William-Adolphe Bouguereau (French, 1825-1905), Pietà , 1876Meditation 69
THE SOLITUDE OF MARY
1. Jesus Dead in the Arms of His Mother.
Try to imagine the scene. The body of Christ is still hanging from the cross covered with blood; wounded from head to foot. The whole body broken. There is no beauty in it. It is hardly recognizable as human. Bloodless, lifeless. Just a corpse. And yet this is the Son of God. What a mystery! At he foot of the cross some holy souls weep in silence. Great is their sorrow. But how compare it to the sorrow of the Mother mourning the loss of Her Son? Poor Mother! What is She going to do without Her Child? Perhaps, in the midst of Her sorrow, She would be preoccupied with the burial. Where and how to bury Him? She had no sepulcher; no means to buy one. All Her friends have gone into hiding. And some have even become His enemies! Where to go? Who is going to take Jesus down from the cross? In that black moment it was a great consolation for Her to see those holy men fulfill that pious duty. How grateful to them would She remain in Her heart!
In fact, with infinite care they take Him down from the cross, and lay that sacred body in Her arms. Let us kneel in spirit beside that Mother and meditate with Her. At the sight of that dead body She recalls each and every detail of the torments of His passion. She invokes the charming past, the scenes of Bethlehem, the idyls of Nazareth, the happy days when She looked after Her Son as no other mother would ever do. Well did She realize now what was meant by that Sword of Simeon, that Sword which had remained in Her heart all Her life-long. Well did She now realize what was entailed in being our Mother, Mother of sinners, Mother of those who have reduced Her Son to such a state. Would She love them when they had made Her Jesus suffer so much? What a painful maternity! And yet, kissing those wounds one by one, She would keep on repeating: "I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done in me according to His Holy Will."
Make this meditation in union with Mary. Together with Her go on plucking out those thorns one by one. Pluck them out carefully as though Jesus could still suffer from them. Wipe those eyes, that face defiled with spittle and blood. Touch those hands and those feet pierced by the nails. Kiss the gaping wound in His side. Do not take your eyes from that Heart now without life, visible through the wound, silent, motionless, it is true, but never without love. At each wound remember your sins and see what you have done by them.
[Excerpted from 'MARIAN MEDITATIONS' Book by Rev. Dr. Ildefonso R. Villar, Salesian Philippine Province, Nihil Obstat; Imprimatur]
THE SOLITUDE OF MARY
1. Jesus Dead in the Arms of His Mother.
Try to imagine the scene. The body of Christ is still hanging from the cross covered with blood; wounded from head to foot. The whole body broken. There is no beauty in it. It is hardly recognizable as human. Bloodless, lifeless. Just a corpse. And yet this is the Son of God. What a mystery! At he foot of the cross some holy souls weep in silence. Great is their sorrow. But how compare it to the sorrow of the Mother mourning the loss of Her Son? Poor Mother! What is She going to do without Her Child? Perhaps, in the midst of Her sorrow, She would be preoccupied with the burial. Where and how to bury Him? She had no sepulcher; no means to buy one. All Her friends have gone into hiding. And some have even become His enemies! Where to go? Who is going to take Jesus down from the cross? In that black moment it was a great consolation for Her to see those holy men fulfill that pious duty. How grateful to them would She remain in Her heart!
In fact, with infinite care they take Him down from the cross, and lay that sacred body in Her arms. Let us kneel in spirit beside that Mother and meditate with Her. At the sight of that dead body She recalls each and every detail of the torments of His passion. She invokes the charming past, the scenes of Bethlehem, the idyls of Nazareth, the happy days when She looked after Her Son as no other mother would ever do. Well did She realize now what was meant by that Sword of Simeon, that Sword which had remained in Her heart all Her life-long. Well did She now realize what was entailed in being our Mother, Mother of sinners, Mother of those who have reduced Her Son to such a state. Would She love them when they had made Her Jesus suffer so much? What a painful maternity! And yet, kissing those wounds one by one, She would keep on repeating: "I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done in me according to His Holy Will."
Make this meditation in union with Mary. Together with Her go on plucking out those thorns one by one. Pluck them out carefully as though Jesus could still suffer from them. Wipe those eyes, that face defiled with spittle and blood. Touch those hands and those feet pierced by the nails. Kiss the gaping wound in His side. Do not take your eyes from that Heart now without life, visible through the wound, silent, motionless, it is true, but never without love. At each wound remember your sins and see what you have done by them.
[Excerpted from 'MARIAN MEDITATIONS' Book by Rev. Dr. Ildefonso R. Villar, Salesian Philippine Province, Nihil Obstat; Imprimatur]
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