Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Madonna Addolorata

Mater Dolorosa, ora pro nobis

September 15th is the Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Madonna Addolorata, Our Lady of Sorrows. Often depicted as seven swords piercing Mary's heart, the Seven Sorrows are The Prophecy of Simeon; The Flight into Egypt; The Loss of Jesus in the Temple; The Meeting of Jesus and Mary on the Way of the Cross; The Crucifixion; The Taking Down of the Body of Jesus from the Cross; and Jesus laid in the Tomb. 

In remembrance, we're posting "For the Sorrowful Lady" (Pi l'Addulurata), a prayer from Prayers and Devotional Songs of Sicily, edited and translated by Peppino Ruggeri.(*) The accompanying photo of Madonna Addolorata was taken during my 2010 pilgrimage to the Chiesa dell'Addolorata in Sorrento. 

For the Sorrowful Lady

Of God you heavenly queen
Oh Mother in grief immersed
By you my soul be possessed
And from you a favor granted.

This ungrateful heart is ready
To be wounded and impaled
By your very holy sword.

Throughout my whole life
With sinning I delighted,
Now with sorrow weeping
Of my sins I am repenting,
I no longer want to sin
Better dead and by you consoled.

When to heaven your body ascends
With the precious power you hold
Shows its purity and its might
Mother forever hold me tight.

You must keep your eyes on me
As a mother watchful be,
If to us you are committed
God his pardon will provide
By this rosary that we recite
Glory we expect in paradise.

Who recites it three times a day
In high heaven with Mary will stay,
When at night three times is recited
From painful death one is released.

When for forty days is supplicated
From hell's pain one is liberated.
And who will proffer in sincere devotion
Prays a "credo" to his death and Passion.

(*) Prayers and Devotional Songs of Sicily, edited and translated into English by Peppino Ruggeri, Legas 2009, p.113-114