for Wednesdays
Via Matris Dolorosa -- Our Mother's Cross Path of Sorrows
"May we never let the memory grow dim of our Mother's agonies!"
Grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, that the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, Thy Mother, whose most holy soul was transfixed with the sword of sorrow in the hour of Thy Passion, may intercede for us before the throne of mercy, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Imprint, O Lady, thy wounds upon my heart, that I may read therein sorrow and love; sorrow, to endure every sorrow for thee: love, to despise every love for thee. Amen.
Lily of Prayer for the First Sorrow
The Prophecy of Holy Simeon
O Virgin most sorrowful, by the bitter pain which thy soul did suffer when thy Son Jesus was presented in the Temple, and thou didst hear from the prophetic mouth of Simeon that He was set for the fall of many on account of their malice, and for a sign which should be contradicted, and that a sword should pierce thine own soul; I pray thee, obtain for me this grace - that the infinite merits of Jesus may not be vain and unfruitful through my own fault.
Hail Mary... (three times)
O most sorrowful Virgin, pray for us!
Lily of Prayer for the Second Sorrow
The Flight into Egypt
O Virgin most sorrowful, by the grief thou didst suffer when, in order to withdraw thy most innocent Son from the cruelty of impious Herod, who was seeking to destroy Him, thou wast obliged in the midst of hardship and privation to flee by stealth into Egypt; obtain, I beseech thee, that I may never through sin force my Redeemer to leave my heart. Hail Mary... (three times)
O most sorrowful Virgin, pray for us!
Lily of Prayer for the Third SorrowThe Loss of Jesus in Jerusalem
O Virgin most sorrowful, by the anguish thou didst suffer when, without any fault of thine, thou didst lose thy most beloved Son Jesus, Who had remained in the Temple to fulfill the will of the Eternal Father, and didst seek Him anxiously for three days; obtain for me the grace to find Jesus at once, if by misfortune I ever come to lose Him through sin. Hail Mary... (three times)
O most sorrowful Virgin, pray for us!
Lily of Prayer for the Fourth Sorrow
Jesus Meets His Afflicted Mother on the Way to Calvary
O Virgin most sorrowful, by that keen grief with which thy soul was embittered when thou didst meet thy beloved Son on the way to Calvary, lacerated by the scourges, wet with blood, crowned with thorns, and bearing on His shoulders the heavy Cross on which He was to die for my salvation; obtain for me strength and courage, that, like thee, I may follow my Redeemer on the way of the Cross, and submit myself with willingness to whatever tribulations it may please Him to send me. Hail Mary... (three times)
O most sorrowful Virgin, pray for us!
Lily of Prayer for the Fifth SorrowThe Blessed Virgin Mary at the Foot of the Cross
O Virgin most sorrowful, and my sweet Mother, since thou wert left to me as such by the last will of thy Jesus, by the unspeakable pangs which thou didst experience on Calvary at the foot of the Cross, when, abandoned by all, despised by the people, given gall to drink, after three hours of agony and having cried out with a loud voice, thy dearest Son commended His Spirit to His Eternal Father; obtain for me a great love of suffering, and the grace to love and serve thee as my most Sorrowful Mother.Hail Mary... (three times)
O most sorrowful Virgin, pray for us!
Lily of Prayer for the Sixth SorrowThe Blessed Virgin Mary Receives the Crucified Body of Jesus from the Cross
O Virgin most sorrowful, by that grief which so bitterly afflicted thy most pure soul when thy well beloved Son, taken down from the Cross, was placed in thy bosom, and thou didst see in all its detail the cruel torment which my sins had caused Him; soften, I pray thee, my ungrateful heart, that I may bewail my sins and learn truly to compassionate thee. Hail Mary... (three times)
O most sorrowful Virgin, pray for us!
Lily of Prayer for the Seventh SorrowThe Blessed Virgin Mary Returns from the Tomb
O Virgin most sorrowful, by the bitter grief which thou didst bear when thou didst accompany the inanimate body of thy beloved Jesus and wert constrained to consign Him to the tomb; grant that the memory of His Sacred Passion and Death be deeply impressed upon my heart, that I may be consumed with love for my God and for thee, my sweetest Mother. Hail Mary... (three times)
O most sorrowful Virgin, pray for us!
