Meditations on the Seven Sorrows

“Each day, child, meditate for a few minutes on 
the Passion of Jesus,

and I promise you that you will be holy.”

 MEDITATIONS ON THE SEVEN SORROWS

OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

(Excerpts taken from Roses and Thorns by Ven. Concepcion Cabrera de Armida (Conchita)

The First Sorrow – The prophecy of Simeon

“…there was a thorn for me in the words of Simeon, which embittered my soul for life; sorrow without a name, hearing that Jesus was destined as the ruin and resurrection of many in Israel, and to be a sign of contradiction.  Simeon said, ‘This child is destined for the ruin and the resurrection of many in Israel, and as a sign of contradiction.’  Then he continued immediately, prophesying, ‘And a sword shall pierce your own soul.’  What sword?  To see my children wander down the slope of vice, scorning the Gospel.  Stay and see if there is a greater sorrow for a mother than the eternal misfortune of her children.

The Second Sorrow – The flight into Egypt

“With what sorrow I recall the night of terror in which an angel told my spouse Joseph that we must flee into Egypt with the Child because Herod sought to kill Him.  It was not Herod who obliged the Son of God to flee, but the son of God who wished to do this.  He did not flee out of fear, but by design; not out of need, but of power.  There He was to seek out sorrow for the continuance of His path to Calvary in a burning desert, through a pagan land, by suffering the hardships of the long road in bad weather, by living in even greater poverty, exiled and without liberty, hiding Himself from men for your salvation.”  “My soul was crushed by the pain of what He was to suffer…”  “The echo of the wailing mothers whose children were sacrificed to save the life of the Savior – those innocent flowers, the first of the martyrs – reached me; my soul was drowned in sorrow…”

The Third Sorrow – The loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple

“What my heart endured at that time no one can conceive.  Can you even imagine Mary without her Jesus, the Virgin Mother without her divine son, the immaculate sheep without her holy Lamb who takes away the sins of the world?  Finally, after three deathly days for my heart, we found Him in the Temple among the doctors who looked upon Him, overwhelmed with His wisdom.”  “I humbled myself although I had no fault.  Night and day I wept and sacrificed myself until I found Him.  You must do the same.”

The Fourth Sorrow – The meeting of Jesus and Mary on the Way of the Cross

“With a glance of my soul, I followed Jesus as He left the house of Herod, in the white robe of a fool, the people hissing and howling with furious delight.  I saw Him as a criminal in the presence of Pilate…”  “I followed Him to the scourging, and, O child of my soul!  I did not die only because I had to be your mother.  O barbarous torment, which I will never forget!”  “Then I saw Him bearing the cross.”  “I saw how He spoke to the women who wept for Him with so much love.” 

The Fifth Sorrow – The Crucifixion and Death of Jesus

“And among the throng of people and the crosses and the thieves who accompanied the innocent Lamb, I saw Him mount the hill of Calvary, staggering, and I saw Him extend Himself upon the cross in order to be nailed to it, so that He might attract you to Him when He was raised on high.  Each hammer beat opened a deep wound in my heart.”  “I saw how they nailed His purest hands, which knew only how to bless, and His sacred feet, which became fatigued in seeking you.  Then I heard those last words of life, of pardon, of mercy.  “During the three hours of torment I saw Him agonizing, and at the end, my child, dying without any support other than the cross, the nails, and the thorns.”

The Sixth Sorrow – The taking down of the Body of Jesus from the Cross

“There I stood to defend Him with a multitude of angels, who wept at the outrageous sacrileges…”  I waited until that divine Body would pass from the cross on which He expired to the living cross from which He was born.  And thus it was that I received the holy Body of Jesus in my trembling arms; with all the delicacy of my love, I took the crown of thorns from His blessed brow; and, my soul burning with celestial tenderness, I tried to communicate again some warmth and life to the cold Body of my son, because not even in death did He wish to close His arms so that He could wait for you to throw yourself into them.”

The Seventh Sorrow – The burial of Jesus

“The next farewell was when the stone closed the holy sepulcher and one body and two hearts remained in it: that of Jesus and mine; or, only one, so great a unity had we known!  What terrible sorrow, comprehensible only to a mother!  And I remained alone, alone; because everything was as nothing for me without Jesus.”

Lynne B.