Mary's Pain for Jesus Her Son

Recently two of my daughters have suffered tremendous pains in their lives. I do not wish to share what they each went through, but, as a mother, I cried right along with them, and even by myself, spent time in tears, crying because the pain they suffered emotionally, was so great for them to bear. One night last week, my husband and I drove up north on our way to vacation, and spent the night in one of my daughter's apartment. She had recently suffered a very painful situation in her life. My husband slept on the couch and I slept in the bed with my daughter. She came home after we had gone to bed. When she came home it was very late and I pretended to be asleep so she wouldn't feel she had to talk to me that late at night. She cried herself to sleep. I felt her body wracked with emotional pain shake and shudder with crying for a good half hour before she finally fell asleep. I put my arm around her to comfort her and just held her. Tears ran down my cheeks as I silently held my 28-year-old baby and wept for her. She felt so small and helpless in my arms. I knew I could do nothing to ease her pain. It was such a helpless feeling. I could only silently offer prayers to God to ease her pain.

The other daughter is expecting her first baby and found out some unfortunate news about future pregnancies for her husband and her. She called me on the way home from the specialist today. She, too, was in tears. I offered her words of comfort the best I could, but, when I hung up the phone, I also wept for the hurt I felt for my child. Again, I knew I was helpless in this situation and only God can help them.

It gave me the chance to reflect on Mary, only one day after the Feast of her Assumption into Heaven. I thought of how miniscule these hurts of my own children must seem to Mary, who wept at the foot of the cross after witnessing the near-death beating of her only son at the hands of cruel and savage Roman soldiers. I recalled how she had witnessed the hideous crucifixion of her "baby," who was guilty only of proclaiming the truth to the world. I thought of how she must have ached so while watching Him hang on the cross for three grueling hours while people laughed and ridiculed Him. She, too, could do nothing to take away His pain. How helpless she must have felt. She must have felt an ache to her innermost being. How dreadful this must have been.

Mary certainly knows my pain when I hurt for my own children. She is the one true mother of us all. I will offer my prayers for my children to her and ask her to ask Her son to lighten the burden of my children even just a little bit. I know she will answer this prayer because she has the heart of a mother who has suffered for her child. I thank her for being my beautiful and holy mother. And I thank Jesus for giving her to me on the cross.