Mary at the Foot of the Cross

“Standing by the foot of 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 his disciple, ‘Behold your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his home” (Jn 19:25).

I believe that St. John, in this passage, wants to exalt Mary’s faith by presenting two elements in reference to this event:

First, Mary’s presence at the foot of the Cross. It is precisely at this place where the faith of the disciples and, logically, Mary’s faith, is put to the hardest test. Her presence manifests Her fidelity, Her constant abandonment to the designs of the Lord’s will, and a faith that is undiminished, unchanged and unaltered even in the darkest hours.

Second, in the words of Jesus, “Behold your son,” Mary is invited to expand the horizon of Her faith and the understanding of Her role, since Her motherhood is now moving beyond Her dying son; it is been extended to the reality of a spiritual maternity for all the children of God. This last will of Jesus on the Cross became, for Mary, a new annunciation of a conception and birth: The Church.

Mary’s faith was constant, not only present in the times of “apparent glory” when Her Son was performing miracles and had many disciples that believed in Him; it was just as strong when there was no “apparent glory,” when there were no supernatural manifestations or happenings to attract attention, and even when there were not that many disciples to believe – except one, the one that was with Her at the foot of the Cross.

The same faith that Mary had at the birth of Her Son was the one She had at the Cross. It required much faith to have in Her arms that defenseless baby, and to put him in the manger and believe that He was the God-man. It also required much faith to see Her Son totally disfigured and defenseless on the Cross, waiting for him to be placed in Her arms, to then be put in the sepulcher. Her faith allowed Her to continue to believe that, regardless of what appeared to be, He was the God-man.

In Cana Jesus proclaimed that it was not his “hour,” and Mary’s faith and intercession, manifested in the form of a petition, achieved the first miracle, the miracle of the wine. At the Cross, when it was in fact Jesus’ Hour, Mary’s faith and intercession, now manifested in silence, also witnessed the outpouring of the new wine, the blood of Her Son being shed for our salvation, to quench our thirst for God and His divine life.

“The Blessed Virgin advanced in her pilgrimage of faith, and faithfully persevered in her union with her Son unto the Cross, where she stood, in keeping with the divine plan, grieving exceedingly with her only begotten Son, uniting herself with a maternal heart with His sacrifice, and lovingly consenting to the immolation of this Victim which she Herself had brought forth” (Lumen Gentium, 58) 

Mary’s faith is a model for the Church: just like Mary, the Church has Her own itinerary and Her own journey to travel. It is Mary’s faith that will teach the Church to be faithful, undivided, perseverant and trustful in times of glory and in times of suffering.

John at the Foot of the Cross

John’s faith was put to the hardest test not only at the Cross, but from the moment of the Last Supper. This disciple was known to be especially loved by the Lord. When painful revelations were given by the Lord in that Supper, he, leaning back on Jesus’ breast, wanted to have some answers, some understanding about what was happening. Maybe, by this act, he also expressed his fear and his confusion at the announcements of treason, disloyalty, suffering and death. His faith was shaken to the point that, when Jesus was arrested, John run away just like the other apostles.

It is very interesting to me that, even though John was also afraid, doubtful and running away from suffering, he appeared at the event on Calvary, at the foot of the Cross with Mary. Could we try to imagine what happened in John’s heart that made him gain the courage to be faithful to Jesus on the Cross?

Where did John go after Gethsemane? Where did he go to find some meaning to all that darkness? To whom did he run? Maybe, just maybe, he went to Mary. He knew the kind of unshaken faith and fidelity She had, and at that moment he needed to have that kind of inspiration and model. Could it be that Mary went looking for him, to help him be faithful to Her Son at the time He needed the fidelity and courage of His most beloved disciple?

We do not really know what happened; all we do know is that at the foot of the Cross – where nothing seemed to make sense, where darkness seemed to have overcome light, where death seemed to have overcome life, where the messianic power seemed to have been lost, where goodness seemed to have been overcome by evil – there, at the foot of the Cross, were Mary and John, expressing the hardest thing that could have been expressed at that moment: faith in Jesus Christ, Savior, Messiah, Redeemer. The Son of God.

Conclusion

Mary’s faith was the most perfect one. The sublime truths were presented to Her and She assented to them with promptness and constancy. She was called to manifest a heroic faith. It is true that the Lord did “great things in her” (Luke 1:49), but we cannot forget that She was also required to live up to those graces for the fulfillment of Her very difficult vocation and mission. The heroism of Her faith refers not only to Her virginal and divine maternity, but also to Her capacity to live permanently with the mystery of Her own person, Her Son and the plan of salvation.

She believed with promptness, never doubting that the things revealed to Her would be fulfilled; and She believed with constancy, being firm in times of tribulation and darkness, just like a rock in the midst of a turbulent sea.