ecause she could do nothing to help
Him. Another great sorrow befell the heart of Mary when she slowly
withdrew her tearful gaze from the face of Jesus, and cast her weeping
eyes upon the cold and indifferent world that lay in darkness around and
about Calvary. And yet, "When Jesus therefore had seen 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"
(_John_ xix. 26, 27).

PRACTICE

THESE words, "Behold thy son, behold thy Mother," contain and express
the mystery of unbounded love, which Jesus has for all mankind, but more
especially for the Church which is appointed and authorized to lead men
to salvation. O blessed, O happy bequest! It was not enough for the love
of Jesus to have restored heaven to us by His atoning death; He wished
also to give us His dearest Mother. And she has always shown herself as
such. To each of us individually she was and is a kind and loving
Mother. Give thanks to her, bless and praise her for having adopted you
as her child, and strive to become worthy of so great a privilege.

Prayer of the Church (located on the first day of the novena).

Litany of Loreto (located in the final section of the book).

_Prayer_

I COMPASSIONATE thee, sorrowing Mary, for the martyrdom thy generous
heart bore so nobly whilst thou didst stand by Jesus agonizing. Dear
Mother, by thy heart then so cruelly martyred, obtain for me the virtue
of temperance and the gift of counsel.

Hail Mary, etc.

Ejaculation (located on the first day of the novena).

SEVENTH DAY

Mary's Sixth Sorrow: The Taking Down of Jesus' Body from the Cross

[Illustration: Jesus' Body, Taken Down from the Cross]

Preparatory Prayer (located on the first day of the novena).

MEDITATION

WHO can describe the sorrow and anguish of Mary's heart when the body of
Jesus was taken from the cross, when her tearful eyes fell upon His
disfigured features! The pure and holy and beauteous form of her Son was
a mass of clotted blood and unsightly wounds; and yet, disfigured as it
was, there shone in His countenance a clear, calm expression of divine
majesty. Now Mary views the wounds of that sacred body; she looks at the
gap made in His side by the cruel spear, and can almost see the Sacred
Heart of Jesus, all bruised and broken for love of man. Before her
vision passes in detail His life and her own. Memory presents to her
mind eve