Feast: Septem Dolorum Beatæ Mariæ Virginis – II. classis
Commemoration: S. Nicomedis Martyris, ad Laudes tantum
On this solemn feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Holy Church invites the faithful to contemplate the suffering and compassion of the Mother of God beneath the Cross, and throughout her life, in union with the Passion of her Divine Son. The sacred texts appointed for this day draw our hearts not only into sorrow, but also into a profound meditation on the mystery of maternal love and divine obedience. In this spirit, let us consider Judith 13:22 and 13:25, and John 19:25–27, illuminated by the Church’s ancient tradition and the voices of the Fathers.
I. The Figure of Judith: A Type of the Blessed Virgin
Judith 13:22 (Vulgate):
“Benedicta es tu, filia, a Domino Deo excelso prae omnibus mulieribus super terram.”
“Blessed art thou, O daughter, by the Lord the most high God above all women upon the earth.”
Judith 13:25:
“Benedicta tu a Deo in omni ore hominum, qui memoretur virtus tua in aeternum.”
“Blessed art thou by God in every mouth, who hath wrought in thee strength for all ages.”
Judith, triumphant over Holofernes, is hailed by the people of Israel for her singular courage and fidelity to God. Yet, in the sacred tradition of the Church, she is more than a heroine of history—she is a type of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Just as Judith crushed the enemy of her people, so Mary, in perfect humility, crushed the head of the ancient serpent through her Fiat and her co-suffering with Christ on Calvary.
St. Jerome, in his commentary on Isaiah, affirms:
“Judith is a figure of Mary, for she conquered through chastity, as Mary did through obedience.”
In the Liturgical Office of the Blessed Virgin, the words of Judith are often applied to Our Lady: “Benedicta tu in mulieribus.” These echo Luke 1:42, where St. Elizabeth greets the Mother of the Lord with the same words. Here we see the hand of Providence: God exalts His lowly handmaid, and through her, brings down the mighty.
Judith’s earthly battle finds its eternal fulfillment in the Virgin’s spiritual warfare, crowned in sorrow and glory. And as Judith was remembered forever by Israel, so Mary is blessed in all generations (cf. Lk 1:48), her virtus not military, but maternal—a sword piercing her soul (Lk 2:35) for the salvation of the world.
II. At the Foot of the Cross: The Culmination of Sorrow and the Gift of Maternity
John 19:25–27:
“Now there stood by the cross of Jesus, His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple standing whom He loved, He saith to His mother: Woman, behold thy son. After that, He saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother. And from that hour, the disciple took her unto his own.”
Here, at the sixth dolor, the Sorrowful Mother stands, Stabat Mater dolorosa, immovable in grief yet steadfast in faith. The Gospel records no cry, no protest—only presence. The Blessed Virgin is not passive; she is offering.
St. Ambrose reflects:
“She stood before the Cross, and while the men fled, she remained undaunted… She did not fear the tormentors; she did not abandon her Son; therefore, the Lord entrusted her to His disciple.”
In this moment, Christ not only provides for His Mother’s earthly care, but declares her the Mother of the Church. “Behold thy mother”—not merely to John, but to each of us. And just as Christ’s Passion is vicarious and redemptive, so Mary’s sorrow is co-redemptive, not in power, but in participation.
St. Bernard of Clairvaux, that great Cistercian lover of Mary, writes:
“Surely He could not have been crucified without her. She ascended Calvary with Him, and was crucified with Him in heart and soul.”
This is the true meaning of the feast we celebrate: not a sterile lamentation, but the sorrow of a mother united to the saving Passion. From her Immaculate Heart flows not only grief, but intercession—maternal compassion for the Mystical Body of Christ.
III. The Sorrows of Mary in the Life of the Church
Today’s feast is more than a commemoration of pain. It is a spiritual school, in which the faithful are drawn into the maternal heart of Mary, to learn how to suffer well, how to stand at the foot of the crosses in our own lives, and how to receive her as Mother.
As the Servite Fathers taught, devotion to Our Lady’s Sorrows is not merely sentimental—it is formative. Through meditating upon her dolors, we become docile to grace, more conformed to Christ, and more deeply rooted in the life of the Church.
St. Alphonsus Liguori beautifully teaches:
“The sufferings of Mary were so great that if they were divided among all men, they would suffice to cause their death.”
And yet she endured, not with bitterness, but with love—because she loved Him more than she loved herself.
IV. Martyrdom in Spirit: Mary and St. Nicomedes
Today’s commemoration of St. Nicomedes, a martyr of ancient Rome, reminds us that the Cross has always been the measure of Christian love. St. Nicomedes gave his life for Christ in the flesh; Our Lady gave her life for Him in spirit, every day, culminating on Calvary.
As Pope St. Pius X observed, Mary’s sufferings were not those of a passive witness, but of a true martyr in soul:
“She suffered and nearly died with her suffering and dying Son; she surrendered her maternal rights over her Son for man’s salvation.” (Ad diem illum, 1904)
Conclusion: The Mother Who Suffers and the Mother Who Comforts
“Behold thy mother.” These are not words of farewell, but of mission. Christ entrusts us to her, and her to us. As we meditate on her sorrows today, let us not remain distant. Let us “take her unto our own” (Jn 19:27)—into our homes, our hearts, and especially our sufferings.
Through her dolors, may we be consoled in trial, purified in love, and made worthy to share in the Resurrection her Son merited for us. And in the end, may she who stood beneath the Cross stand beside us at the hour of our death.
Mater Dolorosa, ora pro nobis.
Sancte Nicomedes Martyr, ora pro nobis.