Children's Book Review: Our Lady of Sorrows

Carolyn Astfalk reviews Our Lady of Sorrows: Devotion to Mary’s Seven Sorrows for Children, a new picture book from Sophia Institute Press. 

If your children are unfamiliar with the Blessed Virgin as Our Lady of Sorrows or you are seeking to foster their devotion, Our Lady of Sorrows: Devotion to Mary’s Seven Sorrows for Children, written by Patrick O’Hearn and illustrated by Adalee Hude, is a beautiful introduction. 

The back cover credits Our Lady with helping to overcome fears, develop virtues, practice obedience, and reflect on Jesus’s life. Similarly, the introduction includes the graces available to those who pray and meditate on the Seven Sorrows daily, according to St. Bridget of Sweden.  

For each of the Seven Sorrows, beginning with the prophecy of Simeon, the relevant scripture passage is set opposite an illustration of Mary’s pierced heart.  

A full-page illustration by Adalee Hude and a short reflection on the sorrow written from the perspective of the Blessed Mother and addressed to a child, follow. The illustrations are warm and lustrous, naturally drawing the reader to the luminous faces of the Holy Family and the Blessed Virgin in particular.  

The Hail Mary (in both English and Latin) follows, along with a prayer seeking the Blessed Mother’s intercession in helping to live in a Christ-like manner. The prayers are written in such a way as to be relevant at any state of life, whether as a child or an adult.  

Adalee Hude’s illustrations are simply beautiful! Each depiction of Mary’s pierced heart includes the number of swords corresponding to the number of the Sorrow. 

What are Mary's Seven Sorrows? 

1. The prophecy of Simeon 
2. The flight into Egypt 
3. The loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple 
4. Mary meets Jesus on the way to Calvary 
5. Jesus dies on the Cross 
6. Mary receives the dead body of Jesus in her arms 
7. Jesus is place in the tomb  

Behind each heart is a flower. My daughters and I spotted lilies of the valley, dandelions, bleeding hearts, roses, and more, and having thoroughly combed Margaret Rose Realy’s A Garden Catechism: 100 Plants in Christian Tradition and How to Grow Them, recognized the religious symbolism of the flowers. I would love to see an explanation in the back matter of this book for each flower depicted.  

The book concludes with various prayers, including the Litany of Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows, and several short prayers for daily use written by Father Chad Ripperger, PhD.  

Father Ripperger also contributed the foreword:

Saying the seven Hail Marys daily will help to cultivate a long-lasting devotion to Our Lady as well as a deepening attachment to the Passion and death of Our Lord, to which Our Lady is inextricably linked. 

Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Middletown, Pennsylvania, has been our spiritual home for decades. It is where we encounter Christ most directly and frequently through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the sacraments. As a result, Our Lady of Sorrows has a special place in our hearts.  

The Seven Sorrows devotion is prayed before each of our weekend Masses, and at various times, has been part of the daily morning prayers at our parish school. The church’s small side altar, which features a replica of Michelangelo’s Pietà, includes seven pieces of artwork depicting each of Mary’s sorrows.  

I asked my 16-year-old daughter how the devotion is special to her. She said that because the heart is central to human emotion, it reveals to us the depth of Mary’s humanity. Suffering — the piercing of the heart — is eminently human and relatable. The Seven Sorrows devotion stirs the natural compassion in children.  

Our Lady of Sorrows: Devotion to Mary’s Seven Sorrows for Children is available from Sophia Institute Press as a hardcover picture book and as an ebook. It can be read aloud to very young children, who will appreciate the illustrations, and read independently by older children. I found it edifying even as an adult.  

The book makes a lovely gift for Catholic families and children and is a great aid in helping children come to know the Blessed Mother’s sorrowful heart by drawing on their natural compassion for those who suffer — that is to say, every one of us. 

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Copyright 2024 Carolyn Astfalk
Images: interior book images copyright 2024 Sophia Institute Press, all rights reserved.

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