Holy Week: Mary at the Lord’s Cross

Maria at the Foot of the CrossDuring Lent, especially in its final phase, the gaze of the faithful turns decisively towards the cross. It is by looking at Calvary that we discover another aspect of the mystery of the Virgin who shares the sacrifice of the Son also near the cross.Este mistério é destacado por uma série de textos bíblicos de duas maneiras:– Contemplate the Mother at the Cross of the Son (Jn 19,25-27) and reread this pain in the perspective of Rom 8,31-39: God did not spare his own son. By accepting this logic, we understand the faith of the Church throughout time, which together with the daily crosses of all its children, sings: “In anguish I call upon you: save me, Lord, and invoke Mary of Sorrows near the cross, Queen of Heaven and Lady of the world.”– Jdt 13,17-20 helps, through the figure of Judith, to see Mary as the one who radically raised the destiny of the people with the “courage” that comes from God.All this as a gift of the Lord’s “tenderness,” which “spreads over all creatures,” and especially in Mary who “remained by the cross steadfast in faith, strong in hope, burning with charity.”If we now observe the praying voice of the Church, we see emerge a context that explicitly emphasizes the sorrow of the Virgin and, at the same time, her role in participating in the redemptive mission of the Son. The passion of the Son immediately highlights the compassion of the Mother. The Church prays to the “Mother of Sorrows at the foot of the cross” or, better yet, “beside the cross of the Son.” The mysterious sharing is expressed by prayer often using the terms *compatiens*, *compassio* and *socia passionis*. Mary appears as a “generous companion of the Passion,” the “Sorrowful Mother” and “Mother of Sorrows,” she who was “associated (to the Son) in one martyrdom.” The Church recognizes and contemplates this mystery by singing: “Blessed are you, Virgin Mary, who without dying deserved the palm of martyrdom under the cross of the Lord.”Sharing in the passion of Christ makes Mary a mysterious and real participant in the saving work of the Son. Contemplating Mary “associated with the redeeming passion of Christ,” some elements emerge:Maria is presented as the New Eve who accompanies and shares in the sacrifice of the new Adam for the redemption of the human family.The two highlighted aspects above, the compassion of the Mother and her decisive role in the salvific plan, accentuate new aspects of the Virgin’s exemplariness. Her fidelity in the hour of trial and her sharing in the Father’s salvific plan place Mary as a renewed model for the Church.

Some conclusions

Contemplating “the Mother at the cross of the Son,” the Church is aware that it enters into a new school of life: just as Mary guides life, so too does the Church, contemplating in the Virgin her image as Spouse, preserve intact the faith given to the Spouse despite threats and persecutions.In every age, the passion of the Son continues in the wounded members of his body which is the Church. And, just as Mary did, the Church prays to have eyes open enough to recognize and serve Christ suffering in her brothers and sisters with solicitous love.As Mary, the Church is in the condition of collaborating in the salvific plan of the Father through fidelity at the hour of the cross. Carrying the cross daily is to prolong the work of Christ, the high priest, so that each man may increasingly experience the fruits of redemption. Only thus is it possible to fully participate in the renewed creation, when all those who are gathered by virtue of the blood of Christ will attain the perfection of their own filiation in Christ and God will be all in all.The presence of Mary at the Cross is deepened in the encyclical *Redemptoris Mater* by John Paul II, which reflects on the spiritual journey of Mary and her participation in the redeeming mystery of Christ.Profundifique seus estudos: explore Mariologia, Teologia Mariana, Aparições Marianas e a Postgraduate in Mariology.