Station IV – Jesus Meets His Mother
Oil painting on wood, 19″ x 21″ by Gwyneth Leech. Mary is a peasant woman with dark robes pulled around her head (based on a photo of a mother standing vigil outside Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq). In the background a file of refugees walk along the horizon, carrying children and belongings.
Do you notice something about the journey this mother went on?
From anxiety and offence after the festival in Jerusalem,
to meddling at the wedding in Cana,
to concerned but waiting in the crowd near their hometown
to distancing herself from her pushy sons in Galilee,
to, in the end …
simply standing in solidarity. John 19.25
not wailing, not berating, not fainting, not screaming …
just standing with her sister, and friends … enduring, grieving, letting go,
accepting this path so different from what she wanted for her son.
And then Mary, Jesus’ mother, participates in the new community forming
(Acts 1.14)
Review your own life and notice any surrender and letting go of control that has been or is being asked of you.
Reflecting on your own journey of the last few days:
Using that prayerful practice many centuries old that can lead us to being mindful and present to the significance of our days and weeks .…the examen:
- I invite the Holy One to bring to my heart and mind what was important to God in my week.
- I ask God to bring to light what was NOT important to God in my week.
- I let my feelings come to the surface. In the stillness, breathing deeply, I let God’s love fill me just the way I am.
- I give thanks for what I have experienced. I ask forgiveness where I need to.
- I rest and reflect and let go.
- Do I have something to journal, to articulate more clearly in writing or sketching?