28th Day - At the Cross

40 DAYS AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS

DAY TWENTY-EIGHT – HIS HANDS AND FEET

Consider Jesus, thrown down upon the cross, He stretched out His arms and offered to His eternal Father the sacrifice of His life for our salvation. They nailed His hands and feet, and then, raising the cross, left Him to die in anguish. (Eleventh Station of the Cross, by Saint Alphonsus Liguori)

As our Blessed Mother stood before the Cross of her Son, she was compelled by love to adore the wounds in His sacred hands and feet. She was drawn to gaze at the nails that pierced her Son as they fixed His hands to the Cross. Such cruelty. So merciless. The pain caused by these nails was excruciating. All our Blessed Mother could do was to watch in love and ponder the wounds inflicted upon her divine Son.

Why did they nail Jesus to the Cross? It was to fulfill the Scripture that He was nailed to the Cross. Isaiah the prophet said, “He was pierced for our sins, crushed for our iniquity. He bore the punishment that makes us whole, by his wounds we were healed” (Isaiah 53:5).

“By His wounds we were healed.” What a mysterious statement. How is it that the wounds of Jesus bring healing to the world? As our Blessed Mother contemplated this great mystery, and adored the wounds in her Son’s hands and feet, she would have recalled the rest of Isaiah’s prophecy, “We had all gone astray like sheep, all following our own way; But the LORD laid upon him the guilt of us all. Though harshly treated, he submitted and did not open his mouth; Like a lamb led to slaughter or a sheep silent before shearers, he did not open his mouth” (Isaiah 53:6-7).

Jesus embraced the Cross and willingly allowed Himself to be pierced for our transgressions. He took upon Himself the consequences of our sin and paid the price of death. In this act of freely giving His life as the spotless and innocent Lamb, He destroyed the law of death and transformed sin and death into new life.

The mystery of Jesus’ suffering as the innocent Lamb is deep and beyond comprehension. Our Blessed Mother contemplated this great mystery of suffering in her heart and knew, by faith, that every wound and every nail brought untold grace into the world. She saw in her crucified Son the effects of the sins of the world. But she also saw sin destroyed by His free and innocent embrace.

Very often we fail to understand that our Lord’s suffering and death is a mystery. We fail to comprehend and to be grateful for the great mystery of His innocent suffering which sets us free.

Reflect, today, upon the wounds of the innocent Lamb of God. Gaze at His wounds with our Blessed Mother. See His wounds as the price of your sins. Allow your heart to be filled with deep gratitude as you ponder this unfathomable mystery.

My dear Mother, only your faith could penetrate the mystery of suffering, just as the nails penetrated the hands and feet of your divine Son. Only your love could comprehend the mercy and healing offered by your Son’s wounds. Draw me into this gaze of yours so that my mind and heart may penetrate its meaning.

My dear Mother, I also offer to you and to your Son the wounds that afflict me unjustly. May I never complain or turn away from the opportunity to give myself freely, and to accept suffering, for the healing of others. Teach me to imitate this great mystery of your Son in my own life.

My pierced Jesus, Your mother gazed with love at the wounds in Your hands and feet. She saw and believed in the healing that was made possible by Your free embrace of such cruelty. Give me the grace I need to also gaze at Your sacred wounds and to penetrate the meaning of their mystery. I thank You, dear Lord, for the abundant mercy You have poured forth from Your sacred wounds.

Mother Mary, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.

27th Day - At the Cross

40 DAYS AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS

DAY TWENTY-SEVEN – HUMILIATION – STRIPPED OF GARMENTS

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four shares, a share for each soldier. They also took his tunic, but the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top down. So they said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it will be,” in order that the passage of scripture might be fulfilled [that says]: “They divided my garments among them, and for my vesture they cast lots.” This is what the soldiers did. John 19:23-24

What could be more humiliating than to be stripped of your garments before your own mother and friends and then to be hung upon a cross to die. But Jesus was stripped of His garments for a reason. Everything earthly had been freely sacrificed by Him and He died with nothing of His own in this world. His sacred flesh revealed the dignity of His sacred soul which was loved and adored by His dear mother.

As our Blessed Mother stood before the Cross gazing at her Son after they had stripped Him of His garments, she would have been reminded of the day of His birth when He came into the world with nothing. And she may have recalled the words from Scripture spoken by Job, “Naked I came forth from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I go back there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD!” (Job 1:21) Our Blessed Mother witnessed the very beginning of Jesus’ earthly life and now was witnessing the very end.

The stripping of our Lord’s garments revealed that the sacredness of His life was not in what He obtained or had as a possession; rather, the sacredness and value of His life was solely about who He was. He was God in the flesh, God incarnate, the Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity in bodily form. In His flesh was the unity of God and man and our Blessed Mother was privileged to witness this reality of the Incarnation one last time as Jesus hung upon the Cross. She gazed at Him and beheld God in the flesh.

In our own lives we must strive to see the value of who we are. Too often, we fall into the trap of taking our identity and value in the things of this world. Many can erroneously think, “If I accomplish much in the eyes of the world then I have value.” Or, “The more possessions I have the greater my happiness will be.”

We must strive to learn a lesson from the stripped body of our blessed Savior as He hung upon the Cross before His mother and before the world. Just like Jesus, our dignity comes from our union with God. We have value and worth not as a result of what we accomplish or obtain in this life. Rather, we have dignity because we have allowed the God of Heaven to come to Earth and enter into our own flesh and blood. Our dignity is on account of the continuation of the Incarnation of God alive in our lives.

Reflect, today, upon the most sacred image adored by our Blessed Mother. Join her in adoring the sacred dignity of her Son, the Son of God and the Son of Man. Recognize that Jesus’ Incarnation also raised you to the heights of Heaven and strive to see the presence of the Son of God alive in your own life.

My dearest Mother, you stood before the Cross of your Son adoring His bruised and beaten body. This was the same body that had come forth into the world from your own sacred womb. Now this Child of yours was once again stripped bare in your sight. But as you gazed at Him, once again, you saw what you had seen every day of His life. You saw God in the flesh.

My dear Mother, pray for me that I may always see the dignity of others not on account of what they have or what they accomplish, but on account of who they are. Help me to see all people as sons and daughters of our loving God in Heaven.

My precious Lord, I invite You, this day and always, to unite Yourself to me. Come live within me and make my heart and soul, my flesh and bones, a continuing presence of Your Incarnation. Help me to see the dignity I obtain in life by becoming one with You.

Mother Mary, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.

26th Day - At the Cross

40 DAYS AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS

DAY TWENTY-SIX – THE HOLY WOMEN AND VERONICA

A large crowd of people followed Jesus, including many women who mourned and lamented him. Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep instead for yourselves and for your children, for indeed, the days are coming when people will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed.’ At that time people will say to the mountains, ‘Fall upon us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’ for if these things are done when the wood is green what will happen when it is dry?” Luke 23:27-31

Many holy women followed Jesus to the mount of Golgotha, watching and weeping. Our Lord paused in His path toward Calvary and spoke to their hearts of the true horrors to come. He prophesied the evil that many would suffer and the sin into which many would fall. Jesus’ death is painful, yes. But the greatest tragedies are yet to come when persecutions will burn so hot against believers that the resulting fire will be like one fueled by the driest timbers.

One of the holy women, Veronica, approached Jesus in silence. She removed a clean veil and carefully wiped His bloody face with it. This wordless act of love was received by Jesus with serenity. Posterity has reciprocated Veronica’s small act of charity by forever blessing and honoring her holy name.

As our Blessed Mother stood before the Cross of her divine Son, she would have pondered the encounters these holy women had with her Son. She would have been filled with gratitude for the care and concern these women had shown to Jesus and she would have been touched by their compassionate tears.

But she would have also reflected on Jesus’ words, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep instead for yourselves and for your children.” Mother Mary would have indeed taken these words to heart. Though her heart was filled with a holy sorrow at the Crucifixion of her Son, her deepest sorrow was for those who would reject the gift her Son was offering them. She would have been keenly aware that Jesus’ death was meant for all, but that not all would accept the grace that flowed from His perfect sacrifice.

Mother Mary was aware of the fact that these holy women, and their children, would later suffer for their love of Jesus. They would be invited to participate in His own Cross in a more powerful way than the holy women first did on that Friday in Jerusalem. As these women and their spiritual heirs began to receive the Eucharist after Jesus’ Resurrection, and began to enter into a deep spiritual communion with Him through prayer, they would not only be filled with joy, they would also be compelled to carry the Cross of discipleship.

Reflect, today, upon one “consequence” of being a follower of Jesus. If you choose to follow Jesus, you will also be invited to share in His suffering and death so that you may share in His Resurrection. Allow your heart to be filled with the same compassion as these holy women. Direct that compassion to those caught in a life of sin. Weep for them. Pray for them. Love them. Weep also for those who suffer on account of Christ. Let your tears be ones of holy sorrow like the tears that rolled down the cheeks of our Blessed Mother and these holy women of Jerusalem.

My sorrowful Mother, you watched as these holy women wept at the suffering of your own Son. You saw the tears they shed and the compassion they felt. Pray for me that I may also have holy tears as I see the suffering of the innocent, and fill my heart with compassion and concern.

Loving Mother, pray also that I may have a heart of sorrow for those who live in sin. Your Son died for all, but many have not accepted His mercy. Let my sorrow for sin be converted into tears of grace so that others may come to know your Son through me.

My merciful Lord, may I see Your agony and death as the glorious means of salvation for the world. Fill my heart with true sorrow for those who do not open themselves to Your love. May that sorrow become a means of grace and mercy for those who are most in need.

My dear Mother, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.

25th Day - At the Cross

40 DAYS AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS

DAY TWENTY-FIVE – JESUS FALLS

“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” Matthew 11:28-30

Jesus, under the weight of the Cross, fell to the ground. Simon, a foreigner, was pressed into service to help Jesus carry His Cross. But even with the help of Simon, Jesus falls again and again.

As our Blessed Mother watched in sorrow as her Son fell to the ground three times, physically exhausted and barely able to go on, she may have recalled Jesus’ own words early on in His public ministry: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” How deeply she must have felt these words resounding in her Immaculate Heart. “My Son, my dear Son, come to me, come to my heart and rest.”

And though she could not physically help her Son carry His Cross, she would have been filled with much gratitude as she saw Simon the Cyrene pressed into service by the guards to help Jesus carry on. Though Simon helped reluctantly, his help was a shining witness. Through Simon, our Blessed Mother knew that the prayer of her heart was answered. She knew that the Father in Heaven was helping Jesus carry the weight of the Cross with the assistance of this foreigner.

As Mother Mary stood before the Cross of Jesus and recalled the assistance of Simon, she would have known that he set forth a powerful example for all people. She would have pondered the act of Simon as a symbol for all Christians. We all are called to help carry the Cross of Christ. No one is exempt from the Cross. Jesus Himself promised the Cross to us when He said,“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). The Cross is not an option, it’s a reality, especially the cross of death itself.

The real question for everyone is whether we will embrace the Cross willingly or begrudgingly. Our Blessed Mother desired to lift the heavy burden of the Cross with all her heart. And though Simon did so hesitantly, he made the choice and served in time of need.

Reflect, today, upon the heavy burdens that others carry in life. When you see them and are made aware of their struggles, what is your reaction? Do you turn from them and run from their struggle? Or do you turn towards them, fully embracing the cross they carry. Seek to imitate Simon’s act of carrying the Cross. Seek to imitate our Blessed Mother’s burning desire to do the same with perfect love. Do so without hesitation and you will discover the sweetness of the Cross of Christ as you alleviate another’s burden.

My dearest Mother, as you watched Simon be pressed into service to help your Son carry His Cross, your heart was filled with gratitude. Your prayer was answered as the Father provided the physical strength needed by your Son to carry on. Simon became that strength and a symbol of service to others.

Dear Mother, please point me to those in my life who are in need. Help me to seek out those who carry heavy crosses and to willingly, joyfully and freely seek to help them. Lend me the hands of Simon and your own tender heart so that the burden of many may be lifted.

My exhausted Lord, there are times in life when I fall. Not because of the loss of physical strength, but because of my sin. Help me to be open to the help of others when I am in need. Help me, also, to have the wisdom and love I need to reach out to those who are heavily burdened. 

Mother Mary, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.

24th Day - At the Cross

40 DAYS AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS

DAY TWENTY-FOUR – THE GAZE OF MOTHER AND SON

Consider how the Son met His Mother on His way to Calvary. Jesus and Mary gazed at each other and their looks became as so many arrows to wound those hearts which loved each other so tenderly. 

My most loving Jesus, by the pain You suffered in this meeting grant me the grace of being truly devoted to Your most holy Mother. And You, my Queen, who was overwhelmed with sorrow, obtain for me by Your prayers a tender and a lasting remembrance of the passion of Your divine Son. I love You, Jesus, my Love, above all things. I repent of ever having offended You. Never allow me to offend You again. Grant that I may love You always; and then do with me as You will. (Fourth Station of the Cross, by Saint Alphonsus Liguori)

How could Mother Mary ever forget this moment when she met her Son on His way to Calvary? As she stood before the Cross of her Son, she would have replayed this holy meeting over and over again in her mind and heart. As Jesus was carrying His Cross to Calvary, they lived this most tender moment as if they were one.

After falling for the first time, He got up and continued His journey. Through all the pain and blood, He received the momentary consolation of a gaze of love from His mother. Their eyes met and their hearts united in sorrow and in joy.

Sorrow filled their Sacred and Immaculate Hearts as they felt the deep pain of the other. Jesus, looking at His dear mother, was immediately aware of the sword that pierced her Immaculate Heart as she watched Him so cruelly treated. Our Blessed Mother looked at Jesus and saw not only the Savior of the World, she also saw her own child whom she loved with all her heart.

Joy and sorrow co-mingled in their hearts as they each sensed and experienced the powerful emotions of their mother-child bond. Love was more powerful than suffering and salvation was more powerful than death. The interior joy they felt, knowing that Jesus was bringing forth the greatest grace the world had ever known, filled mother and Son in this moment and gave them both the strength they needed to bring this sacrifice to completion.

Each one of us has the opportunity in life to ease the suffering of another by our tender care and gaze of love. When we encounter another in need, we have the opportunity to express our compassion. While pity looks down on another from a perspective of superiority, true compassion suffers with another with authentic empathy. True compassion shoulders another’s cross, enters into another’s mind and heart, and walks arm and arm with another down every rough road.

Reflect, today, upon this beautiful but sorrowful scene of the gaze of love shared by mother and Son on the way to Calvary. Reflect also on the fact that both mother and Son meet you on your own journey toward the Cross. No matter what you encounter, no matter what you endure, they are there, attentive to you, loving you and offering their hearts to you. Seek also to emulate the hearts of Jesus and our Blessed Mother to those whom you encounter each day. Grow in compassion and concern for all who suffer, being present to them as they go step by step on their personal via dolorosa (sorrowful way).

My Sorrowful Mother, you already endured so much. But you would not miss this short moment in which you could express your tender love for your Son. As you looked at Him, your heart intertwined with His. You felt the pain He felt. You communicated a supernatural joy that strengthened His resolve to give His life for the Salvation of the world.

My dear Mother, pray for me that I may be open to your motherly concern for my life. As I carry my cross and endure the sufferings that befall me, intercede for me and open my soul to the strength of your Son as it flows through your own tender heart.

My suffering Lord, as You continued on Your journey to Calvary after falling for the first time, You looked at Your mother with such love. Your concern was not for Yourself, it was for Your mother and for all who would receive the grace of Your Cross. May I be one of those, dear Lord, who opens my heart to You at all times and who absorbs the graces You offer so that I can follow in Your footsteps.

Mother of Mercy, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.

23rd Day - At the Cross

40 DAYS AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS

DAY TWENTY-THREE – THE SENTENCE OF DEATH

When Pilate saw that he was not succeeding at all, but that a riot was breaking out instead, he took water and washed his hands in the sight of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. Look to it yourselves.” And the whole people said in reply, “His blood be upon us and upon our children.” Then he released Barabbas to them, but after he had Jesus scourged, he handed him over to be crucified. Matthew 27:24-26

The decision had been made. Pilate had declared that he believed Jesus was innocent, but because of the hostility and threats of the chief priests and the crowds, he ordered that Jesus be crucified. This was the easiest thing for Pilate to do to avoid an uprising. Pilate acted in a cowardly way and then declared that he was innocent of Jesus’ blood. The chief priests, elders and all who were present cried out “His blood be upon us and upon our children.”

What did our Blessed Mother think as she heard Pilate pronounce the sentence of death upon her Son? What did she think when the religious leaders and agitators within the crowds gave their strong vocal consent? Perhaps, as she continued to ponder these words, “His blood be upon us and upon our children,” she would have transformed that statement into her deepest prayer.

As she stood before her Son on the Cross and contemplated these words spoken just hours before, our Blessed Mother would have realized they expressed Jesus’ deepest desire. He desired that His Precious Blood would indeed be poured out upon all people, including those responsible for His death. He would have desired that His Precious Blood would cover them all, washing away their sins and sanctifying them so that they could enter His eternal Kingdom. Mother Mary would have shared this same desire of our Lord. She would have forgiven the cowardice of Pilate and the harshness of the crowds.

We are all called to shed our blood for the sanctification of others. Though Jesus is the one and only Savior of the World, we are called to participate in His offering. We are called to unite our own daily sacrifices with His one eternal sacrifice. To do this, we must let go of every bit of our wounded pride, anger, hurt and vengeance. We must desire that our own daily sacrifice be offered for the good of all, including those who have sinned against us. We must turn away from a desire for earthly justice and realize that mercy and forgiveness bring forth the perfection of God’s justice.

Reflect, today, upon our Blessed Mother as she contemplated these words of the people, “His blood be upon us and upon our children.” Know that this became her deepest prayer during Jesus’ three hours on the Cross. As you contemplate Mother Mary praying these words, try to unite your own mistreatment, suffering and hurt to the Cross of Christ. Know that the free embrace of your own sacrifice can be turned into a blanket of grace and mercy for those who need it the most.

My dear Mother, through the ponderings of your Immaculate Heart you were able to transform the harsh words of your Son’s persecutors into your own beautiful prayer. You were able to see that the blood shed by your Son was the source of grace and mercy needed, if not sought, by all.

My loving Mother, pray for me that I may imitate your merciful heart and pray that your Son’s blood be poured out in abundance upon all those in need. 

My suffering Lord, give me the grace to unite my own sufferings with Yours and to unite the injustices I endure with the injustice of the shedding of Your Precious Blood. Help me to see all things through Your eyes and to love all people with Your Sacred Heart.

My dear Mother, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.

22nd Day - At the Cross

40 DAYS AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS

Day Twenty-Two – “Behold, Your King!”

Consequently, Pilate tried to release him; but the Jews cried out, “If you release him, you are not a Friend of Caesar. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.”

When Pilate heard these words he brought Jesus out and seated him on the judge’s bench in the place called Stone Pavement, in Hebrew, Gabbatha. It was preparation day for Passover, and it was about noon. And he said to the Jews, “Behold, your king!” They cried out, “Take him away, take him away! Crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your king?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. John 19:12-16

Yes, Jesus was the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Our Blessed Mother knew this truth deep in her heart. Therefore, as she watched Pilate bring her beaten and bruised Son out for all to see, and then proclaim Him as King, she would have heard and believed. Pilate spoke these words in mockery and sarcasm, but our Blessed Mother knew them to be true.

What a contrast was thus presented for all to see. On one side there was Pilate, the worldly governor who had authority to crucify Jesus or release Him. On the other side was Jesus, bound hand and foot, treated as a criminal and seated on the judgment seat. He was about to be condemned to death by an earthly ruler. But from a divine perspective, Jesus was about to be enthroned on the true Judgment Seat of Grace. He wore a crown of thorns, but from the perspective of Heaven it was a crown of glory. He was about to receive the sentence of death, but from the perspective of Heaven it was a sentence that set all sinners free.

As our Blessed Mother stood before the Cross of her Son, she would have pondered these words of Pilate over and over: “Behold, your king!” Mother Mary did this perfectly. She beheld Him with her eyes and adored Him with her heart. She acknowledged His kingship and pledged her total submission to His rule. He was not only her Son, He was also her King in every way. The grace and mercy flowing from His throne of the Cross directed every moment of her life.

Too often in life, we fall into the error of valuing earthly power more than Heavenly power. But the kingship of Jesus should teach us that earthly power pales in comparison to the Heavenly authority Jesus exercised. He allowed men to treat Him as a criminal. But He exercised an authority that far surpassed the temporal influence of these earthly “kings.” Jesus’ Kingdom was not of this world. It was in the order of grace and mercy. Our Blessed Mother knew and pondered this, and chose her Son as her eternal King. “Behold, my Son, my King!” she would have prayed.

Reflect, today, upon which kingdom you participate in more fully. The kingdoms of this world need to be transformed by the one and only Kingdom of God. We must live in this world but not be a part of it. We must allow the dictates of the King of Grace and Mercy to rule our lives and we must not allow ourselves to become intoxicated with the temporal “power” that this world offers. Choose Jesus as your King as you stand beside His loving mother.

My dearest Mother, you understood well that the disingenuous words spoken by Pilate contained a much deeper truth than he understood. Your Son was King indeed. He was the King of Heaven and one day His Kingdom would transform even the visible world when every knee would bow before Him.

My dear Mother, pray for me that I may always keep my eyes upon the true Kingdom of Heaven and that I may never be drawn into the corruption of earthly power. Pray for me that I may be an instrument of the dictates of love pouring forth from the throne of your divine Son.

My dear Lord and King, I behold You and acknowledge You as the ruler of my life. May every breath I take, every word I speak and every action I perform be done at Your gentle command. I choose You, this day, as the sole and complete ruler of my life.

Mother Mary, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.