THE SOLITUDE OF MARY
3. The Return from Calvary.
Our Saviour remained in the sepulcher. For Mary, there was neither rest nor tranquility. She found Herself so lonely, so bereaved, so derelict and homeless! Gently accompanied by those souls around Her, but feeling in Her heart a frightful solitude, She set out on the return journey to Her dwelling.
Those around Her, with a heavy heart, thought of the torn heart of the Mother returning alone without Her Son! Follow Her in that sorrowful trip.
On Her way back, She had to climb Calvary again. How would She feel on seeing the Cross, void and empty, stained with the Blood of God! She stops at its foot, embraces it, adores it.
The cross is no longer an infamous gibbet. It is no longer something hateful, horrible an accursed. In the cross Mary sees the tree of life which has just given us fully ripened the fruit of our salvation. The cross is now the Key of Heaven. It is the sword which will ever conquer the enemies of Christ. It is the weapon of combat for all Christians. From now on it will be the madness of those loving souls who will be unable to live without it, those who choose to embrace it and live crucified on it. The cross will now be a weighing scale where all our actions will be weighed and where men will find the reason of their damnation or salvation. Oh, divine and blessed Cross! What sweet expressions would Our Lady pour on it! How She would give vent to Her feelings in sweet tears and tender embrace! Let us too embrace that cross, be enamored of it, since it was watered by the Blood of Christ and by the tears of His Mother.
Let the cross be, as St. Paul tells us, our greatest glory and happiness.
Then Mary got up and proceeded on Her journey. How many recollections thronged Her mind on reaching the accursed City. The God-killing city! Its streets are still fresh with the blood of Her Son. She often stops to kiss those holy stains. At every bend, at every corner, a thousand recollections crowd Her mind. There He fell. There they met. There He lifted His cross. And there, amidst the shadow of darkness is the palace of Herod where Jesus was dismissed as a mad man. And there, is the palace of Pilate and the square where the mob cried for His death. And the balcony of the Ecce Homo and the court-yard of the scourging. Poor Mother! How She recounts those steps one by one!
Accompany Our Heavenly Mother very often on this devout pilgrimage. Make the stations of the cross well and often and always accompany Our Blessed Lady. She will teach you how to make the stations of the cross well!
[Excerpted from 'MARIAN MEDITATIONS' Book by Rev. Dr. Ildefonso R. Villar, Salesian Philippine Province, Nihil Obstat; Imprimatur]
3. The Return from Calvary.
Our Saviour remained in the sepulcher. For Mary, there was neither rest nor tranquility. She found Herself so lonely, so bereaved, so derelict and homeless! Gently accompanied by those souls around Her, but feeling in Her heart a frightful solitude, She set out on the return journey to Her dwelling.
Those around Her, with a heavy heart, thought of the torn heart of the Mother returning alone without Her Son! Follow Her in that sorrowful trip.
On Her way back, She had to climb Calvary again. How would She feel on seeing the Cross, void and empty, stained with the Blood of God! She stops at its foot, embraces it, adores it.
The cross is no longer an infamous gibbet. It is no longer something hateful, horrible an accursed. In the cross Mary sees the tree of life which has just given us fully ripened the fruit of our salvation. The cross is now the Key of Heaven. It is the sword which will ever conquer the enemies of Christ. It is the weapon of combat for all Christians. From now on it will be the madness of those loving souls who will be unable to live without it, those who choose to embrace it and live crucified on it. The cross will now be a weighing scale where all our actions will be weighed and where men will find the reason of their damnation or salvation. Oh, divine and blessed Cross! What sweet expressions would Our Lady pour on it! How She would give vent to Her feelings in sweet tears and tender embrace! Let us too embrace that cross, be enamored of it, since it was watered by the Blood of Christ and by the tears of His Mother.
Let the cross be, as St. Paul tells us, our greatest glory and happiness.
Then Mary got up and proceeded on Her journey. How many recollections thronged Her mind on reaching the accursed City. The God-killing city! Its streets are still fresh with the blood of Her Son. She often stops to kiss those holy stains. At every bend, at every corner, a thousand recollections crowd Her mind. There He fell. There they met. There He lifted His cross. And there, amidst the shadow of darkness is the palace of Herod where Jesus was dismissed as a mad man. And there, is the palace of Pilate and the square where the mob cried for His death. And the balcony of the Ecce Homo and the court-yard of the scourging. Poor Mother! How She recounts those steps one by one!
Accompany Our Heavenly Mother very often on this devout pilgrimage. Make the stations of the cross well and often and always accompany Our Blessed Lady. She will teach you how to make the stations of the cross well!
[Excerpted from 'MARIAN MEDITATIONS' Book by Rev. Dr. Ildefonso R. Villar, Salesian Philippine Province, Nihil Obstat; Imprimatur]
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