Duc in Altum

When Jesus, therefore, saw His mother and the disciple standing by, whom He loved, He said to His mother, "Woman, behold thy son." Then He said to the disciple, "Behold thy mother." And from that hour the disciple took her into his home. (Jn. 19:26-27)

Our Lord, on the cross, in the midst of His tremendous suffering, takes the time to speak to His mother and St. John, who is the only disciple who did not run away. In these words, He gives to all of us His mother in order that she should be our mother, "Jesus is Mary's only son, but her spiritual motherhood extends to all men whom He indeed came to save" (CCC 501).

This spiritual motherhood is grounded in her union with Christ. Of course, as Jesus' mother she is united to Him, but even more so, she is united to Him as His disciple par excellance:

Thus the Blessed Virgin advanced in her pilgrimage of faith, and faithfully persevered in her union with her Son unto the cross. There she stood, in keeping with the divine plan, enduring with her only begotten Son the intensity of his suffering, joining herself with His sacrifice in her mother's heart, and lovingly consenting to the immolation of this victim, born of her: to be given, by the same Christ Jesus dying on the cross, as a mother to his disciple, with these words: "Woman, behold your son." (Lumen Gentium, 69>

Because she is the mother of our Lord, she gives us Christ. And Christ, gives us His mother and invites us to welcome her into our home, even as St. John did. As the premier disciple of Christ, she can teach us how to follow Christ even unto the cross where we might, as she did, be able to unite ourselves to Him and His suffering through our suffering.

Finally, we can learn from her how to give our fiat to His will. As she did at the Annuciation, she does at the Crucifixion. Mary says "Yes" to the Lord's will. She accepts the Divine Plan for her son to die on the cross for her salvation and the salvation of all. What more intense pain could a mother endure than to see her only son die such a horrible, cruel death? Yet, because of her love for Jesus and her complete trust in Him, she accepts even this knowing that through this greatest act of evil, the greatest good will come.

Such a mother is a mother who can understand all of the trials and tribulations which we encounter in this valley of tears. Jesus knows we need Mary, and He gave her to us during His Hour in order that we might turn to her to help us through our hour of need.

Posted by David at 7:16 AM  |  Comments (0)  |