- John 19.25
With Mary the mother of Jesus we remember those who
are unjustly condemned and made out to be a scapegoat. We remember those who
are ladened down with burdens heavy from this pandemic or illnesses or relationships
or from abuses or fears. We remember those who are alone and afraid. We
remember those who are stripped of their dignity. We remember those who die
each day because of who they are and what they believe. With Mary we make our
way to the cross of her Son remembering all those whose cross has been very
heavy this Lent. With Mary we must stand with them to be signs of hope.
With Mary the mother of Jesus we are called to return
to the journey of this season with a pondering heart. Reflecting on where we
have journeyed and what has changed or shifted in us. Where has new life
sprouted up in us? What sorrows have called us to return to the heart of our
God with a desire for clarity and healing? This Holy Week with Mary and her
companions we return to the cross. We bring all we are – our hurts, our joys, our
hopes, our yearnings, our blessings and our pains entrusting them again to her
Son; knowing he will transform us.
With Mary the mother of Jesus we recall those who
have journeyed with us, not only in this season but in all the seasons of life.
We recall those who have supported us when we are weak, those who have
encouraged us when our cross has felt life-crushing, those who have remained by
us when all others have deserted us. We recall that in the journey we also may
have cried “God, why have you forsaken me?” Mary too must have felt this way
when Jesus cried those words. Her son, taken from her and from life unjustly,
leaving her feeling forsaken. This Holy Week let us recall those times of
feeling abandoned and entrust them to Jesus. These sacred days call us to move
from the feeling of abandonment into the awareness of eternal life. We are a
people who with Mary walk with hope, stand by the cross with courage and trust
in a love stronger than the pain of the cross.
Blessings during this Holy Week.
Blessed Mary, Mother of Jesus
walk with us and pray
for us.
Icon: “Holding onto
Hope”
Mother Mary near
the Cross
by C. Ziprick –
Soul Sibling Studios ©