Seven Sorrows

Amusingly, I noted, comparing the prayers of the two Masses I heard on Tuesday, that the orations for the Seven Sorrows in the Traditional Missal are very longwinded and un-Roman in style, whereas the corresponding orations in the Novus Ordo Missae are concise and very Roman in style!

Florence

To-day, all being well, I'll train from Rome up to Florence, and stay the night in what should be pretty nice digs next to Santa Croce - which I have just discovered, such is my ignorance, to the largest Franciscan church on earth, and the burial place of Michelangelo, Galileo, and many other famous sons of Italy...

Ah, Firenze! Dear to me for two reasons: here, at San Marco (which pray God I'll visit), Fra Angelico painted his sacred art; and here St Philip Neri was born, baptized and raised. (Like all Florentines, he was immersed in the saving waters at the great baptistry of the cathedral.)

To-day is also the feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin, sharing the voluntary, salvific sufferings of her Divine Son. Stabat Mater Dolorosa...

Officia Propria

Google Books gives access to all manner of curiosities - indulging myself, I did a search for Officia Propria, and found an 1824 edition of the special Breviary Offices proper to the Servite Order. They certainly went to town on things Marian, dolorous and otherwise: it seemed as if every feast of Our Lady had an Octave. Furthermore, each and every month, on the first unimpeded day, the Office of the Conception of the Virgin was to be used; on the second, that of her Most Holy Name; on the third, that of the Seven Holy Founders of the Servites; on the fourth, that of St Philip Benizi; on all free Fridays, that of the Seven Sorrows; and of course on all Saturdays, that of Our Lady. In addition to various Servite saints and blessed, several with Octaves, one other feature was noteworthy: St John the Evangelist, being Mary's adopted child, and thus a most appropriate model for Servites, had his Office said on the first free day after each Ember Week. One wonders if the Servites in the nineteenth century ever saw a ferial day at all!

Here is the Collect for the Servite Office of St John Evangelist, used four times a year:

Excita, Domine, spiritum, quo Virginis filius Joannes illam dilexit, ut eo repleti studeamus amare, quam amavit, eidemque condolere, ut condoluit. Per.

(Stir up, Lord, the spirit, with which the Virgin's son John loved her, that filled with it we may study to love what he loved, and to feel the same griefs that he grieved. Through…)

I must admit, I have always rather liked picturing St John as Our Lady's chaplain, reading Mass for her as she knelt on a prie-dieu, saying her own Hours! Fr Faber repeats the pious notion that, by a miracle, from one Communion to the next the Host remained undigested within her breast, as once her Son did abide in her womb... Hmmm. The fifth Lesson at Matins alludes to God, Who maketh men of one mind to dwell together in a house (Deus qui inhabitare facit unius moris in domo - Ps 67:7a; quoted in the Rule of St Augustine), when speaking of St John receiving the Sorrowful Virgin into his home, following that heart-wrenching commendation from the Cross: they dwelt together, being of one mind and heart in God.

Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary - II

Another text to pray and ponder - and to compare with the Stabat Mater:

Canon of the Crucifixion of Our Lord

and the Lamentation of the Most Holy Theotokos,

by Simeon the Logothete

Sung in the Byzantine Slavonic Rite at Little Compline on Holy and Great Friday.

From: The Lenten Triodion, Mother Mary & Archimandrite Kallistos Ware, trans., (London: Faber and Faber, 1984) 617-621. (With two slight alterations.)

(A canon consists of eight, or nine, sets of troparia, which are like antiphons; only the first troparion, the irmos, of each ode relates to the scriptural canticle thereof; the rest, though having the same melody, concern the topic of the canon, or rule of prayer; they were once sung between the verses of each canticle, but are now used by themselves.  The Second Ode, being very penitential, is usually omitted.

After the sixth ode, a kontakion and oikos are sung, as relics of an older system, whereby, together with the original scriptural canticles, an akathist was sung, being a metrical homily consisting of many kontakia and oikoi, modelled after the first pair of such.)

Ode One (Cf. Exodus 15:1-19, I will sing to the Lord)

(Irmos) Crossing the deep on foot as if it were dry land, the people of Israel saw Pharaoh their pursuer drowning in the waves, and they cried aloud: ‘Let us sing a song of victory to our God.’ (ii)

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

When she beheld her Son and Lord hanging on the Cross, the pure Virgin was torn with grief and, weeping bitterly with the other women, she cried out: ‘Woe is me!’ 

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

‘I see Thee, dearest and beloved Child, hanging on the Cross and my heart is wounded bitterly’, said the pure Virgin. ‘But in Thy love speak some word to Thy handmaiden.’

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

‘By Thine own will, my Son and Creator, Thou endurest a fearful death upon the Tree’, said the Virgin, standing by the Cross with the Beloved Disciple. 

Both now and ever and unto the ages of the ages. Amen.

‘How am I deprived of Him who is my hope, my joy, my gladness, of my Son and God. Woe is me! My heart is filled with anguish’, said the All-Pure weeping.

Ode Three (Cf. 1 Samuel 2:1-10, My heart exults in the Lord)

(Irmos) O Lord my God, there is none holy as Thou, who in Thy love hast raised up the horn of Thy faithful and established them upon the rock of Thy true faith. (ii)

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

‘For fear of the Jews, Peter has hid himself and all the faithful have fled, forsaking Christ’, said the Virgin lamenting. 

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

‘By Thy strange and fearful birth, my Son, I have been magnified above all mothers; but woe is me! Inwardly I burn as I see Thee now upon the Cross.’ 

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

‘I wish to take my Son down from the wood and to hold Him in my arms, as once I held Him when He was a little child’, said the All-Pure. ‘But alas! there is none to give Him to me.’

Both now and ever and unto the ages of the ages. Amen.

‘See, my sweet Light, my Hope and Life, my Son and God, has been quenched upon the Cross, and because of Him I burn’, said the Virgin shedding tears. 

Ode Four (Cf. Habakkuk 3:2-19, O Lord, I have heard the report of Thee)

(Irmos) ‘Christ is my strength, my God and Lord’, with reverence sings the Holy Church, raising her voice in purity and keeping feast in the Lord. (ii)

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

‘Sun that never sets, O pre-eternal God and Creator of all things, how dost Thou endure suffering upon the Cross?’ said the All-Pure weeping. 

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

Lamenting, the Virgin Mother said to Joseph: ‘O Joseph, go in haste to Pilate, and ask to take down the Master from the Tree.’ 

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

Seeing the Most Pure shedding bitter tears, Joseph was troubled and came in sorrow to Pilate, crying aloud: ‘Give me the body of my Lord.’ 

Both now and ever and unto the ages of the ages. Amen.

‘I see Thee bruised and wounded, without glory, stripped upon the Cross, O my Child, and my heart burns’, said the Virgin sorrowing with a mother’s grief. 

Ode Five (Cf. Isaiah 26:9-20, My soul yearns for Thee in the night)

(Irmos) I entreat Thee, gracious Lord, with Thy divine light shine upon the souls of those who with love seek Thee early in the morning: may they know Thee, Word of God, as God in very truth, who recallest them from the gloomy darkness of transgression. (ii)

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

Broken and distraught by grief, Joseph and Nicodemus took down the all-pure temple of the Master, His body, from the Cross; and they made lamentation and sang His praises as their Lord. 

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

The pure Virgin Mother wept as she took Him on her knees; her tears flowed down upon Him, and with bitter cries of grief she kissed him. 

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

‘My Son, my Lord and God, Thou wast the only hope of Thine handmaiden, my life and the light of mine eyes; and now, alas, I have lost Thee, my sweet and most beloved Child.’ 

Both now and ever and unto the ages of the ages. Amen.

‘Woe is me! Anguish and affliction and sighing have taken hold of me’, cried the pure Virgin, bitterly lamenting, ‘for I see Thee, my beloved Child, stripped, broken, anointed for burial, a corpse.’ 

Ode Six (Cf. Jonah 2:3-10, I called to the Lord out of my distress)

(Irmos) When I behold the swelling sea of life and the tempest of temptation, I run to Thy calm haven and I cry to Thee: Bring up my life from corruption, O Most Merciful. (ii)

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

‘In my arms I hold Thee as a corpse, O loving Lord, who hast brought the dead to life; grievously is my heart wounded and I long to die with Thee’, said the All-Pure, ‘for I cannot bear to look upon Thee lifeless and without breath.’ 

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

‘O God supreme in love, O Lord all-merciful, I am filled with horror as I see Thee dishonoured, lifeless, without beauty, stripped, and I weep as I hold Thee. Woe is me! I never thought to look upon Thee thus, my Son.’ 

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

‘O Word of God, hast Thou no word for Thy handmaiden? Hast Thou no pity, O Master, for Thy Mother?’ said the All-Pure, lamenting and weeping and kissing the sinless body of her Son. 

Both now and ever and unto the ages of the ages. Amen.

‘I reflect, O Master, how never again shall I hear Thy voice; never again shall Thy handmaiden see the beauty of Thy face as in the past; for Thou, my Son, hast sunk down before mine eyes.’

Kontakion

Come, and let us all sing the praises of Him who was crucified for us. For Mary said, when she beheld Him on the Tree: ‘Though Thou dost endure the Cross, yet Thou art my Son and God.’ 

Oikos

Seeing her own Lamb led to the slaughter, Mary His Mother followed Him with the other women and in her grief she cried: ‘Where dost Thou go, my Child? Why dost Thou run so swiftly? Is there another wedding in Cana, and art Thou hastening there, to turn the water into wine? Shall I go with Thee, my Child, or shall I wait for Thee? Speak some word to me, O Word; do not pass me by in silence. Thou hast preserved my virginity, and Thou art my Son and God.’ 

Ode Seven (Cf. Dan 3:26-56, Blessed art Thou, O Lord, God of our fathers)

(Irmos) An angel made the furnace moist with dew for the holy Young Men, but the Chaldaeans were consumed in flames by God’s command, so that the tyrant cried aloud: ‘O God of our fathers, blessed art Thou.’ (ii)

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

‘Where, O my Son and God, are the good tidings of the Annunciation that Gabriel brought me? He called Thee King and God and Son of the Most High; and now, O my sweet Light, I behold Thee naked, wounded, lifeless.’

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

‘Release me from agony and take me with Thee, O my Son and God. Let me also descend with Thee, O Master, into hell. Leave me not to live alone, for I cannot bear to look upon Thee, my sweet Light.’ 

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

With the other women bearing sweet spices, the holy Virgin lamented bitterly as she saw Christ carried to the sepulchre. ‘Woe is me!’ she cried. ‘What do I see? Where art Thou going now, my Son? Hast Thou left me here alone?’ 

Both now and ever and unto the ages of the ages. Amen.

In her despair and grief, the all-blameless Virgin said to the women carrying sweet spices: ‘Join with me to weep and bitterly lament: for see, my sweet Light and your Teacher is placed in the Tomb.’

Ode Eight (Cf. Dan 3:57-88, Bless the Lord, all works of the Lord)

(Irmos) Thou hast made dew fall from the flames for the holy Young Men, and Thou hast burnt up with water the sacrifice of Elias Thy righteous servant: for Thou, O Christ, dost accomplish all things by Thy will alone, and we exalt Thee above all for evermore. (ii)

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

Seeing the lamentation of the Virgin, Joseph was bitterly distressed and cried aloud in sorrow: ‘How shall I Thy servant, O my God, prepare Thy body now for burial? How shall I wrap it in a winding-sheet?’ 

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

This strange sight is beyond our understanding: the Lord who upholds all creation is held as a lifeless corpse in the arms of Joseph and Nicodemus, and they prepare His body for burial. 

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

‘A dread and terrible mystery do I behold’, the Virgin cried. ‘My Son, how art Thou laid in a narrow tomb, who dost by Thy command raise all the dead from the tomb?’ 

Both now and ever and unto the ages of the ages. Amen.

‘I shall not leave Thy tomb, my Child, nor shall I Thy handmaiden cease to shed tears, until I too descend to hell. For I cannot bear to be deprived of Thee, my Light.’ 

Ode Nine (Cf. Luke 1:46-55 & 1:68-79, My soul magnifies the Lord)

(Irmos) No man is able to see God, upon whom the ranks of angels dare not gaze; yet through thee, all-pure Virgin, the Word took flesh and showed himself to men. With all the hosts of heaven we magnify Him and we call thee blessed. (ii)

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

‘Never again shall joy be mine’, cried the Undefiled lamenting. ‘The Light of my Joy has gone down into the grave. But I shall not leave Him alone: here shall I also die and be buried with Him.’

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

‘Now heal the wound of my soul, O my Child’, cried the Holy Virgin weeping. ‘Rise and still my pain and bitter anguish. For Thou hast power, O Master, and canst perform what Thou dost will. Even Thy burial is voluntary.’ 

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

‘How hast thou not seen the depth of My tender love?’ said the Lord to the Pure Virgin. ‘Because I wish to save My creature, I have accepted to die. But I shall rise again and as God shall magnify thee in heaven and on earth.’ 

Both now and ever and unto the ages of the ages. Amen.

‘I sing in praise of Thy compassion, loving Lord, and I worship the wealth of Thy mercy. For as God willingly Thou hast accepted to save Thy creation’, said the all-pure Virgin. ‘But, O Saviour, by Thy Resurrection have mercy on us all.’ 

(Repetition of the Irmos) No man is able to see God, upon whom the ranks of angels dare not gaze; yet through thee, all-pure Virgin, the Word took flesh and showed himself to men. With all the hosts of heaven we magnify Him and we call thee blessed. 

Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Stemus juxta crucem cum Maria Matre Jesu,

Cujus animam doloris gladius pertransivit.

Thus sings the Church at the head of her Divine Office for the Seven Sorrows, calling all her children to hear and heed:

"Let us stand beside the Cross with Mary the Mother of Jesus,

Whose soul was pierced through with the sword of sorrow."

Some texts to ponder regarding Our Lady of Sorrows:

An Akathist, the Threnody of the Theotokos at the Foot of the Cross, by St Romanos the Melodist;

Venerable John Henry Newman's translation of the portion (ll. 1-24) of the Stabat mater dolorosa formerly used at the Passiontide Office of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Friday after Passion Sunday):

Cheerlessly and tearfully

Stood the dolorous Mother nigh 

To the Cross that bore her Son; 

And her soul was sore bestead 

Sank with Him, and with Him bled 

For a sword through it had gone. 

O how sad and melancholy 

Seemed she then, that Mother holy 

Of the Father's Onlyborn; 

Who was sighing and was tearful 

And did tremble at the fearful 

Pains with which her Son was torn. 

Who could see her and not weep 

Christ's own Mother in so deep 

And so bitter punishment? 

Whose the heart but could condole 

With that Mother's tender soul 

In her Son's afflictions rent? 

For She* saw Him tortured 

By the scourge and cross, instead 

Of His people sunk and lost; 

For She* saw her sweet firstborn 

In the throes of death forlorn 

Giving up at length the ghost. 

[*sic; so capitalized in original]

Ferial Mass

Owing to all the confusion over which Ordo to follow, we ended up having Low Mass of the feria (with commemoration of Our Lady of Sorrows), and will do St Patrick after Low Sunday!

I was secretly glad (despite having said Office of the Saint); there were some gems in the Proper for Friday of Passion week: all the orations (vide infra); the phrase (Jer. xvii, 14) in the Epistle, Sana me, Domine, et sanabor: salvum me fac, et salvus ero: quoniam laus mea tu es ("Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed: save me, and I shall be saved: for Thou art my praise"); the Gospel pericope (St John xi, 47-54) setting the scene for Our Lord's Passion, since it details the conspiring of the chief priests and pharisees, their fear that the Romans will come to destroy the Temple and the nation - which in the end all their machinations only provoked, not prevented, O tragic treachery! - and the unconscious prophecy of Caiphas, that it is expedient for one man to die for the people, to which the Evangelist adds "he prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation, and not only for the nation, but to gather together in one the children of God that were dispersed".

The orations:

Cordibus nostris, quæsumus, Domine, gratiam tuam benignus infunde: ut peccata nostra castigatione voluntaria cohibentes, temporaliter potius maceremur, quam suppliciis deputemur æternis. Per...

(Pour forth Thy grace into our hearts, we beseeech Thee, Lord, that we who refrain from sin by self-denial, may rather afflicted in time than condemned to punishment in eternity. Through...)

How appropriate a post-confession prayer is this collect! And for Our Lady of Sorrows, invoking with her all the Saints who have taken their stand beneath the Cross:

Deus, in cujus passióne, secúndum Simeónis prophétiam, dulcíssimam ánimam gloriosæ Vírginis et Matris Maríæ dolóris gládius pertransívit: concéde propítius; ut, qui transfixiónem ejus et passiónem venerándo recolimus, gloriosis meritis et précibus ómnium Sanctórum cruci fideliter astántium intercedéntibus, passiónis tuæ effectum felicem consequámur: Qui vivis et regnas...

(O God, in Whose passion the sword of grief did pierce the gentle soul of the glorious Virgin Mary, Thy Mother, that so might be fulfilled the word of thy Prophet Simeon: mercifully grant that we who here do call to mind the suffering whereby she was pierced, may by the glorious merits and prayers of all the Saints who have faithfully stood beneath the Cross, be filled with the blessed fruits of Thy passion. Who livest and reignest...)

Præsta nobis, misericors Deus: ut digne tuis servire semper altaribus mereamur; et eorum perpetua participatione salvari. Per...

(Grant unto us, merciful God, that we may deserve ever worthily to minister at Thine altars, and to be saved by our constant participation thereat. Through...)

This secret, too, admirably sums up what we hope to do and thus to gain from our attendance upon the Divine service, and the second secret reinforces the sentiments of the second collect:

Offerimus tibi preces et hostias, Domine Jesu Christe, humiliter supplicantes: ut, qui Transfixionem dulcissimi spiritus beatae Mariae, Matris tuae, precibus recensemus; suo, suorumque sub Cruce Sanctorum consortium multiplicato piissimo interventu, meritis mortis tuae, meritum cum beatis habeamus. Qui vivis...

(We offer unto Thee prayers and oblations, Lord Jesu Christ, humbly beseeching that we, who recall in our prayers the transfixion of the most sweet spirit of blessed Mary, Thy Mother, through the merits of Thy death and by the most pious multiplied intervention of her and of her holy companions beneath the Cross, may share the reward of the blessed. Who livest...)

The postcommunions emphasise well the hoped-for fruits of the Sacrament:

Sumpti sacrificii, Domine, perpetua nos tuitio non derelinquat: et noxia semper a nobis cuncta depellat. Per...

(May the protection of the sacrifice we have received not forsake us, Lord, but ever keep from us all that is harmful. Through...)

Sacrificia, quae sumpsimus, Domine Jesu Christe, Transfixionem Matris tuae et Virginis devote celebrantes: nobis impetrent apud clementiam tuam omnis boni salutaris effectum. Qui vivis...


Previous to the Mass, we had had Stations of the Cross, with the singing of the Stabat Mater, and constant reflection on the suffering of Him Who so loves man as to die for us sinners. It made for an excellent and healthful meditation, especially after having made my humble confession, and prayed the Rosary with some slight attention.