MARY STOOD BENEATH
THE CROSS
“Standing beneath the Cross of Jesus were His Mother, and His Mother’s Sister, Mary, the wife of Cleopas and Mary Magdalene”. John 19:25)
Time passes very quickly with days into weeks and weeks into years. It seems so recently that we celebrated Christmas and already we are reflecting on the significance of Lent. Since Christmas is very much about Our Lady as is the Feast of the Presentation in the Temple known as Candlemas. I thought we might give some attention to how Our Lady features in the season of Lent with special reference to Holy Week.
We are aware that Jesus in His public Ministry and indeed before was always a puzzle to His Mother even at a young age when he got lost and was found teaching in the Temple. Most mothers would despair and ask themselves “Who is this child that I have given birth to”?: He doesn’t take after me and certainly he doesn’t take after his dad. Jesus was the kind of child that every teacher would either love or dread to have in his / her class. As an adult in His public life, He was probably out all day teaching, preaching, visiting the sick and above all communicating with His Heavenly Father. All this left very little time to help Joseph in the carpenter’s shop. On top of that Mary probably never knew what time He would return home for food and maybe when He did return home, He was silent, and Mary wondered what He had been up to.
I wonder if all this prepared Mary for the horrible day when she met Him on the way to Calvery carrying a huge cross with a crown of thorns and blood flowing down His face disfiguring it beyond recognition. The struggle up the hill behind her Son carrying the Cross was more than most women would have the inner strength to cope with. Maybe Mary leaned on some of the other women in the crowd to steady her feet as the tears flowing down her face would have made it impossible to see the rough terrain. Whatever it was that kept Mary on the journey to Calvery she made it with her son and watched with anguish as the soldiers nailed His broken body to the Cross. To add insult to injury Jesus was crucified between two thieves. The women and John were there with Mary to support and comfort her. If we think that was the most painful happening, we need to know that the soldiers continued to ridicule Jesus even to the extent of throwing dice to gamble on who might have His white cloak. The sheer horror of the scene must have made Mary cry out in anguish saying. MY SON, I LOVE YOU: I AM YOUR MOTHER AND I WILL NOT WALK AWAY FROM YOU AT THIS HOUR. Jesus with a weak voice said to Mary “WOMAN BEHOLD YOUR SON” and to John He said, “SON BEHOLD YOUR MOTHER”. Mary then knew that John would care for her and that He would be there when she needed him.
There is so much suffering in our world... We only have to listen to the daily news to feel the pain in people's lives and in the wider world like Gaza and Ukraine. Everywhere people stand beneath their Cross every day and experience the most distressing pain and grief watching those they love suffer and die. In my Chaplaincy at St Thomas’s Hospital almost every week I feel challenged by the many encounters I have especially with parents whose children are seriously ill. Mary beneath the Cross of her Son all she could do was stand there quietly in His presence. Her calling at that time was to just to “BE THERE”. A few month’s ago, I was asked to visit a small baby in the NICU (inte nsive care for babies). It was quite challenging as on that day the parents had gone to a funeral of a close relative and I was asked to fill in some time at the end of which I left but before doing so the duty nurse told me that Rosa was not expected to live long and she hoped that the parents would return soon .I remember feeling uncomfortable about leaving so prayed or should I say talked to our Lady and asked her to stand in for me as she did at the foot of the Cross. What a surprise when I found little Rosa still alive the following Monday with her father sitting by her little cot quietly saying the Rosary of the Divine Mercy. I was very humbled and joined in with him. Here was a grown man not afraid to show his faith and trust in the Mother of God who like him had been at the foot of the Cross
The Crosses we stand by may not always mean that someone is dying. Maybe it is someone who is endlessly talking and relaying a journey through old wounds talking at a great rate and not allowing one to make any kind of a response. If this being the case one is indeed beneath the Cross. Listening to someone who is so depressed that all he or she wants to do is give up and no longer live, one has indeed stood on the hill of Calvery. In families where there is a member with alcohol dependency or who is abusing drugs and every day making false promises or in utter denial to a Mother/Faher / Husband or Wife; the listener has indeed stood at the foot of the Cross.
Mary stood beneath the cross of Jesus. Standing all that time was indeed very tiring for her to say nothing about the heart ache and sorrow at seeing Jesus die. Her watching there tells us of her faithfulness. She was totally present to the intense suffering that Jesus was experiencing. We learn from Mary that the human spirit is very resilient and put to the test can endure. The Martyrs give us an example of what it means to suffer and to die for Christ. Keeping vigil with someone who is suffering and who is near and dear to us requires great strength, faithfulness and a spirit of prayer with the ability to stay with the situation as it is and not to agitate to make it different. We need to hold out and bear up under tough times and not be destroyed by them. Like Mary we will find strength to stand there with the help of God.
Mary, you have been there before meWeary and worn from the long vigilSaddened by the pain of your loved oneHeartbroken by what you could not changeI draw inspiration from your journeyI, too, can move through the pain of my situationYour faith and courage lead me on. (Author not known) Sr Assumpta Walsh
Lent 2025.
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