Collect:
O God, in whose Passion, according to the prophesy of Simeon, a sword of grief pierced through the well-beloved soul of the glorious Virgin Mother Mary: mercifully grant that we who devoutly call to mind her sorrows, may obtain the blessed fruit of thy Passion. Who with God the Father and the Holy Ghost livest and reignest, world without end. Amen
Sermon for the second Nocturns in Matins, by St. Bernard of Clairvaux:
The martyrdom of the Virgin is set before us both in Simeon's prophecy and in the narrative of the Lord's Passion. "This Child is destined," the holy old man said of the child Jesus, "for a sign that shall be contradicted; and your own soul," he said to Mary "a sword shall pierce." and in truth, O blessed Mother, your soul was pierced. Unless the sword had passed through your soul, it would not have pierced the flesh of your Son. And after your Jesus had sent forth His spirit, clearly the cruel lance that opened His side could not reach His soul, but it pierced yours. For His soul was no longer there, but yours could not be torn away.
Read the rest here: http://web2.airmail.net/carlsch/MaterDei/Saints/7sorrows.htm
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