I don't know about you, but I don't like suffering and sorrow. Sorrow is the counterpoint to joy; it is a real and unavoidable part of our Salvation. It is part of the price Jesus paid. And that Mary paid, and that we pay.

Our Lady of Sorrows is one of the titles of Mary, and it comes from the sorrow she bore about her son, starting with the prophecy of Simeon. We remember under that title in the Month of September, and the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows is September 15.

Pedro Américo de Figueiredo e Melo (1843-1905) was a Brazilian man of extraordinary talent. He was a novelist, poet, scientist, essayist, philosopher, professor, and evan a politician. He is best known for his paintings, which often have Brazilian or Catholic themes. He painted this in 1901.

The Seven Sorrows are
The First Sorrow: The Prophecy of Simeon and Anna
The Second Sorrow: The Flight into Egypt.
The Third Sorrow: The Loss of the Child Jesus.
The Fourth Sorrow: The Condemnation of Jesus.
The Fifth Sorrow: The Crucifixion of Jesus.
The Sixth Sorrow: The Retrieval of Jesus' Body.
The Seventh Sorrow: The Burial of Jesus.

You can find some beautiful devotions online to pray the Seven Sorrows with this picture as a meditation. There is a chaplet of Our Lady of Sorrows, which is like a Rosary only it has seven sections of seven beads each.

** IMPORTANT ** There is about an inch-and-a-third of white space around the picture in the 8.5x11 size, so the IMAGE IS SMALLEER THAN THE PAPER! For 11x14, the border is about 1.6 inches, and for 5x7, the border is about .5 inch. This is because the rectangle of the painting has a different ratio than than rectangles of the various paper sizes.

- Acid-free paper
- Archival pigments, rated to last for generations.
- Cardboard backer
- Above story of the art
- Enclosed in a tight-fitting, crystal clear bag.

Thanks for your interest!
Sue & John

"In order to communicate the message entrusted to her by Christ, the Church needs art." ~ St. Pope John Paul II

Original image is out-of-copyright. Descriptive text and image alterations (hence the whole new image) © by Sue Kouma Johnson - Classic Catholic Art.