September 15th & Friday after Passion Sunday
Seven Sorrows of the Virgin
Mary
II Class
Introit John xix: 25
There stood by the cross of Jesus, His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Salome, and Mary Magdalen. [V.] "Woman, behold thy Son," said Jesus; to the disciple, however, "Behold thy mother." Glory be.... "There stood...."
Collect (except during Lent):
O God, at whose passion, as Simeon foretold, the most sweet soul of Mary, Thy glorious Virgin Mother, was pierced by a sword of sorrow; mercifully grant that we who reverently meditate upon her sorrows may reap the happy fruit of Thy passion: Who livest and reignest....
Collect during Lent:
O God, at whose passion, as Simeon foretold, the most sweet soul of Mary, Thy glorious Virgin Mother, was pierced by a sword of sorrow; mercifully grant that we who call to mind with veneration her soul thus transfixed, through the glorious merits and prayers of all the saints faithfully standing by Thy Cross, may obtain the blessed result of Thy passion.
Epistle: Judith xiii: 22-25
A reading from the book of Judith:
The
Lord has possessed thee by His power, who by thee hath brought our enemies to
nought. Blessed art thou, O
daughter, by the Lord most high God, above all women upon the earth. Blessed be the Lord who made heaven and earth, because He hath so
magnified thy name this day, that thy praise shall not depart out of the mouth
of man, who shall be mindful of the power of the Lord forever; for that thou
hast not spared thy life by reason of the distress and tribulation of thy
people, but hast prevented our ruin in the presence of our God.
Gradual
Thou
art sorrowful and tearful, O Virgin Mary, standing by the cross of the Lord
Jesus, thy Son, our Redeemer. O
Virgin Mother of God, He whom the whole world doth not contain, beareth this
punishment of the cross; He the author of life made man.
Alleluia,
alleluia! Holy Mary, the queen of
heaven and mistress of the world, stood by the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ
full of grief. Alleluia!
From
Septuagesima until Easter
Tract: John xix: 25, Lamentations i: 12
Holy Mary, the Queen of heaven, and mistress of the world, stood by the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, full of sadness. O all ye that pass by the way, attend, and see if there be any sorrow like my sorrow.
Sequence: Stabat Mater
1. At the cross her station keeping,
Stood
the mournful Mother weeping
Close
to Jesus at the last.
2.
Through her heart, His sorrow sharing,
All
His bitter anguish bearing,
Now
at length the sword hath passed.
3. Oh, how sad and sore distress'd
Was
that Mother, highly blest
Of
the sole begotten One!
4. Christ above in torment hangs;
She
beneath beholds the pangs
Of
her dying glorious Son.
5. Is there one who would not weep
Whelm'd
in miseries so deep
Christ's
dear Mother to behold?
6. Can the human heart refrain
From
partaking in her pain,
In
that Mother's pain untold?
7. Bruis'd derided, curs'd, defil'd,
She
beheld her tender child:
All
with bloody scourges rent.
8. For the sins of His own nation,
Saw
Him hang in desolation,
Till
His spirit forth He sent.
9. O thou Mother! Font of love!
Touch
my spirit from above;
Make
my heart with thine accord.
10. Make me feel as thou hast felt;
Make
my soul to glow and melt
With
the love of Christ our Lord.
11. Holy Mother! Pierce me through;
In
my heart each wound renew
Of
my Savior crucified.
12. Let me share with thee His pain,
Who
for all my sins was slain.
Who
for me in torments died.
13. Let me mingle tears with thee,
Mourning
Him who mourned for me,
All
the days that I may live.
14. By the cross with thee to stay,
There
with thee to weep and pray,
Is
all I ask of thee to give.
15. Virgin of all virgins best,
Listen
to my fond request:
Let
me share thy grief divine.
16. Let me to my latest breath,
In
my body bear the death
Of
that dying Son of thine.
17. Wounded with His every wound,
Steep
my soul till it hath swoon'd
In
His very Blood away.
18. Be to me, O Virgin, nigh,
Lest
in flames I burn and die,
In
His awful judgement day.
19.
Christ, when Thou shalt call me hence,
Be
Thy Mother my defense,
Be
Thy cross my victory.
20 While my body here decays,
May
my soul thy goodness praise,
Safe
in Paradise with Thee.
Amen.
Outside
of Lent: [Alleluia.]
Gospel
John xix: 25-27
+
The Continuation of the Holy
Gospel according to John.
At that time, there stood by the cross of Jesus, His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Salome, and Mary Magdalen. When Jesus therefore had seen His mother, and the disciple standing, whom He loved, He said to His mother, "Woman, behold thy Son." After that He said to disciple, "Behold thy mother." And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own.
Credo.
Offertory Jeremias: xviii: 20
Be mindful, O Virgin Mother of God, when thou standest in the sight of the Lord, to speak good things for us, and to turn away His anger from us.
Secret
We offer unto Thee our prayers and oblations, O Lord Jesus Christ, humbly beseeching Thee, that we who recall in our prayers the piercing of the most sweet soul of blessed Mary, Thy mother, through the merits of Thy death, and the manifold intercession of Thy mother and her holy companions at the foot of the Cross, may share the reward of the blessed.... Who with Thee liveth and reigneth in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end.
Preface of the Blessed Virgin Mary: "That on the Transfixion...."
Communion
Blessed is the heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who without dying earned the palm of martyrdom beneath the cross of our Lord.
Postcommunion
May the divine sacrifice, O Lord Jesus Christ, of which we, commemorating the transfixion of Thy virgin Mother, have partaken, obtain for us from Thy mercy every good and salutary gift. Who livest and reignest with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end.
