The Glories Of Mary by ST. ALPHONSUS LIGUORI LITTLE ROSARY. OF THE SEVEN DOLORS OF MARY.

Incline unto mine aid, oh God, &c.
My mother, enable my heart to share thy sorrow for the death of thy Son.

First Dolor. I pity thee, oh my afflicted mother, on account of the first sword of sorrow that pierced thee, when in the temple, by the prophecy of St. Simeon, all the cruel sufferings that men would inflict on thy beloved Jesus were represented to thee, which thou hadst al ready learned from the holy Scriptures, even to his death before thy eyes upon the infamous wood of the cross, exhausted of blood and abandoned by all, and thou without the power to defend or relieve him. By that bitter memory, then, which for so many years afflicted thy heart, I pray thee, oh my queen, to obtain for me the grace that always in life and in death I may keep impressed upon my heart the passion of Jesus and thy sorrows.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to God, &c., Oh my mother, &c., as above.
Which strophe must always be repeated at the end of each dolor.

Second Dolor. I pity thee, oh my afflicted mother, on account of the second sword that pierced thee when thou didst behold thy innocent Son, so soon after his birth, threatened with death by those very men for whom he had come into the world; so that thou wast obliged to flee with him by night secretly into Egypt* By the many hardships, then, that thou, a delicate young virgin, in company with thy exiled infant, didst endure in the long and wearisome journey through rough and desert countries, and in thy sojourn in Egypt, where, being unknown and a stranger, thou didst live all those years poor and despised, I pray thee oh my beloved Lady, to obtain for me the grace to suffer with, patience, in thy company till death, the trials of this miserable life, that I may be able in the next to be preserved from the eternal sufferings of hell deserved by me.

Our Father, &c.

Third Dolor. I pity thee, oh my afflicted mother, on account of the third sword that pierced thy heart at the loss of thy dear son, Jesus, who remained absent from thee in Jerusalem for three days, when not seeing thy beloved one by thy side, and not knowing the cause of his absence, I conceive, my loving queen, how in these nights thou didst not repose, and didst naught but sigh for him who was thy only good. By the sighs, then, of those three days, for thee so long and bitter, I pray thee to obtain for me the grace never to lose my God, that I may always live closely united to God, and thus united with him, depart from this world.

Our Father, &c.

Fourth Dolor. I pity thee, my afflicted mother, on account of the fourth sword that pierced thy heart, in seeing thy Jesus condemned to death, bound with ropes and chains, covered with blood and wounds, crowned with thorns, and falling under the weight of the heavy cross which he bore on his bleeding back when going like an innocent lamb to die for love of us. Thine eye then met his eye, and your glances were so many cruel arrows with which each wounded the loving heart of the other. By this great grief, then, I pray thee to obtain for me the grace to live wholly resigned to the will of my God, joyfully bearing my cross with Jesus to the last moment of my life.

Our Father, &c.

Fifth Dolor. I pity thee, oh my afflicted mother, on account of the fifth sword that pierced thy heart, when on Mount Calvary thou didst behold thy beloved son, Jesus, dying slowly before thy eyes, amid so many insults, and in anguish, on that hard bed of the cross, without being able to give him even the least of those comforts which the greatest criminals receive at the hour of death. And I pray thee by the anguish which thou, oh my most loving mother, didst suffer together with thy dying Son, and by the tenderness thou didst feel, when, for the last time he spoke to thee from the cross, and taking leave of thee, left all of us to thee in the person of St. John, as thy children; and thou, still constant, didst behold him bow his head and expire; I pray thee to obtain for me the grace, by thy crucified love, to live and die crucified to everything in this world, in order to live only to God through my whole life, and thus to enter one day paradise, to enjoy him face to face.

Our Father, &c.

Sixth Dolor. I pity thee, oh my afflicted mother, on account of the sixth sword whitU pierced thy heart, when thou didst see the kind heart of thy Son pierced through and through after his death a death endured fer those ungrateful men, who, even after his death, were not satisfied with the tortures they had inflicted upon him. By this cruel sorrow, then, which was wholly thine, I pray thee to obtain for me the grace to abide in the heart of Jesus, who was wounded and opened for me; in that heart, I say, which is the beautiful abode of love, where all the souls who love God repose; and that living there, I will never love or think of any thing but God. Most holy Virgin, thou canst do it; from thee I hope for it.

Our Father, &c.

Seventh Dolor. I pity thee, my afflicted mother, on account of the seventh sword that pierced thy heart, on seeing in thy arms thy Son who bad just expired, no longer fair and beautiful as thou didst once receive him in the stable of Bethlehem, but covered with blood, livid, and lacerated by wounds which exposed his very bones. My Son, thou saidst, my Son, to what has love brought thee? And when he was borne to the sepulchre, thou didst wish to accompany him thyself, and help to put him in the tomb with thy own hands; and, bidding him a last farewell, thou hast left thy loving heart buried with thy Son. By all the anguish of thy pure soul, obtain for me, oh mother of fair love, pardon for the offences that I have committed against my God, whom I love, and of which I repent with my whole heart. Wilt thou defend me in temptations? Assist me at the hour of my death, that, being saved by the merits of Jesus and thine, I may come one day with thy aid, after this miserable exile, to sing in paradise the praises of Jesus and thine through all eternity. Amen.

Our Father, &c.

Pray for us, oh most sorrowful Virgin; That we may be worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us Pray.

OH God, at whose passion, according to the prophecy of Simeon, the sword of sorrow pierced through the most sweet soul of the glorious virgin and mother, Mary, grant that we, who commemo rate and reverence her dolors, may experience the blessed effect of thy passion, who livest and reignest world without end. Amen.

BENEDICT XIII. granted two hundred days in dulgence for every Our Father " and every "Hail Mary" to those who recite this little crown in the churches of the Servites of Mary, and has granted the same favor to those who recite it in any place whatever on Fridays or any day during Lent; and on other days, one hundred days for every "Our Father," and "Hail Mary." To those who recite it entire, seven years. To those who recite it for a year, plenary indulgence, applicable to the souls in purgatory. Moreover, let it be observed that there are seven hundred years of indulgence for the dead granted by Clement XII. to those who say, kneel ing, the De Profundis at the ringing of the bell.