The Fifth Sorrow of Mary: The Death of
Jesus on the Cross
Standing by 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 the disciple,
“Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.
After this, aware that everything was now finished, in order that the scripture
might be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I thirst.” There was a vessel filled with
common wine. So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put
it up to his mouth. When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, “It is finished.”
And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit. (John 19:25–30)
Regarding the death of a
loved one there is no one who better understands this pain than Mary. A common
theme throughout her sufferings is she just remains present. She does not run
away like the other apostles. She does not try to control the situation. She
does not react and attack (verbally or physically). She chooses to just be. She
fully feels the sorrow, and she chooses to remain, to be there for her son, and
to trust that as long as she follows God’s will, He will ultimately triumph.
The emotional pain
and heartbreak our Lady was going through during our Lord’s crucifixion was truly
enormous. Seeing her only begotten Son hanging from the cross like a common
criminal was more than any of us could endure. Our Lady sees our Lord, her beloved
Son, arrested, falsely accused, scourged, crowned with thorns, and eventually
led away with His Holy Cross on His shoulders. Then she sees the nails go into
His hands and feet. I’m sure she must have been feeling his pain every step of
the way. She is there every moment, tears in her eyes, and showing love and
support to Her Suffering Son. She is unable to stop the torture from happening
but is there in support and love for Her Son.
During this ordeal
she must have remembered the words of Simeon who told her at the Presentation:
“Behold, this child is destined for the fall and
rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted (and you
yourself a sword will pierce) so that the thoughts of many hearts may be
revealed.” That sword was piercing her heart at this moment
of His crucifixion.
As our Lady had compassion on Her Son, so, too, Jesus, as He
hung upon His Holy Cross, had compassion towards His suffering Mother. He sees
His mother and St. John, the disciple He loves. Even in his agony and pain he
wants to be sure His mother is looked after and taken care of. We hear Jesus
say to Mary, referring to John, “Behold your son.” Then to St. John, “Behold
your mother.” John will look after Mary after Jesus’ death and resurrection. In
doing this, Jesus is not only giving Mary to John, but is also giving Mary to
us to be our mother, and the Mother of the Church. Our Lord’s love for His
mother and for us is truly great. He knew that we needed a loving advocate to
intercede for us in all our needs, and the Virgin Mary is that advocate.
John represents each one of us in accepting the
responsibility of accepting Mary into his life to care for her in her needs.
She is there also for St. John and the early church praying with those that the
Lord left behind. Each one of us has Mary for our Mother, and as a result, are
brothers and sisters not only of each other, but of the Lord Jesus Christ. We can
gain access to Jesus through Mary. She will always take our cares and concerns
to the Lord to give us strength and comfort in our times of need.
Further, as Jesus is physically crucified, Mary is spiritually crucified.
As John Paul the Great notes, “Crucified spiritually with her crucified Son,
she contemplated with heroic love the death of her God, she ‘loving consented
to the immolation of the Victim which she herself had brought forth. In fact,
Mary’s role as co-redemptrix did not cease with the glorification of her Son.”
Vatican II adds that the Mother was “enduring with her only begotten Son
the intensity of his suffering, [and] associated herself with his sacrifice in
her mother’s heart” It is little wonder that John Paul would say Mary’s
sufferings at Calvary reached a level almost unimaginable.
By meditating on the death of Jesus on the Cross, we can also imagine
being one of those surrounding the Lord during his agony and death. There is Mary,
the Mother of Jesus; Mary, the wife of Clopas; Mary Magdala, and John. As we
meditate on our Lord’s death, let’s imagine what it must have been like for
those present. As mentioned, Mary, the Mother of the Lord, suffered a great
deal as a result of the suffering and torment of Jesus on his way to Calvery.
We can place ourselves in the shoes of Mary as she suffers with her son. We can
see and feel her pain as she sees the pain of the Lord. Like Mary, we, too, can
suffer with the Lord as we meditate on him and his wounds on the Holy Cross. Then
there’s Mary, the wife of Clopas, comforting Mary as she sees her son
suffering. We, too, like Mary, wife of Clopas, can comfort Mary who suffered
greatly watching her son’s suffering. Then there is Mary Magdala, seeing her
Lord and savior suffer greatly. Mary Magdala’s whole life was changed as a
result of being touched and healed by the Lord Jesus Christ during her life. Her
life was never the same. We, like Mary, can look at the Lord and be grateful
for his love and forgiveness for us and for dying on the cross for our
salvation. Like Mary Magdala, we can and should have the Lord Jesus Christ in
the center of who we are as Catholics and as Christians.
Then there is John, the disciple the Lord loved, ready to take Mary into
his home to care for her upon the death of Jesus. We, as brothers and sisters
of the Lord, can take Mary into our hearts and embrace her as our Mother. We
can take care of Mary by showing love towards Jesus, her beloved Son. Further,
we know that all we ask for from her, she will in turn bring it to her son
Jesus to respond to in a way that is best for us.
During this season of Lent, as we reflect on the Sorrows of Mary, it
would be a good time to reflect on the times when we fell short in our response
to the love of God in our lives. These are the times when we may have sinned
and turned away from God by turning away from those in our lives. Our Lord’s
death on the Cross was for the salvation of all. During this time of Lent, let
us reflect on the times when we may have failed to love God with our whole
hearts and to bring that love to those in our lives. By loving them we are
loving the Lord Jesus. Christ died on the Cross for all of us. This is a
special time when we can turn to the Lord Jesus in the sacrament of confession
and show our repentance for the times when we were not as loving and charitable
to others as we should have been.
As we meditate with Mary upon the death of her Son on the cross, let us
give our cares and concerns to Mary to present them to the Lord Jesus to
respond in a way that’s beneficial for us and for those we pray for.
Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us.
