MARY, OUR MOTHER

SCRIPTURE COMMENTARY #43

"And thy own soul a sword shall pierce, that, out of many hearts thoughts may be revealed." (Luke 2:35)

THE DOLOURS OF MARY: Mary is, as the Holy Ghost foretold by the mouth of Simeon, the Mother of Sorrows, feeling in her own heart all the sufferings of her Divine Son. The dolours of Mary are usually enumerated as follows:

1. the prophecy of Simeon,
2. the flight into Egypt,
3. the loss of the Child Jesus for three days when He was twelve years old,
4. the meeting of Jesus, carrying His Cross,
5. the Crucifixion and death of Jesus,
6. the taking down from the Cross,
7. the Burial of Jesus.

Mary suffered for a longer time and more acutely than any of the holy martyrs, and therefore she is called the Queen of Martyrs.

[From 'A Practical Commentary on Holy Scripture' by Bishop Knecht, D.D.]
(1899 Douay-Rheims Bible)