Reflection from Fr. David: Following Jesus on the Way of the Cross with Mary

Dear brothers and sisters, in this world we cannot escape suffering, falls, wounds, rejection, punishment, death, burial, and resurrection. Today we gather here together to reflect on the passion of our Lord, Jesus Christ who suffered until his death on the cross. By reflecting on the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, we hope to we can really understand and realize how much God loves us. After this spiritual pilgrimage, we hope we can each grow closer and have a sincere love for our Lord Jesus Christ and also for our neighbors.

Mary: The Strong Mother

St. Anselmus had a question for Our Lady, "Are you sure that you are able to bear to see Him, who is your own life, hanging on the cross?" We all know Our Lady as a mother and as a woman who is so strong, so steadfast, and so obedient to the will of God, able to endure whatever situation she is faced with. All of that was especially obvious when she remained faithful with Jesus all the way to the cross.

If we were in Mary's position, what would we feel when we see your own child whom we carried and raised having to suffer so much? Of course, our feelings would be shattered, and so would Mary's. It took such great courage and strength to be able to stand until the end, not only to see her son go through physical and mental torture -injured, insulted, spitted on, abandoned- until he died on the cross.

This was all experienced by Mary. With her courageous heart, Mother Mary followed Jesus' footsteps, which had been shedding blood, to the Mount of Calvary. St. Bernardinus himself once expressed: "If all the sufferings of the world were put together, it would still not compare to the sorrow of the glorious Virgin Mary".

What if we were in Our Lady's situation? What if there is such an important part of our lives that we have been protecting, nurturing, even fighting for in life, had suddenly been "taken away"? That the life had suddenly been lost, destroyed, damaged, suffered, sick, and experienced other painful things? Are we able to endure through it faithfully, never taking our eyes off Jesus, and surrendering everything to Him? Or do we run away from it all and blame Jesus?

Each of us has our own and different crucifix to carry. But it is our response in carrying that cross that will determine how our journey will be. Let us all learn from Our Lady. Our Lady remained obedient in her suffering when she had to see Jesus, who was her very life, hanging on the cross. She did not run away from it all, but she remained obedient to the end and keeping her eyes fixed lovingly on Jesus.

Indeed, sometimes as humans, we are so attached to what we have and have strived for, without realizing that they are all gifts and grace from God. That doesn't mean we shouldn't feel sad when we lose something precious, but let us not consume so much of our time focusing on our material loss, so much so that it causes us to take our eyes off Jesus. When we feel weak and helpless in carrying our cross, let us look at the crucified Jesus. We stand for a moment at the foot of His cross with Our Lady. We want to draw strength there to keep it going until the end.