Near the cross of Jesus stood Mary, his mother. Today the Church honors and celebrates the Blessed Virgin Mary in a special feast called Our Lady of Sorrows. Simply put, it is a feast that says we want to remember the Blessed Virgin Mary as being in the life of Jesus right from his birth to death on the cross. That as a mother, there was no single moment in the life of Jesus where Mary was absent. Her being ever present in the life of Jesus made her to share with her son the agony of the cross.
Mary’s agony as a mother was not reserved to the events of Good Friday. Right from Jesus’ birth, Mary had to forget about her own comfort in order to attend to Jesus. For soon after Jesus’ birth, May and Joseph had to flee to Egypt in order to keep Jesus safe. We can all imagine what kind of a journey it was and how uncomfortable it must have been for a young mother. Although the Gospels tell us that Jesus grew up in the favor of the Lord (cf. Luke 2:40, 51), we can also assume that as a boy growing up, there were times that he got the better part of his parents. We read from the Gospel accounts of the time Mary and Joseph took Jesus to Jerusalem and he decided to remain behind without their knowledge. It took Mary and Joseph three days to locate him and when they finally found him, his response wasn’t one expected from a twelve-year old boy who was feeling relieved for having been finally re-united with his parents. It was a difficult time for Mary. And when Jesus began his public ministry, Mary’s worries did not subside. Jesus’ ministry would take him away from home for days on end, and it appears that sometimes he would go without eating. It was a lifestyle that visibly took a toll on his overall appearance making people to think that he had lost his mind (cf. Mark 3:21; John 10:20). The most difficult moment for Mary as a mother came when Jesus was made to carry his cross and go to Calvary to be crucified. Mary was there with him, watching her son get flogged and beat up. She cried. She felt the pain. But she soldiered on.
In all that Mary went through, she did not complain. Even when her own heart was pierced, Mary kept everything in her heart. When other people misunderstood what Jesus was doing and became mean to him, Mary didn’t ask Jesus to ‘come home’ and forget about the mission. What she was undergoing as a mother must have been painful, but she understood the importance of what Jesus was doing. As a mother, she would have loved to have Jesus for herself but she didn’t. She was generous to share Jesus with the world. And so today as we remember the pain Mother Mary underwent as she watched Jesus hang upon the cross for us, let us ask her to pray for us so that we too may be able to lead lives of generosity just as she did.