Lenten Meditations – 13 April – With Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900) Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“The Sacred Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ”
“Short Meditations for Lent”
From “The Devout Year”
By Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)
The Sixth Sunday in Lent
Jesus Commends His Disciples
to His Holy Mother’s Care
Read St.John xix:25-27
[25] Now there stood by the Cross of Jesus, His Mother, and His Mother’s sister, Mary of Cleophas and Mary Magdalen.
[26] When Jesus, therefore, had seen His Mother and the disciple whom He loved, He saith to His Mother: Woman, behold thy son. [27] After that, He saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother. And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own. [John 19:25-27]
+1. Our Divine Saviour did not depart from those He loved without providing them with a Mother, who should be their Consoler, their Protector, their Advocate with God.
In the person of St John, He entrusted them all to Mary’s care.
If He had simply been providing Mary with a home, He would first have addressed St John and commended to him, the pious task of sheltering the Mother of God. By speaking firstly to Mary, He showed that it was she, who was to shelter all those, who were desolate and in sorrow. St John was the representative of all who love Jesus, when Jesus said to Mary respecting him:
“ Woman, behold thy son.”
+2. This was the occasion when Our Lady, for a second time, became a mother.
The birth of her first-begotten Jesus, cost her no pains of travail; the birth of her spiritual children, the sinful sons of men, brought unspeakable anguish to her. The Queen of Heaven became the Queen of Dolors before she could earn the right, to exercise, a mother’s fostering care over each of us,.
How we ought to value the privilege of being her children, when it cost Mary such unspeakable suffering!
+3. When Jesus said to Mary: “Woman, behold thy son” He asked Our Lady to regard us with a mother’s love for His Sake.
Her love for Him was to be transferred to us, without, however, becoming one whit the lesser. She was to love us for Jesus’ Sake; to show her love for Him, by loving us.
With what perfect confidence can we go to Mary, who sees in each of us, in spite of our sins, the image of her Divine Son!
Hail Mary full of grace!
AnaStpaul 