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Views from the Choir Loft

Homily — “Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Mother” • Father Valentine Young, OFM

Jeff Ostrowski · September 15, 2020

The following is by Father Valentine Young, OFM, a faithful Catholic priest who died on 17 January 2020. It was delivered sometime between 2013 and 2020. To learn more about Father Valentine, please scroll to the bottom of the page.

Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary

*  PDF Download • READINGS IN LATIN
—Notice how the Sequence is optional in the Ordinary Form.

EPTEMBER FIFTEENTH is the Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Mother. The Feast is not celebrated when it falls on a Sunday because Sundays are usually of a higher rank and are therefore celebrated instead of a lower ranking feast. (However the Feast is commemorated at Lauds in the Divine Office and at Mass in the Extraordinary Form.) In a recent discussion, the topic of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Mother came up. Someone asked: “How many Catholics nowadays even know about the seven Sorrows or what they are?” I might ask you: “Do you know what Our Lady’s Seven Sorrows are?” For the sake of those who may not remember, I will mention and briefly comment on them.

In general: The “Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Mother” are events in her life—or the life of our Lord—which caused her special suffering. The first one occurred forty days after Jesus was born. Mary and Joseph took Him to the temple in Jerusalem to offer Him to God (as prescribed by the Jewish law). On this occasion, they met an elderly, saintly man named Simeon. Being a good and devout Jew, Simeon knew the Scriptures and felt that the time for the arrival of the Messiah was near. God promised him that he would not die until he had actually seen and met the promised Redeemer. Simeon recognized Mary and Joseph with the Infant Jesus when they came to the temple. It was then that Simeon first prayed that canticle or hymn which we know as the “Nunc Dimittis.” Now you can dismiss your servant (i.e. “allow him to die”) because his eyes had witnessed the Salvation of the nations.

Simeon & Mary: Then Simeon said something rather strange to Mary, namely that this child would be the cause or reason for her heart to be pierced as it were by a sword of sorrow. This was the first instance of Mary having to suffer because of her role as the mother of the Savior. The second sorrow came later, when Joseph was told by an angel that he must take Mary and Jesus and flee to Egypt because the wicked King Herod wanted to kill the child. The third sorrow occurred when Jesus was twelve years old and stayed behind in the temple. For almost three days they had to go back and look for Him. Those must have been agonizing days for Mary and Joseph.

Fourth through Seventh: The 4th to the 7th sorrows are all contained in what we know as the Via Crucis (“Stations of the Cross”). The 4th sorrow was Jesus meeting His mother as He was carrying His Cross to Mount Calvary; the 5th is the actual crucifixion of Jesus; the 6th is Jesus being placed in Mary’s arms and lap when His dead body is taken down from the cross. The 7th sorrow is the burial of Jesus in the tomb. Just imagine how painful that walk from the tomb to where she was staying must have been for Mary.

Meditation: I didn’t spend much time in commenting or reflecting on the various sorrows. I feel you can do that for yourselves. But I think we will all agree that these must have been traumatic events in the life of the Blessed Mother.

Conclusion: During World War II, devotion to our mother of sorrows was very popular. Churches would be filled on Friday evenings for the Sorrowful Mother novena and Benediction. Back then people were praying especially for the safe return of their loved ones who had to fight in the war. The Church is certainly in a spiritual “war” now. Maybe the Blessed Mother wants us to pay more attention to the suffering she had to undergo as the mother of our Savior. It is perhaps unfortunate that sometimes devotions in the Church “come and go” like other fads. There’s nothing keeping us from renewing devotion to the Sorrowful Mother. It might be the answer to some of our present difficulties and problems in the Church.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Seven Sorrows, Valentine Young SERMON Last Updated: September 15, 2020

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About Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004). He resides with his wife and children in Michigan. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Simplest “Agnus Dei” Ever Published
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. I needed a relatively simple “Agnus Dei,” so I composed this setting for organ & voice in honor of Saint René Goupil. It has been called the simplest setting ever composed. I love CARMEN GREGORIANUM (“Gregorian Chant”), especially the ALLELUIAS, INTROITS, and COMMUNION ANTIPHONS. That being said, some have pointed out that certain sections of the Kyriale aren’t as strong as the Graduale or Vesperale. There’s a reason for this—but it would be too complicated to explain at this moment.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. However, on the feasts website, the chants have been posted for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C), which is this coming Sunday: 6 July 2025.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Bugnini’s Statement (6 November 1966)
    With each passing day, more is revealed about how the enemies of the liturgy accomplished their goals. For instance, Hannibal Bugnini deeply resented the way Vatican II said Gregorian Chant “must be given first place in liturgical services.” On 6 November 1966, his cadre wrote a letter attempting to justify the elimination of Gregorian Chant with this brazen statement: “What really gives a Mass its tone is not so much the songs as it is the prayers and readings.” Bugnini’s cadre then attacked the very heart of Gregorian Chant (viz. the Proprium Missae), bemoaning how the Proprium Missae “is completely new each Sunday and feast day.” There is much more to be said about this topic. Stay tuned.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

“Chants closely related to the readings should, of course, be appropriately transferred for use with these readings. For pastoral reasons also there is an option regarding the chants for the Proper of Seasons: namely, as circumstances suggest, to replace the text proper to a day with another text belonging to the same season.”

— Ordo Cantus Missae (1971)

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