Devotion to the Sorrowful Mother and the Four Graces

Devotion to the Sorrowful Mother and the Four Graces

The graces which Our Lord promises to those who are devoted to the sorrows of His Blessed Mother are very great. St. Alphonsus, in his discourse on the dolors of Mary, states: It was revealed to St. Elizabeth that some years after the Blessed Virgin was assumed into Heaven, St. John, the beloved disciple, was seized with an ardent desire to see her again. This favor was granted him. His dear Mother appeared to him in company with our Divine Lord. Then St. John beard Mary asking of her Son some special graces for those who were devoted to her dolors. Our Lord promised the four following graces:

1. Those who invoke the Heavenly Mother through her sorrows will obtain true sorrow for their sins before death.

2. Our Savior will protect them in their tribulations, especially at the hour of death.

3. He will impress upon them the memory of His Passion, and will reward them for it in Heaven.

4. He will commit such devout servants to the hands of Mary, that she may dispose of them according to her pleasure, and obtain for them all the graces she desires.

Besides these great graces, Father Faber enumerates others which are obtained through devotion to Mary's sorrows:

• This devotion has a remarkable connection with great interior holiness.
• It reveals the emptiness of worldly joys. Worldliness finds no soul harder to attack than one entrenched in the sorrows of our Blessed Lady. The world can graft itself upon nothing in this devotion.
• It gives us a permanent share in the sorrow for sin which Jesus and Mary felt.
• It keeps our thoughts close to Jesus Christ, and to Him Crucified.
• It communicates to our souls the spirit of the Cross, and gives us strength to endure our own sufferings with resignation to the holy will of God.
• This devotion is wholly covered with the Precious Blood of Jesus and leads us directly into the depths of the Heart of our Savior.

Anyone who during his lifetime has cherished compassion for this afflicted Mother may consider this as a most assured sign of predestination.

Source: Devotion to the Sorrowful Mother
TAN BOOKS, with Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur, 1958  
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