Our Lady of Sorrows, at Carmelite church, Valletta, Malta. |
The liturgical feast of
Our Lady of Sorrows is celebrated a day after the feast of the Cross, and even
though we are far from the Lenten season, the church asks us to reflect on the
7 sorrows that Mary experienced. The 7 sorrows that Mary had to face were these:
1. Jesus’ circumcision.
2. The escape into Egypt.
3. Jesus lost and found
in the temple.
4. Seeing Jesus carrying
the cross and meeting him on the way to Calvary.
5. The crucifixion of
Jesus.
6. The Pieta, as the dead
body of Jesus is laid on her lap.
7. The burial of Jesus.
The beautiful hymn Stabat
Mater Dolorosa is sung frequently during Lent, especially during the Stations
of the Cross. The first three words mean “Stood the mournful Mother weeping,”
and the poem was written by Jacopone de Todi in the 13th century, and was set
to music by various composers including
Palestrina, Pergolesi, Scarlatti, Vivaldi, Haydn, Rossini, and Dvorák.
Here are the first 2 verses:
At the Cross her station
keeping,
stood the mournful Mother
weeping,
close to her Son to the
last.
Through her heart, His
sorrow sharing,
all His bitter anguish
bearing,
ow at length the sword
has passed.
No comments:
Post a Comment