“Mary has truly become the Mother of all believers. Men and women of every time and place have recourse to her motherly kindness and her virginal purity and grace, in all their needs and aspirations, their joys and sorrows, their moments of loneliness and their common endeavors.”
READ: JOHN 19:17–30
Then they took charge of Jesus, and carrying his own cross he went out of the city to the place of the skull or, as it was called in Hebrew, Golgotha, where they crucified him with two others, one on either side with Jesus in the middle. Pilate wrote out a notice and had it fixed to the cross; it ran: “Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews.” This notice was read by many of the Jews, because the place where Jesus was crucified was not far from the city, and the writing was in Hebrew, Latin and Greek. So the Jewish chief priests said to Pilate, “You should not write ‘King of the Jews,’ but ‘This man said: I am King of the Jews.’ ” Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.” When the soldiers had finished crucifying Jesus they took his clothing and divided it into four shares, one for each soldier. His undergarment was seamless, woven in one piece from neck to hem; so they said to one another, “Instead of tearing it, let’s throw dice to decide who is to have it.” In this way the words of scripture were fulfilled: They shared out my clothing among them. They cast lots for my clothes. This is exactly what the soldiers did. Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. Seeing his mother and the disciple he loved standing near her, Jesus said to his mother, “Woman, this is your son.” Then to the disciple he said, “This is your mother.” And from that moment the disciple made a place for her in his home. After this, Jesus knew that everything had now been completed, and to fulfill the scripture perfectly he said: “I am thirsty.” A jar full of vinegar stood there, so putting a sponge soaked in the vinegar on a hyssop stick they held it up to his mouth. After Jesus had taken the vinegar he said, “It is accomplished”; and bowing his head he gave up his spirit.
YOUR THREE-STEP GUIDE TO DAILY MENTAL PRAYER
REFLECT
Jesus is on the verge of completing His earthly mission. As He does so, the mission of the Church (represented in a special way by the “beloved disciple” because the Church is Jesus’ beloved) is just beginning. By explicitly transferring the care of the Church (the beloved disciple) to Mary’s motherly attention and entrusting Mary to John in a filial way, Jesus extends Mary’s mission. She had been the Mother of Christ, the head of the Church, and now she is to be the Mother of the whole body, the members of the Church. Christ had only one thing left to give as He breathed His last breath — His own Mother, and He didn’t grudge us even that. Each follower of Christ, to enter fully into God’s family and to have Christ as a true brother, has to follow John’s example: “And from that moment the disciple made a place for her in his home.”
Mary: I didn’t choose to become Jesus’ Mother; that was God’s choice. How could I have ever chosen for myself such an exalted role when I always knew that I was only a blade of grass in the foothills beneath the mountain of God? Only God in His wisdom and goodness can give one of His creatures such a sublime mission. And though I didn’t choose it, how much joy it gave me! Even the sorrow of His pain on Calvary filled me with a certain spiritual joy because it allowed me to suffer too; it showed Him in a new way that I would never leave Him or doubt Him. And I didn’t choose to become your Mother either; that, too, was His choice. How could I have presumed to take upon myself such an exalted task — to be mother to a child born of water and the Holy Spirit? Only God in His goodness could give me such a joyful and worthy mission. And now I watch over you just as I watched over Him; I accompany you just as I accompanied Him; I love you just as I loved Him. He made me Queen of Heaven so that I could be your refuge and solace.
RESPOND
Mary, how do you guide me? I don’t see your face or hear your voice. But I know you are faithful to God’s will, and it is His will for you to teach and nourish me as my mother in grace. How do you do it? You instruct me by your example: you stood at the foot of the Cross, firm and faithful because your love was true and total. Teach me how to embrace fully the will of God, even when it means embracing the cross.
REST
Nothing escapes your rule, Lord. Down to the tiny detail of a hyssop stick on Calvary, You govern every speck of the cosmos and every wrinkle of human history. You are the Lord. You are my Lord. Increase my faith, Lord. I want to rejoice in the peace of knowing You more deeply and trusting You more unconditionally.
RESOLVE
How can I carry this encounter with me into the day? (Write / Journal)
CLOSING PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
Most Blessed and Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, thank You for Your love and Your grace in allowing me this time of prayer with You.
The world, the flesh, and the devil will all propose things I should focus on and run after today. I beg You to fill me with Your Holy Spirit and help me instead to know and embrace Your will. Help me to see what You desire of me each moment of this day. Give me the wisdom, strength, and fortitude I need to avoid distractions, discern Your will, and focus on and carry out that which Wisdom reveals. Help me to work and live at a pace of peace and prayerfulness, always attentive to You, able to hear Your voice and to say no to anything that hinders my journey to You and a complete yes to every Holy prompting from You.
Help me to humbly and purposefully live, light, and lead others to the path of union with You and to tell everyone about this way of life. Amen.
About the Author
Fr. John Bartunek was ordained in 2003. He has taught moral theology at various ecclesiastical institutions at the graduate and undergraduate levels, and has authored many books, including the Gospel companion, The Better Part, and Inside the Passion, the only authorized behind-the-scenes look at the film, for which he provided on-set spiritual support. His online retreat guides are available in multiple formats at RCSpirituality.org. Fr. John currently resides in Atlanta, where he is serving as territorial vicar for the Legionaries of Christ.
