Fourth Station, by Hans Urs von Balthasar

Jesus Meets His Mother

"Mary, our Virgin Mother, on the way to Calvary, you met Jesus carrying his cross. His face showed anguish, and his limbs were weak with pain. He did not complain, and his eyes were full of love. You met him and you understood. With him you climbed the hill of sacrifice, and you shared in his suffering for our salvation. Teach us, Virgin Mother, to recognize your Son in the oppressed, the outcast and the despised. Show us to walk by his side until his face shines with hope and, in the light of the cross, his agony is changed into joy." ~from The Way of the Cross by Hans Urs von Balthasar*

She met him and she understood. How often when I meet others in their suffering I do not understand. Sometimes I am too self-absorbed to understand. I am caught up in my own little world with my own little sufferings, and there's no room in my heart for anyone else and her sufferings. Other times I do not understand because I am preoccupied with resisting. I don't want to see this person suffering as she is and so I fail to understand that this is her God-given way of carrying the Cross with our Lord. Jesus is inviting her to share His suffering through this particular cross, but I want her to have another cross, a less heavy one. Help me, dear Mary, to let go of all that prevents me from understanding. Pray for me, Mother of Sorrows, that your crucified Son may never be a stumbling-block or foolishness for me but rather the power and wisdom of God. Amen! (cf. 1 Cor 1:22-25)

*Every Good Friday, the Holy Father walks the fourteen stations of the Cross around the Colosseum in Rome. These meditations were written by Hans Urs von Balthasar and used by Pope John Paul II on Good Friday 1988. Meditations from previous years can be viewed at the Vatican Web site.