The sixth sorrow of the Blessed Virgin Mary is the piercing of the sacred side of Jesus. This occurred when the sacred side of the body of her beloved Son and our Lord, Jesus Christ, was pierced with a lance, when he was taken down from the cross, and when he was placed on her arms. The lance-thrust into the side of the sacred body of Jesus was cruel and painful to his Mother, Mary. It caused her great affliction. She felt the pains of the lance-thrust of the sacred side of her Son.

Although the dead body of Jesus would not feel the pain, nonetheless, she felt the mutilation of his body in his stead. Jesus willed that his Sacred Heart, the seat of love, should be thrust with a lance so that, through this port, souls should receive strength for their own sorrows and pains, and so that his Sacred Heart might be a fortress for all who seek refuge in him. With what truth can we say that we love Jesus, if we do not penetrate into the heart of his Mother, Mary, and feel her pains at the inhuman torments he received from people?

Let us pray. O Sorrowful Mother, how intense was your sorrow and how broken was your heart when your divine Son, after having been taken down from the cross, was laid on your arms; his countenance pale, his eyes dimmed with the shade of death, his sacred body covered with wounds and blood. O Mother of Mercy, I acknowledge that it is my sins which, in nailing your well-beloved Son to the cross, have transpierced your soul with sorrow. Yet deign, O refuge of sinners, to obtain my pardon, and permit me to adore, on your maternal arms, my crucified God and Redeemer. Amen.

The seventh sorrow of the Blessed Virgin Mary is the burial of Jesus. This was when her beloved Son and our Lord, Jesus Christ was buried in the sepulcher (Jn. 19:40-42). Consider the inexpressible anguish of this desolate Mother when the lifeless body of her only beloved Son was enclosed in the tomb, wherein laid her heart’s treasure.

It is impossible to imagine the sorrows that Mary suffered in union with Jesus. At present, let us contemplate and consider with our faculties the cause of all his sufferings. Let us also have compassion on his Virgin Mother, so afflicted in spirit and overwhelmed by the sorrows she suffered. The Lord and his Mother are solicitous and compassionate towards everyone; for us they suffered and endured such bitter sorrows, in order that we might be encouraged to persevere in our own sufferings for our eternal good and to make return to God for obliging us with his love.

Let us pray. O Beloved Mother of God and my most Blessed Mother, I can scarcely imagine your inexpressible anguish, in beholding Joseph and Nicodemus enclose the lifeless body of your only beloved Son in the tomb, where your heart is deposited with him. O Desolate Mother, by your agonizing grief in taking leave of the tomb that enclosed the well- beloved Son of your soul, deign to obtain for me grace to enter the sacred wounds of Jesus, and even his adorable heart, so that in all my actions I may seek the will and glory of God alone. O Queen of Martyrs, whose holy soul was overwhelmed with sorrow, I call upon you, by your tears of anguish, to obtain for me and all sinners the grace of perfect contrition, so that we may expiate our sins by works of penance. Amen.