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The devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows has roots in the
Prophecy of Simeon: "a sword will pierce your very soul" (Lk. 2: 35).
After celebration of the triumph of Christ on the cross (September 14),
the memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows invites us to contemplate the human side of Christ's sufferings in union with Mary.
Our
Lady of Sorrows was very dear to Mother Barat. The presence of a small
image of Our Lady of Sorrows at the Villa Lante, executed as a fresco
on the garden wall by the painter Gagliardi, was instrumental in
persuading Mother Barat to purchase the Villa in 1837. Before this
picture, Mother Barat consecrated the Society to Our Lady of Sorrows in
1839, at a moment of painful internal division in the Society. An
excerpt from this Consecration highlights Mother Barat's solid devotion
to the Sacred Heart of Jesus as well as her respect for Mary as a model
of faith
Make us worthy of Him by teaching us to imitate
the virtues of thy heart, so faithfully modeled on His. Give us, above
all, lively faith, true humility, and courage, which will help us to
rise above sorrow and to stand with thee, calm and steadfast at the
foot of the cross... May we bear about in ourselves the Cross of
Christ, the sufferings of His Passion, and the remembrance of His
wounds.
This feast, sometimes referred to as "The
Compassion of Mary" fits well the Society's commitment to live out our
devotion to the Sacred Heart in the widest possible manner, including,
as Mother Barat obviously intended, the exercise of compassion as a
kind of prayer which identifies us with the wounded heart of humanity.
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