As Christians, do we ask for suffering for ourselves?
… O Mother of Jesus, most noble daughter of the Father,
O most exalted Bride of the Holy Spirit,
let us share in the sufferings of our Redeemer…
So the question came up: as Christians, do we ask for suffering for ourselves? Does the Virgin want suffering or joy for us? Is it right to ask for suffering by saying, “Let us share in the sufferings of our Redeemer”?
I believe this short phrase carries lofty and profound “Marian” theological and human meanings. When I say to the Virgin Mary, “Let us share in the sufferings of our Redeemer,” we are affirming Mary’s sharing in the sufferings of her Son Jesus. It is not an outward sharing made only of pain and grief over his suffering, but a deep spiritual and human sharing that touched her whole being: spiritual, psychological, social, emotional and intellectual… All of Mary stood at the foot of the cross in the hour of her Son’s suffering, agony and death. Her sharing in that decisive moment was not a “physical sharing” in the strict sense; it was her presence, with all her love and the fullness of her faith, beside her Son as he hung on the cross. The Church sees this special presence of Mary, “standing” as the evangelist John describes her (John 19:25), as the summit of Mary’s communion with her Son Jesus.
“Standing”: she did not collapse, shrink back, hesitate, doubt, fear, falter or complain; she stood. This standing of Mary with “all” her being at the cross is in itself a deep and sincere sharing in her Son’s sufferings. A mother at the side of her son (or daughter) suffering on a sickbed does not express her sharing in the pain by weeping… but by her presence, her composure and the power of her love to endure. She too, like Mary, stands at the feet of her suffering, sick child; she suffers with them and watches over them. The summit of sharing in love and suffering is to be there: present, attentive, consoling, comforting, listening, understanding.
Mary standing at the cross is the mother and the believer fully committed to her Son’s plan of salvation.
The Church sees in her its own true image: like Mary, the Church is called to stand at the cross with complete faith, receiving graces from Jesus in order to distribute them as gifts of salvation to the whole world.
When we say, “Let us share in your Son’s sufferings,” it is the most beautiful thing we can ask of Mary: to be like her, “standing” in our lives in spite of everything… Sharing suffering with Jesus is the summit of sharing love and presence, in a world thirsting for this shared love and this quality of presence.
Yes, Mary, let us share in the sufferings of your Son Jesus, so that we may be like you, as far as we are able, channels that carry Jesus’ love and ease the sufferings of others… Amen.
A simple meditation that may help us understand the depth of sharing in Jesus’ sufferings as we look to our Mother Mary.
Father Joseph Abi Aoun
