Celebrating Mary in May
Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. John 19:25
For Mary, mother of the crucified, there was no thought of running away. No thought of abandoning her beloved son in his last hours of agony. No thought that her association with Jesus, sentenced to a criminal’s death, might result in a similar tortured fate for herself.
No, John recalls, she was standing. Standing, not fleeing. Standing, not hiding. Standing as witness to the last moments of this man whom she had nurtured as a child and accompanied with tenderness into adulthood. Standing and knowing herself powerless to save him. Standing and owning the truth that sometimes simply being present is all we can do, and it is everything.
Mary, Mother of the Church, stands with us still. May her witness bless us and inspire us to stand with others in love and compassion.
Sr. Chris Koellhoffer, I.H.M.
Originally published May 24, 2021
The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church
