosary i have also incorporated into my prayer-time. i have a chaplet devoted to this meditation--have you seen one like it? it is typically a plain, black set of beads, with five decades of seven beads each. the decades are divided by small medals depicting scenes of each of the seven sorrows. i made significant, healing use of this prayer when i was going through some very difficult health problems recently. now, i do a another rosary devotion that i wrote to the immaculate heart of mary, in celebration of mother's day (may is mary's month); for this one, i use a standard set of rosary beads that i always carry with me. i, too, like to focus my prayers on the goddess aspect of mary. my mother is catholic, and i have learned much from her. what a blessing it is for you to bring up this topic! i have been quite immersed in studying prayer right now, so, if you have any other ideas or questions (all my books are currently accessible, as in strewn everywhere), let me know. i offer this because i have found oodles of resources on mary, rosarys/chaplets, devotions, novenas and catholicism in general, and it has been thoroughly enjoyable! thanx, jeanette!

Jeanette	16 May 2002
Metaz, I'm so happy that you are also enjoying this. Prayer is so strong, and I hope you enjoy continued good health and spiritual peace. I guess I've always had a special devotion to Mary. I was baptized Catholic, but really don't feel "Catholic." I even took "Mary" as my confirmation name! Anyway, I was looking for a chaplet to buy, but couldn't find one, so I made one! I do lots of crafts, and had a huge can of beads. I only used 7 pearl type beads, one for each sorrow. Where did you find your chaplet?

Logiatrix	16 May 2002
jeanette, are you in the USA? i can get one for you from my favorite catholic bookstore...they're great; whatever they don't have on the shelves, they'll order. but i know that they DO have that particular chaplet, 'cuz i just picked one up for a friend a couple of weeks ago. i can pick one up for you and send it to you. there's also a chaplet devoted to the seven joys of mary called "the franciscan rosary"...ever heard of that one? making your own rosary must have been a very sacred act...i've not tried that, but i have seen a website run by a lady who makes rosaries, free of charge, for anyone who requests one.

Jeanette	17 May 2002
Metaz, you are so thoughtful to offer to get & send that chaplet to me! I'm not sure right now if I want to purchase one or not. You're right about making one, it really connects you to what your're doing. When I started looking into the 7 sorrows, I saw some websites with the 7 joys. I had no idea prior to this that all these different forms of rosaries existed! Thanks again for your offer, if I change my mind I'll let you know! BTW, I'm in Penna.

joya250	17 May 2002
hi. :) I'm curious! I don't know much about Mary (though I have been baptized Catholic) ... ... so, you are suppposed to meditate on these 7 sorrows? these are points in Mary's life where she experienced the most saddness? and we're supposed to reflect on these events? where would I find out more about this? thanks, joya

Jeanette	17 May 2002
Joya, the way I understand it (and I'm no expert) is that if you reflect on these sorrows, you will receive the benefits (graces) as revealed to St. Bridget. You are to pray 7 Hail Mary's for each sorrow (49 total) while meditating. If you are a mother, can you imagine being in Mary's place? Not just for these events, but from beginning to end (even being conceived immaculately, without sin!). I don't know anything about the St. Bridget part. There are websites that give some good info. about this, I just did a Google search and got a lot of results. I'm sure this doesn't answer all of your questions, because I'm still looking into it myself. Let us know how you do!

joya250	17 May 2002
hmmm, so in a way, Mary suffered for us women -- kinda like how Jesus suffered for our "sins" --- she experienced all this, so that we wouldn't have to -- we could just reflect on her experiences and learn from them, instead of going through it ourselves. I

The 7 Sorrows (Dolors) of Mary thread was originally posted on 15 May 2002 in the Spirituality board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Spirituality, or read more archived threads.