STABAT MATER
Mary at the Foot of the Cross
“Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother…” (John 19:25)
At the Cross her station keeping,
stood the mournful Mother weeping,
close to Jesus to the last.
Through her heart, His sorrow sharing,
all His bitter anguish bearing,
now at length the sword has passed.
O how sad and sore distressed
was that Mother, highly blest,
of the sole-begotten One!
Christ above in torment hangs;
she beneath beholds the pangs
of her dying glorious Son.
Stabat Mater Dolorosa, 13th century, tr. Edward Caswall
HER SUFFERING
She Watched Her Son Die
Mary saw Jesus scourged, crowned with thorns, condemned and nailed to the Cross. She heard the mockery of the crowd and the words of her Son: forgiveness for His executioners, paradise for the repentant thief, the cry “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” and finally, “It is finished.” No mother’s grief has ever been greater, for no son was ever more innocent or more loved.
HER FAITH
Faith and Obedience
At the Annunciation Mary said, “Let it be done to me according to your word.” At Calvary that same “yes” reaches its fullness. She does not understand everything, yet she believes. St John Paul II called this the deepest “kenosis of faith” in human history (Redemptoris Mater, 18).
HER UNION WITH CHRIST
One Heart with the Redeemer
Mary “stood, in keeping with the divine plan, grieving exceedingly with her only begotten Son, uniting herself with a maternal heart with His sacrifice, and lovingly consenting to the immolation of this victim which she herself had brought forth” (Lumen Gentium, 58).
Her offering adds nothing to the perfect sacrifice of Christ, but it shows us how every disciple is called to unite their life to His.
HER SPIRITUAL MOTHERHOOD
Woman, Behold Your Son
When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.”
John 19:26-27
In the beloved disciple, Jesus gave His Mother to every disciple. At the hour of her greatest sorrow, Mary became our Mother.
ACCOMPANY HER
Standing with Her at Calvary
Stay
Remain with Jesus in prayer, especially before the Blessed Sacrament and on Fridays, the day of His death.
Unite
Offer your own sufferings with Christ’s, as Mary did, for the salvation of souls.
Console
Keep Mary company in her grief through the Seven Sorrows Rosary and the Stabat Mater.
Receive
Take Mary into your home, as St John did, and live as her faithful child.
“Holy Mother, pierce me through; in my heart each wound renew of my Saviour crucified.”
OUR MISSION