Seven Sorrows Chaplet Novena
Feast: 15 Sep
When to pray: Begin on 6 Sep and finish on 14 Sep, the eve of the feast, or pray it on Fridays. A novena is prayed on nine consecutive days.
The same prayers are said on each of the nine days.
Prayer for each day
Act of Contrition.
O my Lord, Thou who alone art most worthy of my love, behold me standing before Thy Divine Presence utterly overwhelmed by the thought of the many grievous injuries I have done Thee. I ask Thy pardon for them with my whole heart, repenting of them purely for love of Thee, and at the thought of Thy great goodness hating and loathing them above every other evil of this life. As I would rather have died a thousand times than have offended Thee, so now I am most firmly resolved to lose my life rather than offend Thee again. My crucified Jesus, I firmly purpose to cleanse my soul as soon as possible by Thy most Precious Blood in the Sacrament of Penance. And Thou, most tender Virgin, Mother of Mercy and Refuge of sinners, do thou obtain for me the pardon of sin by virtue of thy bitter pains; whilst, praying according to the mind of so many holy Pontiffs in order to obtain the Indulgences granted to this thy holy Rosary, I hope thereby to obtain remission of all pains due to my sins.
i. With this confidence in my heart, I meditate on the First Sorrow, when Mary, Virgin Mother of my God, presented Jesus her only Son in the Temple, laid Him in the arms of holy and aged Simeon, and heard his prophetic word, "This shall be a sword of pain piercing thine own heart," foretelling thereby the Passion and Death of her Son Jesus.
Pater once, Ave seven times.
ii. The Second Sorrow of the Blessed Virgin was when she was obliged to fly into Egypt by reason of the persecution of cruel Herod, who impiously sought to slay her well-beloved Son.
Pater once, Ave seven times.
iii. The Third Sorrow of the Blessed Virgin was when, after having gone up to Jerusalem at the Paschal Feast with Joseph her spouse and Jesus her beloved Son, she lost Him on the way back to her poor house, and for three days bewailed the loss of her only Love.
Pater once, Ave seven times.
iv. The Fourth Sorrow of the Blessed Virgin was when she met her dear Son Jesus carrying on His tender shoulders the heavy cross whereon He was to be crucified for our salvation.
Pater once, Ave seven times.
v. The Fifth Sorrow of the Blessed Virgin was when she saw her Son Jesus raised upon the tree of the cross, and Blood flowing from every part of His Sacred Body, and then beheld Him die after three hours' agony.
Pater once, Ave seven times.
vi. The Sixth Sorrow of the Blessed Virgin was when she saw the lance pierce the Sacred Side of Jesus, her beloved Son, the nails withdrawn, and His Holy Body laid in her purest bosom.
Pater once, Ave seven times.
vii. The Seventh and last Sorrow of the Blessed Virgin, Queen and Advocate of us, her servants, miserable sinners, was when she saw the Holy Body of her Son buried in the grave.
Pater once, Ave seven times.
Then say Ave thrice in veneration of the tears which Mary shed in her sorrows, to obtain thereby true sorrow for sins and the holy Indulgences attached to this pious exercise.
V. Pray for us, Virgin most sorrowful.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray.
Grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, that the most blessed Virgin Mary, thy Mother, may intercede for us before the throne of Thy mercy, now and at the hour of our death, whose most holy soul was transfixed with the sword of sorrow in the hour of Thine own Passion. Through Thee, Jesus Christ, Saviour of the world, who livest and reignest with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.
Praying it over nine days
As in the printed source, the same prayers are said on each of the nine days.
Mark your days:
The prayers named above, in full
Our Father
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name: Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us: and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Hail Mary
Hail Mary, full of grace! the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Latin
V. Ora pro nobis, Virgo dolorosissima.
R. Ut digni efficiamur promissionibus Christi.
Oremus.
Interveniat pro nobis, quæsumus, Domine Jesu Christi, nunc et in hora mortis nostræ, apud tuam clementiam beata Virgo Maria Mater tua, cujus sacratissimam animam in hora tuæ Passionis doloris gladius pertransivit. Per te, Jesu Christi, Salvator mundi, qui cum Patre et Spiritu Sancto vivis et regnas in saecula saeculorum. R. Amen.
Source
Traditional text, checked word for word against the printed source: The Raccolta, tr. Ambrose St John (1880), pp. 249–252. Public domain. How we check sources