OUR LADY OF SORROWS (SEPT. 15TH)
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| An Early Russian Example of the Orthodox Use of the Western Icon of Our Lady of Sorrows |
By Bp. Joseph (Ancient Church of the West)
Introduction
In the West the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos being pierced with Seven Swords is called “Mater Dolorosa” or “The Mother of Sorrows.” In the East this same image is known as “The Softening of Evil Hearts" or "The Icon of Simeon's Prophecy." This ancient Western motif was absorbed by the Eastern Churches after the Great Schism, and forms a unique bridge between the East and West in a rare instance of shared, post-Schism iconography.
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| A German Old Master Print from 1480, Entitled "The Madonna of the Seven Swords" (Wikipedia Commons) |
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| The Lady of Seven Sorrows, by Flemish Manuscript Illustrator Simon Bening, Approx. AD 1525, Held at the Getty Museum |
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| The Mother of Seven Sorrows, Pieter Janz Poubus, AD 1556 (Wikipedia Commons) |
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Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows, Church of the Holy Cross, Salamanca, Spain (Wikipedia Commons)
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| The First Known Eastern Orthodox Example of the Theotokos of Seven Sorrows, by Vasily Pznansky of Russia, AD 1682 |
This beautiful icon originates in the founding of the Servite Order, one of the five original mendicant societies of the Roman Church, started by seven Tuscan youths in AD 1232. They practiced a monastic discipline of continuously having monastic brothers take turns beneath the Crucifix, meditating upon the sorrows of the Blessed Virgin, asking for the Holy Mother’s intercession and praying through the Seven Sorrows of Mary as a form of penance and purification. This practice and its associated meditations are seen in the icons used by both the East and West.
A Meditation Hymn
The hymn that is most associated with this icon is the famous “Stabat Mater” or “Standing Mother,” a hymn that expounds on the great sorrows of a mother’s heart, seeing the pain, suffering and death of their beloved child. This hymn was translated by the great Anglican hymnwriter and translator, the Rev. Edward Caswall, who is famous for many other beautiful Latin hymns translated into the English Use, many of which are famous throughout the world for enriching the Christmas Season.
Stabat Mater
At the Cross her station keeping,
stood the mournful Mother weeping,
close to her Son to the last.
Through her heart, His sorrow sharing,
all His bitter anguish bearing,
now at length the sword has passed.
O how sad and sore distressed
was that Mother, highly blest,
of the sole-begotten One.
Christ above in torment hangs,
she beneath beholds the pangs
of her dying glorious Son.
Is there one who would not weep,
whelmed in miseries so deep,
Christ's dear Mother to behold?
Can the human heart refrain
from partaking in her pain,
in that Mother's pain untold?
Bruis'd, derided, curs'd, defiled,
She beheld her tender child
All with bloody scourges rent.
For the love of His own nation,
Saw Him hang in desolation,
Till His spirit forth He sent.
O thou Mother! fount of love!
Touch my spirit from above,
make my heart with thine accord:
Make me feel as thou hast felt;
make my soul to glow and melt
with the love of Christ my Lord.
Holy Mother! pierce me through,
in my heart each wound renew
of my Savior crucified:
Let me share with thee His pain,
who for all my sins was slain,
who for me in torments died.
Let me mingle tears with thee,
mourning Him who mourned for me,
all the days that I may live:
By the Cross with thee to stay,
there with thee to weep and pray,
is all I ask of thee to give.
Virgin of all virgins blest!,
Listen to my fond request:
let me share thy grief divine;
Let me, to my latest breath,
in my body bear the death
of that dying Son of thine.
Wounded with His every wound,
steep my soul till it hath swooned,
in His very Blood away;
Be to me, O Virgin, nigh,
lest in flames I burn and die,
in His awful Judgment Day.
Christ, when Thou shalt call me hence,
be Thy Mother my defense,
be Thy Cross my victory;
While my body here decays,
may my soul Thy goodness praise,
Safe in Paradise with Thee.
Summary
It is completely appropriate for the Western Orthodox to celebrate this feast on its original feast day, although this icon’s appointed feast day is February 2nd on the Byzantine Calendar. May our remembrance of the Blessed Virgin’s sorrows at the Crucifixion and death of Our Lord help us to pray for the return of the whole Western Church to full Orthodoxy of Faith and Practice, and may we all be held at the prayers of the Most Holy Theotokos!
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| A Contemporary Icon of the Theotokos of the Seven Swords |
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| A Late 18th Century Greek Copy of the Russian Original Icon by the Hand of Vasily Pznansky (Wikipedia Commons) |
Collect
ALMIGHTY GOD, Who didst will that, when Thy Son was lifted high upon the Cross, His Mother shouldest stand close by and share in His suffering; grant that Thy Church, participating with the Holy Virgin Mary in the Passion of Christ, may also partake in His Resurrection; through Jesus Christ Our Lord, Who livest and reignest with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Υπεραγία Θεοτόκε σώσον εμάς!
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