Our Lady of Sorrows
This retablo is the most important representation of Mary without
Jesus Christ. Mater Dolorosa is shown as the mourning mother,
expressing her sorrows after the crucifixion of Christ.
Mary may be crowned with thorns, but generally she is standing with
her hands folded and tears streaming down her face. She is rarely
adorned with jewelry and may have one to seven swords piercing her
heart. The swords allude to Luke 2:35, when upon presenting Christ in
the temple, Mary was told a sword would pierce her heart. The text
has been expanded to include the seven sorrows of Mary, hence the
seven swords or daggers. In some representations of Our Lady of
Sorrows, the symbols of the Passion of Christ (the three nails with
which Christ was attached to the cross, the spear used to pierce His
body, the pillar at which Christ was scourged, the cock that crowed
three times, and the ladder used to lower Christ's body after his
death), are sometimes included as well.
Our Lady of Sorrows was invoked against worry, sorrow and pain, and at
the hour of death.