Twelfth Station: Jesus Speaks to His Mother and the Disciple
Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.
John 19: 25-27
We pray:
Lord Jesus, though You seem to have nothing now, you are still giving.You give mercy and forgiveness to all, You give Your promise of salvation to the Good Thief, and now you give Your Mother to us.Mary’s Heart, pierced with the sword of sorrow prophesied by Simeon so many years ago, is now open to the whole world. She stands at the foot of the Cross, consumed with grief, yet looking straight into the face of suffering, strong in hope. She accepts this as she has accepted every detail of her life: as the Father’s perfect will, which she need not understand. She must only trust. She does not waver, does not draw back from her fiat, “Be it done to me as you have said.” (Lk 1:38 ) She places no limits or conditions on her Yes, because she trusts fully that nothing is impossible for God.She is confident that You will reign, that this is necessary, and that Love will conquer all.
All:
Lord, bring us beyond our woundedness to the place where we know that our peace and our joy are to be found only in doing the will of the Father wholeheartedly. Help us to remember, like Mary, that the Mystery of God does not require our understanding, but rather our trust; we must trust God’s loving plan for His creation, and do all we can to spread the Fire You came to enkindle on earth.
May this entrusting of Your mother to the beloved disciple, and of Your beloved disciple to Mary, be a sign to us that You do not want us to walk alone, and inspire us to support one another as we journey toward You.
