00:00Today, September 15, the Church celebrates Our Lady of Sorrows,
00:05also known as the Virgin of the Seven Sorrows.
00:10This liturgical feast, closely linked to the Cross of Christ, celebrated yesterday during the Exaltation of the Holy Cross,
00:18invites us to contemplate the deep compassion of Mary, Mother of Jesus,
00:23who shared the sufferings of his Son until Calvary.
00:26From the first centuries, Christians recognized in Mary a woman whose heart was pierced by pain.
00:35The Gospel, according to Saint Luke, reports the prophecy of the old man Simeon in the Temple,
00:41who announced to Mary “Your soul will be pierced with a sword.”
00:47This mysterious word took on its full meaning at the foot of the Cross,
00:51when Mary stood silently, witnessing the torture of her beloved Son.
00:59Devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows developed in the Middle Ages,
01:03notably thanks to the Servants of Mary, a religious order founded in Florence in the 13th century.
01:10These religious wanted to honor the Virgin in her sufferings,
01:14in particular through meditation on the Seven Sorrows which mark his life.
01:18These spiritual steps have become a place of prayer and contemplation for generations of the faithful.
01:28What are these Seven Sorrows?
01:31The first is the prophecy of Simeon, which announces to Mary the future suffering.
01:38The second is the flight into Egypt,
01:41when the Holy Family must leave Bethlehem in a hurry to escape the cruelty of Herod.
01:45The third is the loss of the child Jesus in Jerusalem,
01:52which plunges his parents into deep anguish for three days.
01:57The fourth sorrow is the encounter of Mary and Jesus carrying his cross on the road to Calvary.
02:03The fifth is the crucifixion and death of his Son, a moment of unspeakable suffering.
02:09The sixth is the taking down of Jesus from the cross and his body being placed in his mother's arms.
02:16Finally, the seventh pain is the entombment,
02:20when Mary must separate from the one she carried and loved.
02:26These steps sum up all of Mary's maternal compassion.
02:29His pain is not only personal,
02:33It is also the sign of his intimate union with the redemptive mission of Christ.
02:39Mary is not content to be a witness,
02:41she participates in the offering of her Son
02:43in a mystery of love and unshakeable faith.
02:46The feast of Our Lady of Sorrows has been inserted into the calendar of the universal Church
02:52by Pope Pissette at the beginning of the 19th century,
02:57as a token of gratitude for his release from captivity imposed by Napoleon.
03:03It was set for September 15,
03:05immediately after the feast of the Glorious Cross,
03:08to mark the inseparable link between the passion of Christ and the compassion of his mother.
03:12Even today, the faithful find sorrows in Our Lady
03:17a caring mother close to all their suffering.
03:22She particularly supports those who are going through the ordeal,
03:25the loss of a child, illness or anxiety.
03:29His silent presence at the foot of the Cross becomes a sign of hope.
03:34Pain doesn't have the last word,
03:36because it opens to resurrection and new life.
03:39Many artistic representations show the Virgin of Sorrows,
03:45often dressed in black or dark blue,
03:48with a heart pierced by seven swords, symbolizing his suffering.
03:53In churches, statues or paintings recall this universal maternal figure,
03:59so close human tears,
04:01and yet turned towards the light of Easter.
04:03So celebrate Our Lady and Sorrows on September 15
04:06entrusted to Mary all our distresses and our sorrows,
04:10some that she carries them with us
04:11and may she guide us to the consolation of her Son.
04:15Subtitling Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
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