Mary, Mother of Sorrows

Mary, Mother of Sorrows: The Fifth Sorrow, Mary Standing beneath the Cross—Mary stands beneath the cross of her dying Son. He is in excruciating pain as he lifts Himself up in order to breathe.  Blood is pouring out from His nailed wrists and feet. Executioners and those crucified with Him are taunting Him: “If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross and save yourself.”   Unsympathetic onlookers are scoffing at Him, convinced now, perhaps, that He got what He deserved, that He was, in truth, not the Messiah, the Anointed One, but an imposter.   And when Jesus stays on the cross in obedience to the Father, out of love for us and for our salvation, their disgust toward Him intensifies.  Mary hears the scathing insults.  She sees the hatred in the eyes of those who are mocking Him and hears the anger in their voices.  She then hears Jesus say: “Father, forgive them for they know now what they are doing.”  With her Son, Mary asks God to forgive us when we say and do things that bring harm to others.  

What do we do when we witness others being insulted? What do we do when we ourselves experience the disdain of those who resent us? How do we react when what we stand for as Christians is met with scornful remarks or when our truth is rejected, as Jesus’ was?  With Jesus and Mary, do we pray: “Father, forgive them; they do not know what they are doing?”