"And thy own soul a sword shall pierce." (St Luke ii. 35.)

1st Prelude. (1) Mary meeting Jesus with His Cross.

(2) Mary witnessing the Crucifixion of Her Son.

2nd Prelude. Grace to understand what a precious gift suffering is.

Mary, with the knowledge which she had all her life of her Son's Passion, must have known when the hour was approaching. She had noticed the ever-increasing envy and hatred of the Chief Priests. She knew of the various attempts on His life, and of the organised plot to kill Him. And when the Passion itself began, we may be quite sure that, even if she were not actually a witness of some of the scenes, the Apostles kept her informed of what was going on. She would hear of the Agony in the Garden, of Judas' betrayal, of the desertion of the Apostles; then of the trials, of the scourging and crowning with thorns, of Pilate's vain attempts to save Him; she knew that they would be vain. And when at length the death sentence was passed, she set out with the other ministering women to be as near to Him as she could while He carried His Cross to Calvary. Once, at any rate, on the Way of the Cross they caught sight of each other, and had that unspeakable consolation which no one could give to Jesus but Mary, and no one to Mary but Jesus. But though it was a consolation, it was also an anguish so great, that this meeting of Jesus with His Blessed Mother is counted as one of the seven swords that pierced her heart. It is the Fourth Dolour. Then, on Calvary's hill, she must have heard, even if she did not see, the nails being driven in; and heard, too, something that gave her strength and courage at that terrible moment—her Son speaking to His Father, the crowning point of Whose "business" He had now reached: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." Who can measure what the pain of this Fifth Dolour was to Mary! What was it that gave her an almost superhuman courage? The firm belief that everything she saw and heard was God's will; and such was the intensity with which she had said her Fiat, that His will was nearer to her even than her own sufferings. In proportion as this is the case with us shall we get the good that God intends out of suffering, and join, as Mary did, our prayers with those of Jesus by asking God's forgiveness for all who cause us suffering.

Then, as soon as the darkness permitted her to draw near without observation, she allowed John to take her to the Foot of the Cross, and there took up her stand. Her sacrifice was very near to its completion now. This is what she meant when she said her Fiat to the Angel Gabriel thirty-three years ago. This is what she meant when she presented Him to the Lord when He was forty days old. The three days' loss, and the separation when He left His home at Nazareth, had been a foreshadowing of this. Now the consummation of her sacrifice had arrived: "And there stood by the Cross of Jesus His Mother"! She had never flinched, had never looked back. It had been Fiat all along the line. She was a "valiant woman" to the end, bravely doing her part, and offering her Son to God.

This was Mary's sacrifice—but what is her part in the Sacrifice that her Son is offering to His Father for the world's redemption? Just this, that she provided the Victim. She did not withhold her Son—her only Son. (Gen. xxii. 16.) Jesus on Calvary offered Himself to the Father; and Mary assisted—not only by the perfect union of her will and intention with His, but actually, by providing Him with the Body which He was offering to His Father. Her position was that of the Deacon at High Mass. His part is not the offering of the Sacrifice—the Priest alone can do that—but He provides the Priest with the bread and wine which he is going to use for the Sacrifice, and without which there could be no Sacrifice. "A Body hast thou prepared Me"; and that Body came from Mary—it was with Blood drawn from her veins that He redeemed the world. But the Sacrificial Act was His, and His alone: "I have trodden the wine-press alone." (Isaias lxiii. 3.)

As she stood there taking her part, how her heart was enlarging! He was dying for the whole world—for the whole human race, past, present, and future—and she was His Mother; she was standing by and assisting; all His interests were hers. She had seen the conversions worked by Him on the Way of the Cross; she had seen the change in the dying thief; now Jesus addressed Himself to her, and by His Third Word from the Cross made her the Second Eve, the Mother of all living—of all for whom He was dying. "Woman, behold thy son!" Again He used the official title—Woman; He was not treating her now as His Mother, but rather as the Mother of all. Behold thy son; take John for thy son, and with him take the whole human race. He counted on her power of suffering, and it was through that suffering that she became the universal Mother. He knew how the sword would stab when she heard that she was to take John in His place, but He knew also that the wound made by that sword-thrust would enlarge her heart to take in her new family. He was dying, and His legacy to His Mother was the whole human race. The idea was not a new one to her, for He had been gradually training her up to it, as we have seen, ever since the Incarnation. He added another word to make all sure. He spoke now to John as the representative of the human race: "Behold thy Mother!" The immediate meaning of His words John very well understood—that he was to cherish, support, and take care of her; be a son to her now that her own Son was being taken from her. But He had an intention in that word for each one of us. To each and all He said: "Behold Thy Mother!" and from that moment all who will, have the right to take her to their own.

To what extent have I taken this word seriously? Have I really believed that Jesus had me in His mind as well as St John when He said: "Behold thy Mother!" that it was of me that He thought and to me that He spoke? Have I felt the responsibility as well as the honour of being a child of Mary, and that it is my bounden duty to love and cherish her, to support and take care of her—that is, to stand up for her and shield her from those who will not behold her as their Mother? O my Mother, I want more than ever to take thee to my own, as thy first adopted son did. Come home with me, live side by side with me, talk to me of Jesus, and thus help to pass the time when you see me getting weary; help me to imitate Him as thou didst, and to share His work by my prayer and sacrifice as thou didst. And then, Mother, thou wilt always be there to show me what sacrifice really means—how it enters into all the little details of everyday life—to show me what having my will united to thy Son's means. Thou wilt be there to put a restraining hand upon me and make me live as a child of Mary should; thou, to whom Jesus was subject, wilt teach me what real submission means. Yes, I am decided that to-day it shall be recorded of me in Heaven: "From that hour that disciple took her to his own."

Colloquy with Mary.

Resolution. To take Mary as the special gift of Jesus to me.

Spiritual Bouquet. "There stood by the Cross of Jesus His Mother."