The life of Mary was a constant yes to the Lord that is ‘doing his will’ and beautifully receptive to God’s plan for her life, She offered an unconditional yes. From the moment of her conception of Christ within her womb, throughout the hidden years of Our Lord, and all the way up the hill to Calvary, every breath Mary took, echoed her yes to the Lord.
Mary said ‘yes’ to the joyful mysteries of her life, but offered the Lord the same ‘yes’ for the sorrowful mysteries as well. Like Mary, devotees are offered opportunities to trust the Lord in the good times and the bad. Only someone brave and daring could bear to stand the agony and death of her own son. The most horrific death but she stood like a pillar of comfort, strength and support, at the foot of the cross.
Pope Pius IX meditated on the courage Our Lady demonstrated during the death of Christ. He wrote, “A courageous woman ascended the summit of Golgotha. Therefore, Mary most holy was standing with head raised at the foot of the Cross while she heard the blasphemies of the soldiers, the ugly jokes of the Pharisees, the insults of the priests, standing and with her eyes turned to her Divine Son, she felt her courage redoubling, even in the fullness of her sorrows. Standing she remained a motionless onlooker as a woman meditating, suffering and hoping.”
It’s so beautiful that Mary stands at the foot of the cross. Can you imagine the emotions and thoughts running through her mind? Her son hangs above her, struggling for breath. Yet, she doesn’t collapse in a heap. Instead, she stands courageously beneath the shadow of the cross.
In the face of one’s current reality, Mary shows the way. Mary stands. Some may see this as a passive posture. However, it can be anything but passive. Mary’s stance at the foot of the cross is one of courage, non-violent resistance, of defiance and it is an act of love. She stands for justice in the face of unjust systems. It is a steadfast stance of trust in the One who overshadowed her and was with her at each step of her life. In standing there, she most likely put her own life at risk, but that was not her concern. Her concern was for the one who suffers and to stand in non-violent opposition. This, is one’s call as well — to stand in resistance to the systems that oppress, violate or murder and to stand with the one who suffers.
There are times when others are in such pain that one’s only possible response is simply to be present to them. There will be times in the current national and global reality in which one can do no more than be present to those who suffer. Perhaps one cannot be present in person, but in many situations one can. We just need clearer sight to see those in one’s midst who are in need of a compassionate presence.
As one sees Mary and John at the foot of the cross gaze at Jesus, forgetting their pain, they invite all to be present (though it takes courage), to the one who suffers and also support each other in their pain. To accept the will of God at all times not only in the joyful and glorious mysteries of life but also when sorrow engulfs one.
