The 4th Station
“To what can I compare you, O daughter Jerusalem? What example can I show you for your comfort, virgin daughter Sion? For great as the sea is your distress; who can heal you?” (Lam 2: 13)
We often reflect on the Old Testament prophesies of Our Lord, but there are also prophesies of His Mother that tell us more about the Blessed Virgin Mary and all that She suffered. It is of Her that the words of Lamentation were written. From the time She said yes to the Archangel Gabriel, She consented to be a part of salvation history. Even if She had not known in that moment that Lamentations prophesied Her suffering, She certainly knew it at the Presentation when Simeon and Anna of Phanuel told Her what the Messiah would suffer and that a sword would pierce Her own heart.
For the rest of Her life She carried the burden of knowing what Her Son would suffer. As His time grew near, Her continued prayers to God to allow Her to suffer in His place were intensified. She is the only one among us without original sin who lived in a state of grace who could be that spotless lamb of sacrifice. But this was not in God’s plan. Mary accepted that and then asked Our Heavenly Father that She be permitted to suffer with Him — and She did.
This is the mother Jesus gave us from the cross. A woman who loves so much that She was willing to suffer for our salvation and willingly gave up Her Beloved Son. This is our spiritual mother who offers us no reproach but only an invitation to adore Her Son.
