Two of my sons were confirmed in Gricigliano in Florence, Italy, at the seminary of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign priest in March of 2012. There were eight of us there, my wife and I and six of our eight children. One day, in order to give my wife a break, I went out for a drive with the six children in the countryside around Florence. We came across what looked like a little forest park trail and I pulled in and we decided to go for a walk.
At the top of the trail we came to a church and there was a plaque which identified the church as being the convent which was built by the Seven Founder Saints in 1234. When I got home I looked them up and discovered that they were the founders of the Servite Order also known as ‘The Order of the Servants of Mary’. The servites were responsible for spreading the devotion to the Seven Dolours of Our Lady throughout Europe.
The reason I mention this, is that today in the old calendar, the feast of the Seven sorrows of Our Lady is commemorated . Simeon prophesied to Our Lady that a sword would pierce her heart and the traditional image of Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows shows her heart with seven short swords piercing it.
The seven sorrows are
1. The prophecy of Simeon
2. The flight into Egypt
3. The loss of the Child Jesus in the temple
4. The meeting of Jesus and Mary on the Way of the Cross.
5. The Crucifixion.
6. The taking down of the Body of Jesus from the Cross.
7. The burial of Jesus.
I hope at some stage in the future to produce a little booklet on this devotion.
May the sorrowful mother of Jesus help us in our needs