Prayer
The Litany of Our Lady of Sorrows
The traditional litany honouring the Blessed Virgin Mary in her Seven Sorrows — the Mother of Sorrows whom the Servite Order has venerated for centuries. What it is, the seven sorrows, and how it is prayed.
The Litany of Our Lady of Sorrows is a traditional prayer that honours the Blessed Virgin Mary in her great sorrows and begs her intercession, addressing her under the titles by which the Church has long invoked the Mater Dolorosa, the Mother of Sorrows. Below we set out what this litany is, the Seven Sorrows it recalls, and how it is prayed.
What the Litany of Our Lady of Sorrows is
A litany is a form of prayer made of short invocations, each answered by a fixed response — here, pray for us. This one belongs to the ancient devotion of the Servite Order to the Mother of Sorrows, the Friars who took for their special care the compassion of Our Lady at the foot of the Cross. The Church keeps the feast of the Seven Dolours, Our Lady of Sorrows, on the fifteenth of September, the day after the Exaltation of the Holy Cross — for the sorrow of the Mother cannot be parted from the Passion of the Son.
The litany walks the heart through Mary's union with the suffering of Christ, that we who pray it may share, in our small measure, her compassion, and through her be drawn nearer to the Cross of her Son.
The Seven Sorrows of Our Lady
The devotion gathers the sufferings of Our Lady into seven, drawn from the Gospels:
- The prophecy of Simeon — "thy own soul a sword shall pierce" (St Luke ii. 35).
- The flight into Egypt to save the Child from Herod.
- The loss of the Child Jesus for three days in Jerusalem.
- The meeting of Jesus and Mary on the way to Calvary.
- The Crucifixion, as she stood beneath the Cross (St John xix. 25).
- The taking down of Jesus from the Cross and His resting in her arms.
- The burial of Jesus in the sepulchre.
To meditate on these seven is the heart of the devotion, and the substance of the Seven Sorrows chaplet prayed by the Servites.
How the litany is prayed
After the opening Lord, have mercy and the invocation of the Most Holy Trinity, the faithful address Our Lady under her titles of sorrow, each answered pray for us. A few of its invocations give its character:
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us.
Mother of Sorrows, pray for us.
Mother whose soul a sword did pierce, pray for us.
Mother standing by the Cross of Jesus, pray for us.
Queen of Martyrs, pray for us.
It closes, as litanies do, with a versicle and a collect begging that, honouring the sorrows of the Mother, we may obtain the fruit of the Passion of her Son. Like all the Catholic litanies, it is prayed in the form the Church approved before 1958.
The fruit of the devotion
He who honours the sorrows of the Mother is led by her to the Cross of the Son, and to true contrition for the sins that nailed Him there. The Mother of Sorrows is also the comfort of the afflicted: to her the suffering, the bereaved, and the holy souls in purgatory have always turned, for she knows sorrow to its depths, and she is joined for ever to the Immaculate Heart we venerate. To her, as the Mother of God, no one who has recourse is left unheard.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you pray the Our Lady of Sorrows rosary?
The Servite rosary, or Seven Sorrows chaplet, is prayed by meditating on each of the seven sorrows of Our Lady in turn, saying one Our Father and seven Hail Marys for each, while keeping the sorrow before the mind. It closes with three Hail Marys in honour of the tears Mary shed. The Litany of Our Lady of Sorrows is often joined to it, and the full method is set out in our piece on the Seven Sorrows chaplet.
What are the Seven Sorrows of Mary?
They are the prophecy of Simeon, the flight into Egypt, the loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple, the meeting of Jesus and Mary on the way to Calvary, the Crucifixion, the taking down of Jesus from the Cross, and His burial. Each is drawn from the Gospels, beginning with Simeon's word that "thy own soul a sword shall pierce" (St Luke ii. 35).
What is the Litany of Our Lady of Sorrows?
It is a traditional prayer made of short invocations addressed to the Blessed Virgin Mary under her titles of sorrow, each answered pray for us. It belongs to the ancient devotion of the Servite Order to the Mater Dolorosa, the Mother of Sorrows, and leads the heart through Mary's union with the Passion of her Son.
When is the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows?
The Church keeps the feast of the Seven Dolours, Our Lady of Sorrows, on the fifteenth of September, the day after the Exaltation of the Holy Cross — for the sorrow of the Mother cannot be parted from the Passion of the Son.
Who is the Mater Dolorosa?
Mater Dolorosa is Latin for "Mother of Sorrows," the title under which the Church venerates the Blessed Virgin Mary in her sufferings, above all as she stood beneath the Cross (St John xix. 25). It is the same Mother of Sorrows whom the Servite Order has honoured for centuries.
The Iter Fidei app carries the Litany of Our Lady of Sorrows, the Seven Sorrows chaplet, and the prayers of the Church, in Latin and your own language, with audio to pray along. Download it here.
Sources. The traditional Litany of Our Lady of Sorrows and the devotion of the Order of the Servants of Mary (the Servites) to the Seven Dolours; the feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary (15 September) in the traditional Roman calendar; Scripture (Douay-Rheims): St Luke ii. 35 and St John xix. 25.