Holy Week: In Our Midst – Mary, Mother of Jesus

– Br. Michael, ofm

And standing by the Cross of Jesus was his mother, and the sister of his mother, Mary, the wife of Clopas, and Mary, the Magdalene. 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 ©