Seven Dolors of Our Lady

Fr. Scott Haynes

A Story of Mercy through Our Lady’s Sorrows

Saint Bridget of Sweden, who received extraordinary revelations from heaven, relates a striking episode. A nobleman had sunk into terrible depths of sin, enslaved by his passions and vices. So far had he fallen that he even entered into a pact with Satan, binding himself as the devil’s servant for sixty years. During those decades of darkness, he never approached the sacraments, and his life was one of complete estrangement from God.

At last, the hour of his death approached. In His boundless mercy, Christ appeared to St. Bridget and told her to send a priest to the dying man, urging him to confess. The priest went, but the man refused, insisting that he had no need. The priest returned a second time; again, he was rejected.

But Jesus commanded Bridget to send the priest once more. This time, the confessor spoke plainly: “The Lord Himself sends me, for He desires to show mercy to your soul.” Hearing this, the hardened sinner broke down in tears. He cried out: “How can I be forgiven? For sixty years I have served the devil, laden my soul with sins, and made myself his slave!”

The priest gently replied, “Son, do not doubt. If you repent, God will pardon you.”

Encouraged by this promise, the man made his confession—not once, but four times in that same day, as sorrow for sin overwhelmed him. The next day, he received Holy Communion, and within a week he died, contrite and reconciled to God.

Christ told St. Bridget that this man was saved and passed into purgatory. The reason? Despite all his sins, he had preserved one devotion: whenever he saw an image of Mary or thought of her, he remembered her Seven Dolors. Because of this simple yet faithful devotion, Our Lady intervened and obtained for him the grace of final repentance.

This story is a living reminder that devotion to Mary’s sorrows is not a mere pious exercise—it is a lifeline of grace, even for the most hardened sinners.

The Foundation of the Devotion

The scriptural root of this devotion is Simeon’s prophecy at the Presentation in the Temple:

“And thy own soul a sword shall pierce, that, out of many hearts, thoughts may be revealed” (Luke 2:35).

Mary knew from the beginning that her life would not be sheltered from suffering. She understood that her vocation as Mother of the Redeemer meant sharing fully in His mission of salvation, even unto the Cross. The sword of sorrow pierced her heart as she accompanied Jesus in His Passion, standing steadfast beneath His Cross when others fled.

The Church, in her wisdom, has traditionally meditated on seven sorrows in Mary’s life:

1. The Prophecy of Simeon.

2. The Flight into Egypt.

3. The Loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple.

4. Mary meets Jesus on the road to Calvary.

5. The Crucifixion and Death of Jesus.

6. The Body of Jesus placed in Mary’s arms.

7. The Burial of Jesus.

In each dolor, the heart of the Mother is united with the suffering of the Son.

The Theology of Suffering

Dom Prosper Guéranger, the great Benedictine liturgist, observed that God regards suffering as an immense gift, since He gave so much of it to His beloved Son. Likewise, in His love for Mary, God permitted her to share profoundly in the sufferings of Christ.

Suffering, then, is not meaningless. It is the crucible in which love is tested. To love without sacrifice is an empty sentiment. But to suffer with Christ and His Mother is to enter the mystery of redemption.

As Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira reminds us:

“Our suffering only has value to the degree that we accept these sufferings with a supernatural spirit instead of complaining about them. We must accept these trials as soldiers moving forward in the fight.”

Mary shows us how to do this. She did not rebel against her sorrows. She accepted them with faith, hope, and love.

Living Devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows

What, then, does devotion to the Seven Dolors mean for us?

1. Consolation of Mary. We join our hearts to hers, consoling her in her grief as she once stood by her crucified Son.

2. Imitation of Mary. Like her, we embrace our own crosses with courage, trusting that God permits trials for our sanctification.

3. Intercession through Mary. As the story of St. Bridget’s nobleman teaches, Our Lady of Sorrows powerfully intercedes for those who honor her sorrows, even if they are great sinners.

This devotion is traditionally practiced by praying the Chaplet of the Seven Sorrows, meditating on each dolor while reciting the Hail Mary. Many also wear the black scapular of the Seven Dolors, which is enriched with indulgences.

Embracing Suffering in Union with Christ

Mary’s sorrows remind us that we, too, must bear the cross. To be a Christian is not to escape suffering, but to give it meaning by uniting it to Christ. Our Lord told His disciples: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23).

Every trial—whether illness, persecution, or hidden disappointments of daily life—can become a means of sanctification if embraced in union with the Sorrows of Mary. We can say, with her: Fiat voluntas tua—“Thy will be done.”

A Call to Action

Let us not waste our sorrows. Each pain, each setback, each humiliation is an opportunity to console the Heart of Mary and to aid in the salvation of souls. By offering our sufferings in reparation for sin, we follow the example of Mary, who offered her sorrows at the foot of the Cross.

The nobleman in St. Bridget’s vision reminds us that no sinner is beyond hope if he clings to Mary. Even after sixty years of slavery to the devil, the memory of Mary’s sorrows opened the door to conversion.

So let us resolve: whenever we see her image, whenever we meditate on her Dolors, we will entrust our own sorrows to her and ask her to intercede for us at the hour of our death.

Conclusion

September, the month dedicated to the Seven Sorrows of Mary, is a privileged time to draw close to her pierced heart. In meditating on her Dolors, we learn how to endure suffering with faith, how to offer it with love, and how to hope for mercy even in our darkest hour.

Mary’s sorrows were immense, yet her love was greater still. By keeping devotion to her Dolors, we place ourselves under her maternal protection. And as she saved the soul of that despairing nobleman, so she will not fail to extend her mantle of mercy over us, if only we call upon her in faith.

The Rosary of the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady.pdf

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