Michelle Blanchard Ardillo

Yesterday, Good Friday, my church parish had a new liturgy at noon, The Seven Last Words of Jesus. These are phrases attributed to Jesus during his crucifixion. A string quartet played an orchestral piece composed by Joseph Haydn designed specifically for this service. More info about this piece of music is here:

Seven parishioners were asked to write and deliver a 2-minute reflection on one of the 7 last words/phrases of Jesus, and I was asked to deliver one. We were asked to choose one of the seven, and I chose the third of His last statements, “Woman, behold, your son,” and then, “Behold, your mother, ” John 19:26-27. The full passage is here:

I chose the third because I am very focused on the Blessed Virgin Mother right now as I am writing a book on Marian apparitions sites where Mary appeared to children. My target audience is a Catholic middle school library and/or the faith formation classes for middle schoolers not attending Catholic school. Having taught middle school students for nearly 20 years, I know this age group well, and I think I can make this subject interesting to them, as I have long been moved by the experiences of the three children in Fatima, Portugal, and of course of St. Bernadette in Lourdes, France. While living in Belgium for two years, I learned of two additional apparition sites, in Beauraing and Banneux. These are less well-known, as are others that have been approved by the Vatican. My goal is to bring these together with grade-level appropriate text and images.

In hopes that my thoughts on this bible passage will be meaningful to you, I give you my reflection on Mary at the foot of the cross on Calvary. May you have a glorious Easter Sunday tomorrow.

We know that when Jesus said to John, “Behold, your mother,” it was the will of a dying son passing on the care of his beloved mother to a dear friend, but as in all things with the Word, there is more to understand.  This simple statement can be a filial affection at a tragic moment in the lives of this mother and son, but as a part of his catechesis on the Blessed Virgin Mary, Pope John Paul II characterized this as a ‘revelation scene,’ where “Jesus establishes a new relationship between Mary and Christians.” Mary, the Mother of God, becomes the mother of us all. Mary, the very same “woman at the wedding at Cana” and the same “woman at Calvary” now represents universal motherhood. 

John Paul says that Eve, “the mother of all living,” helped to bring sin into the world, while Mary, whom he called “the new Eve,” helps to bring redemption to the world. He goes on to say that “in the Blessed Virgin the figure of ‘woman’ is rehabilitated. Her motherhood now spreads the new life in Christ among men.“ Thus, Mary becomes part of our own salvation there at the Cross on Calvary.

Mary’s answer is once again “yes,” just like her first “yes” to the Angel Gabriel when she began her journey to fulfill God’s plan with her simple response, “Be it done to me according to Your Word.” This final “yes” to God at Calvary requires her to accept the death of her only Son, a painful but necessary step in our redemption. This final “yes” moves Mary past the maternal relationship of mother and son to a much broader relationship of mother and all of humanity. Indeed, a mother to us all.