History
There were seven sorrowful events that the Blessed Virgin
Mary experienced, which is why we also call her Our Lady of Sorrows or Our Lady
of Compassion (because compassion means “to suffer with”). Each one of those
events involved Mary suffering for Jesus’ sake. Sometime during the 11th
century, Catholics began to set aside a day devoted to mediating on these seven
events. It became an official feast day in 1482, and we now call it the Feast
of Our Lady of Sorrows.
1.
Simeon’s prophesy that Mary’s would be “pierced
with a sword” (Luke 2:35)
2.
The flight into Egypt (Matthew 2:13)
3.
“Losing” Jesus in Jerusalem when He was 12 years
old (Luke 2:48)
4.
Meeting Jesus on His way to Calvary
5.
Standing at the foot of the Cross with Jesus
(John 19:25)
6.
Jesus being taken down from the Cross
7.
Jesus’s burial.
Activity
It might seem odd to “celebrate” seven sorrowful
occasions with a feast, but if you stop and think about each one of them, you will
see that each of them is an opportunity for Jesus to be glorified. For your
feast today, make a heart-shaped cake using your favorite recipe (or a mix),
frost it anyway you like, and then piece it with a “sword.” I used our bread
knife, wrapping the wooden handle in aluminum to look like a sword handle, and
then I inserted it into the cake at an angle. Alternatively, you could bake
heart-shaped cookies and then cut out small sword shapes out of aluminum and
place one on each cookie (remove before eating).
Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us!
More reading for parents:
Prayers to Our Lady of Sorrows
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