40 Days at the Foot of the Cross

Written by: My Catholic Life!
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  • Summary

  • What went through the mind and heart of our Blessed Mother as she stood faithfully by her Son in His last agony? As a loving mother, she would have pondered every moment of His precious life and every experience she had with Him. She would have pondered His conception, His birth, His presentation in the temple, His public ministry, His passion and death and so much more.

    Through this daily devotional you are invited to prayerfully ponder the mind and heart of our Blessed Mother as she endured the great suffering inflicted upon her own dear Son. Mother Mary faced the Cross of her Son with perfect faith, love and devotion. Her fidelity to her Son throughout His life was unwavering. As she stood before the Cross during those long three hours, that fidelity never ceased.

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Episodes
  • Day Forty – The Silence of the Tomb

    Day Forty – The Silence of the Tomb
    Nov 19 2018
    They took the body of Jesus and bound it with burial cloths along with the spices, according to the Jewish burial custom. Now in the place where he had been crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been buried. So they laid Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation day; for the tomb was close by. John 19:40-42

    From an earthly perspective, all was lost, all was over. Jesus’ life had come to an end. His body lay in the tomb, the stone covered the entrance and His followers were scattered. Where was our Blessed Mother through all of this?

    Though Scripture does not reveal her physical location, we can be certain that our Blessed Mother kept vigil from Good Friday until Easter Sunday. She kept vigil, first and foremost, in her heart. Throughout her life she continually pondered the mystery of her Son. She pondered His conception, His birth, the flight into Egypt, His childhood, and every moment of His public ministry. Over the past week she had pondered His suffering and His brutal death. But through all of this pondering, her Immaculate Heart was alive with confidence and perfect trust. Her mind perceived the wisdom of the Father’s plan and her heart gave it her full assent. She knew, without any shadow of a doubt, that the will of the Father was unfolding perfectly.

    As our Blessed Mother prayerfully pondered the life and death of her Son that Holy Saturday, her heart would have been filled with a peaceful excitement and joy. She may not have known exactly how His Resurrection would unfold, but she knew with conviction that He would soon return to her. She did not allow despair to enter her Immaculate Heart for even a moment. Instead, she kept a prayerful vigil for her Son and awaited the fulfillment of His promise that He would rise on the third day. She had heard Him say this and she knew it was true. Her only duty now was to wait in vigilant prayer and expectation.

    Hope is a supernatural gift from God. It’s not just wishful thinking or optimism. Hope is a gift by which God makes an interior promise to each one of us. The promises He makes are the perfect revelation of His divine will. As we hear Him speak His promises, we must respond with faith.

    Reflect, today, upon this most sacred scene of Holy Saturday. While many were filled with despair and confusion, our Blessed Mother continued her vigil of hope. She knew, without any doubt, that glorious things were still to come. She knew that her Son had completed His mission of salvation and was on the verge of restoring new life to all who would turn to Him in their need. Reflect upon your own hope in the promise of God in your life. Allow the example of our Blessed Mother to inspire you. Allow her prayers to transform you. Do not doubt for a moment that God has great things in mind for you. For those who believe, the Resurrection is always but a moment away.

    My dearest Mother, allow me to keep vigil with you as you waited in perfect hope for the Resurrection of your divine Son. Help me to understand the beauty of every virtue alive in your Immaculate Heart. Help me to understand that the suffering you endured brought forth the perfection of virtue in your life, especially the virtue of divine hope.

    My dear Mother, pray for me that I may be open to the promises of your Son in my life. Pray that I may hear Him speak to me and reveal His perfect plan. May I trust in that plan, even when all earthly hope seems lost. May I follow your own Immaculate example and trust in your dear Son always.

    My resting Lord, as You lay in the tomb that Holy Saturday, You filled the heart of Your dear mother with an abundance of hope as she awaited the fulfillment of Your promise. You also promise me, and all who believe, that the sufferings of life are not the end. Your Resurrection is before me and You promise to transform my life and the lives of all who trust in You. Give me the grace I need to keep vigil with Your dear mother no matter what cross I face in life.

    Mother Mary, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.
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    7 mins
  • Day Thirty-Nine – The Pietà

    Day Thirty-Nine – The Pietà
    Nov 19 2018
    Consider how, after Our Lord had died, He was taken down from the cross by two of His disciples, Joseph and Nicodemus, and placed in the arms of His afflicted Mother. She received Him with unutterable tenderness and pressed Him close to her bosom. (Thirteenth Station of the Cross, by Saint Alphonsus Liguori)

    Our Blessed Mother was no longer standing before the foot of the Cross, gazing at her Son. Instead, Jesus’ body was laid in her arms and she held Him close to her Immaculate Heart.

    Though this was a moment of profound sorrow at the death of Jesus, it was also a moment of profound intimacy. As our Blessed Mother held the body of her Son, she knew it was not the end. Though her heart was pierced deeply, she knew that her pain would turn into joy. She was relieved that His earthly suffering was over, but her relief began to turn into hope and anticipation as she pondered His death and future Resurrection.

    As our Blessed Mother held her Son close, she would have reflected upon Jesus’ words spoken so often in His public ministry: “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day” (Matthew 17:22-23). She was witnessing His words come true. She knew that just as His prophecy regarding His death came true, so also His prophecy regarding His Resurrection would come true. “On the third day,” He said. Our Blessed Mother knew that her pain would soon be turned into joy as she began her vigil in anticipation of her Son’s Resurrection.

    In most of our lives, we will face events that tempt us to despair. These events may be small encounters in our relationships with others that leave us feeling hopeless, discouraged and disappointed. At other times, we may encounter grave and tragic events that seem to leave us in utter desperation. The meaning of the Pieta, our Blessed Mother cradling the dead body of her Son, can never be exhausted. It’s an image of hope in the midst of seeming hopelessness. It’s an image of love that conquers all fear. It’s an image of faith in the perfect plan of God no matter what comes.

    Reflect, today, upon this tender image of our Blessed Mother with the sacred body of her divine Son resting in her lap. Reflect upon her pain and sorrow. Ponder also her faith in the promise of her Son, her hope in the fulfillment of that promise, and her love which enabled her to press on through her own grief. There is much we can learn from our Blessed Mother. Her heart, in particular, was one that shone brightly with the perfection of every virtue. She is a pillar of grace and strength surrounded by suffering. She is an example for all.

    My dearest Mother, I can only try to imagine the sorrow you felt as you held your Son close to your Immaculate Heart. But I know that your sorrow was also mixed with hope as you anticipated the fulfillment of His promise. In faith, you knew this grief was not the end.

    My loving Mother, strengthen my hope in the transformation of all sin and suffering in my life. As I encounter the hardships of life, pray for me that I may never despair. May I follow your example of faith, hope and love always. Please hold me close to your Immaculate Heart and pray that I may share in the Resurrection of your divine Son.

    My dear Jesus, all earthly wisdom could not understand the meaning of Your suffering and death. By Your complete annihilation, You conquered the ruler of this world and destroyed his power over my life. May I see in this image of Your dead body a promise of Your Resurrection. As I encounter struggles in life, give me hope and trust that final victory is always found in You.

    Mother Mary, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.
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    6 mins
  • Day Thirty-Eight – The Soldier’s Lance

    Day Thirty-Eight – The Soldier’s Lance
    Nov 19 2018
    So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs, but one soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out. John 19:32-34

    As our Blessed Mother stood gazing at the body of her Son, and saw the soldiers break the legs of the criminals on His right and left, she may have wondered what they were going to do to Jesus. As she looked on, she saw one of the soldiers drive a spear into His heart. She certainly felt the sharp pain of that piercing as she saw the cruelty continue. But what happened next was a sign that God’s mercy is abundant. Immediately, blood and water flowed forth from Jesus’ wounded Heart. Upon seeing this, our Blessed Mother would have immediately pondered its meaning.

    Why did blood and water gush forth from the wounded Heart of Jesus as He hung dead upon the Cross? The blood and water were symbols of the sacramental life of the Church. Even in death, as Jesus’ body was yet again abused by a soldier, He transformed the abuse into grace. As His Heart was pierced, He opened the floodgates of Heaven and poured forth an abundance of sacramental mercy. The blood was the pouring forth of the grace of the Most Holy Eucharist and the water was the pouring forth of the grace of Baptism.

    As our Blessed Mother looked on with love and deep sorrow, she may not have fully comprehended that this was the beginning of the sacramental life of the Church as we now understand it. She would have known, by faith, that she was witnessing the beginnings of the new life of grace won by her Son. She would have known that this final act of cruelty was being transformed before her very eyes and turned into abundant blessings from Heaven.

    What does your faith reveal to you about the Sacraments? Do you understand that the Sacraments are channels of the abundant mercy of God? Do you realize that the victory over sin and death, accomplished by Jesus on the Cross, flows to you by these seven streams of mercy? Do you understand the connection between this piercing of Jesus’ Heart on the Cross and the Church’s sacramental life?

    Reflect, today, upon the extraordinary grace of the Sacraments. As you ponder the blood and water gushing forth from Jesus’ side with our Blessed Mother, try to see this act in its deepest reality. See the grace of Baptism, the Holy Eucharist, and all the Sacraments at the moment of their birth. Ponder this: you stand before the Cross of our Lord; you bathe in His mercy; you see the flow from His wounded Heart; you accept it all. Hearing, you came. Coming, you saw. Seeing, you touched. And touching, you believed. His wounded Heart poured forth the Sacraments and you are invited to partake of the feast of grace.

    My dearest Mother Mary, as you stood, gazing with love at the dead body of your beloved Son, you saw the soldier open His Heart with a spear. Though this caused excruciating pain in your own heart, it also filled you with an abundance of hope. The hope that filled your heart came from the knowledge that this last act of cruelty toward your Son opened the grace of Heaven and poured forth an abundance of mercy.

    My dear Mother, pray for me that I may continually open my own heart to the mercy poured forth from the Heart of your beloved Son. May I especially be open to the grace given in abundance through the Sacraments.

    My merciful Jesus, even in death You were abused as Your Heart was pierced by the soldier’s lance. I thank You for the miraculous transformation of that act into the font of sacramental life within Your Church. I pray that I may always immerse myself in the mercy that gushed forth from Your divine Heart. May every drop of blood and water that poured forth from Your Heart land in my own soul.

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

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