Recently, I read the post Kallie Wright made before her three year old son’s passing. The Prayers for Levi Wright campaign took social media by storm, and thousands hit their knees for this young man. She said that she would lay in bed with him and hold her son until he fell asleep for the last time. And in the past month, a dear, sweet friend and colleague had to bury her young daughter well before her time after a tragic, sudden farm accident. The loss of children in our agricultural and western communities is enough to startle one’s senses awake, and reminds one of the fragility of life on earth.

Death reigns over this world, because it is sinful and fallen. Life everlasting is in the next. But the truth of our Christian faith is this: that even our most powerful God descended into this world and underwent excruciating pain, even unto death. The most innocent die, even the Lamb of God.

And throughout his Passion, Jesus Christ’s mother never left him.

La Pietà roughly translates to “pity.” It feels odd and unnatural to describe God and his mother in that way. How could we, mere mortals, pity the two most blessed people to walk this earth? That is the incredible paradox of the truth of Christianity. God himself was lowered to a pitiable state, something no other false god would do, in order to redeem us. This done out of pure love.

The more one ponders the events of Christ’s sorrowful passion, the the Truth we all seek is present. When, at the end of his suffering, Jesus Christ was let down from the cross, his body was given to his mother, who cleaned his wounds and prepared him for burial. This is the sad and pitiful scene depicted by Michelangelo.

“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.”
– Luke 1:42

Imagine the Passion through the eyes of Mary. She witnessed the mob beat and ridicule the son she knew to be meek and gentle. They mercilessly flogged him until his bones shown through, the flesh of her flesh ripped from his body. They thrust the cross high above her head, and the blood that flowed in her veins fell from his wounds. She, too, made the ultimate sacrifice by surrendering completely to God’s will throughout the excruciating three hours he hung, until he gave up his spirit.

And the same sweet baby whom she nurtured and fed and for whom she bandaged little knees after a fall was handed to her, bloodied and broken. She caressed his face and wiped his body clean, something only his mother could have the strength and will to do.

“Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.”
– Matthew 5:4

She takes nothing away from Our Lord. Her complete surrender, her absolute faithfulness, her obedience to God, only glorifies her Son all the more.

There are those, even some Christians, who make Mary out to be no big deal. This I will not stand for. Mothers are a big deal, and the Mother of Jesus Christ is a very big deal.

Her sacrifice was scarcely less than that of her son. She walked every step with him as he carried his cross and felt every sting of every whip. Mothers who have witnessed the suffering of their own children will know what is meant by this. And when mothers on this earth must face the unthinkable and bury their own children, it’s comforting to remember that Jesus’s mother endured what no mother ought to endure.

A mother’s loss of a child is the greatest loss of all. The bond between mother and child is celestial, fierce, and undying.

A new mother myself, but a mother nonetheless, I can attest to the knowledge that one’s heart and soul is never the same after bringing life into this world. It is terrifying and wonderful all at the same time.

All children were co-created with God. Only one was spotless, All Good, and All Loving. When it feels that hardly anyone can understand the rupture when a mother loses a child, remember the loss that Mary of Nazareth underwent. God the Father felt the pain of his son no less than she.

“From Mary we learn to surrender to God’s will in all things. From Mary, we learn to trust even when all hope seems gone. From Mary, we learn to love Christ, her Son and the Son of God.”

– St. Pope John Paul II

The beautiful thing about our faith is that we are able to unite our suffering to that of Our Lord. The Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary are one of my favorite ways to do this, taking every step with Jesus during his Passion.

Nearly everyone left Christ in his suffering, except for John, Mary Magdalene, and his Blessed Mother. Even he was not alone in the midst of his greatest suffering, therefore; he will not leave us alone. And he may even bring the person most precious to him to help comfort us – his mother. We only need ask for her heavenly prayers.

After becoming a mother, I cannot picture the Passion through the eyes of Mary without weeping in my heart all the more. I grieve with all mothers who have undergone a Passion of their own and outlived a child. There are no words – only an understanding that they live with a keener anticipation for a holy reunion at the end of this life.

“We beg you, dear Mother, to teach us to do as Jesus did. Teach us to accept our cross courageously. We trust you, most Merciful Mother, so teach us to sacrifice for all the sinners in the world. Help us to follow in your Son’s footsteps, and even to be willing to lay down our lives for others.”
– excerpt from the Seven Sorrows of Mary Rosary