Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his
mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas,
and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw
his mother, and the disciple whom he loved
standing near, he said to his mother,“Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from
that hour the disciple took her to his own home. – John 19:25-27
Prayer
We fly to your patronage,
O holy Mother of God;
Despise not our prayers in our necessities,
But ever deliver us from all dangers,
O glorious and blessed Virgin.
Reflection
As Mary stood close to her crucified son, she suffered
everything he suffered in her heart. God asked a great
deal of Mary on Calvary. He asked her to believe, even
though there was not human reason to believe, what
he had spoken to her through the Angel Gabriel thirty
years earlier: He will be great, and will be called the
Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to
him the throne of his father David, and he will reign
over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom
there will be no end (Luke 1:32-33).
God asked the Blessed Mother to consent to the
sacrifice of Christ by offering Jesus to the Father in an
act of worship, and in joining her own sufferings to his
for our salvation. The Fathers of the Second Vatican
Council beautifully described Mary’s maternal work
on Calvary: In a wholly singular way Mary cooperated
by her obedience, faith, hope and burning charity in
the work of the Savior restoring supernatural life to
souls. Wherefore she is our mother in the order of
grace (Lumen Gentium 61).
To reveal that Mary at the foot of the Cross was in
labor, giving birth to the Church, Jesus said: Woman,
Behold your son. And to the Beloved Disciple who
represented each of us: Behold your mother. The
ancient Christian writer Origen of Alexandria wrote:
For if Mary, as those declare who with sound mind
extol her, had no other son but Jesus, and yet Jesus
says to His mother “Woman, behold your son” and
not “Behold you have this son also,” then He virtually
said to her “Behold, this is Jesus, whom you bore.”
Is it not the case that everyone who is perfect lives
himself no longer, but Christ lives in him, if Christ
lives in him, then it is said of him to Mary, “Behold
your son Christ.” (Origen, On John, Bk. 1, ch. 6)
St. John then observes, from that hour the disciple
took her to his home. Scripture scholars note that the
text could be translated literally as from that hour the
disciple took her into his own. Christ wants all his
beloved disciples to enter into a son-mother, daughtermother
relationship with his mother, the first and most
perfect of his disciples. The disciple takes her into his
intimacy, asking her to teach him the ways of Christ.
Blessed John Paul II based his understanding of
consecration to Jesus through Mary on this one verse
of Scripture: “The disciple took her into his own.”
St. Louis de Montfort and St. Maximilian Kolbe had
taught him the importance of total consecration to
Jesus through Mary. These three holy priests will also
help us to give everything to Jesus through Mary.
It is so important in our perilous times to make an
act of total Consecration of oneself to Jesus through
the Blessed Virgin. Through this act of self-offering,
the Christian gives Christ everything through Mary:
body, soul, all material possessions and occupations,
and every spiritual gift. Through consecration, the
Christian freely becomes Mary’s servant and slave
so as to belong totally to Jesus. Unlike the slavery to
sin, this freely chosen slavery is the only bondage that
brings true freedom and peace. By giving everything
to Christ through Mary, the Christian is confident that
the Holy Spirit will use him to crush the head of Satan
(Gen. 3:15) and prepare for the Reign of Jesus Christ.
Prayer
Prayer of Consecration of St. Maximilian Kolbe
O Immaculate Mary, Queen of Heaven and earth,
refuge of sinners and our most loving Mother, God
has willed to entrust the entire order of mercy to you.
I, (name), a repentant sinner, cast myself at your feet
humbly imploring you to take me with all that I am
and have, wholly to yourself as your possession and
property. Please make of me, of all my powers of
soul and body, of my whole life, death and eternity,
whatever most pleases you.
If it pleases you, use all that I am and have without
reserve, wholly to accomplish what was said of you:
“She will crush the serpent’s head,” and, “You alone
have destroyed all heresies in the whole world.” Let
me be a fit instrument in your immaculate and merciful
hands for introducing and increasing your glory to
the maximum in all the many strayed and indifferent
souls, and thus help extend as far as possible the
blessed kingdom of the most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
For wherever you enter you obtain the grace of
conversion and growth in holiness, since it is through
your hands that all graces come to us from the most
Sacred Heart of Jesus.
V. Allow me to praise you, O Sacred Virgin.
R. Give me strength against your enemies.
Amen.