The Chaplet of the Seven Sorrows of Mary

Page 11 in "Marian Devotions in the Domestic Church"

Catherine Fournier and Peter Fournier

This devotion honors the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is said on a circle of seven groups of seven beads each. Each group is separated with small medals, representing the seven sorrows of Mary's life. The seven sorrows (or dolors which gave us the girl's name "Dolores") of our Blessed Mother are: 

1. The Prophesy of Simeon in the Temple.  
2. The Flight of the Holy Family into Egypt.  
3. The Losing of the Child Jesus in Jerusalem. 
4. The Meeting of Jesus on the Way of the Cross. 
5. Jesus Suffers and Dies upon the Cross.  
6. Jesus Is Taken Down from the Cross.  
7. Jesus Is Buried in a Tomb. 

At each medal, the leader announces the theme for meditation; then all say an Our Father. Seven Hail Marys follow on the group of beads. At the conclusion, three additional Hail Marys are said in remembrance of the sorrowful tears of our Lady. 

Iris The deep-blue color of this flower is a traditional symbol of Mary's faithfulness, and the blade-shaped leaves remind us of the sorrows that "pierced her heart". Its older names are "blue flag" and "sword lily" .The iris is the "fleur-de-lis" of Quebec and France.