👉🏾👉🏾👉🏾The Holy #Cross: The Disciples and Your #Mother (#John 19:26–27)
(Part 13)
I. The Glory of the Cross
In our country, the special celebration of Meskere
16 and 17, which is celebrated together with the beauty of the Adey abeba flower, reveals the power of God through the Holy Cross. How wonderful is the Cross! The wood on which it was carved is united with the power of God, forming a remarkable and sacred symbol of the redemption of Christians. Even the demons are powerless before it, and its glorious grace is granted only to those chosen to receive its power.
Saint Paul reminds us, “The word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18).
II. The Mother Beneath the Cross
At the foot of the Cross stood the Virgin, the Mother of the Lord, her heart pierced not by iron alone, but by the anguish of divine compassion. In the Gospel of John, it is written: “When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, ‘Woman, behold your son!’ Then He said to the disciple, ‘Behold your mother!’” (John 19:26–27).
In that sacred moment, the Lord gave to the world two gifts: the maternal love of His Mother and the brotherly care of His beloved disciple. The Virgin, full of grace, became mother not to one Son, but to all who stand beneath the Cross. Her sorrow was deep as the ocean, her heart steadfast as a pillar of light amid the world’s darkness. Her love surpasses all human love combined; her gentleness reflects divine innocence. She is the dove of mercy, interceding for the children of men before her crucified Son.
Who understood pain like her? Let us implore the Virgin Mary as our intercessor, so that we may come to understand the love of the Cross. Let us remember the covenant of her five sorrows, for the trials of this world call us to imitate her. May we follow her example of love, compassion, and gentleness, so that we may please her Son, our Lord. My people, let us abandon grudges, malice, deceit, envy, racism, and all such evils, for they profit neither this world nor the next.
III. The Beloved Disciple and the Love of the Cross
Today, let us make Saint John a model of the love of the Cross. He understood divine love, rooted himself in the Cross, and bore witness to the depth of the Lord’s suffering. His heart was always with the Cross, and he teaches us to remember the profound mysteries of God’s love for mankind, such as the truth that “God is love,” and to live in the practical guidance of the Holy Spirit.
In light of the story of the Cross, the lives of the Virgin Mary and Saint John were sanctified by their love for God. As Saint John reminds us in his letter: “Do not love the world or the things in the world… The love of the Father abides forever; the world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:15, 17). While living in this world, we must live in love, immersed in the passion of the Cross. Our spiritual service should reflect the light of the Cross, our gatherings should be an invitation to God, and our work should be carried out in love.
IV. The Virgin and the Disciple: Icons of Perfect Love
In the Virgin’s grief and the disciple’s steadfastness, the Church beholds a union of love and obedience. She represents maternal compassion; he, the loyalty of friendship sanctified by faith. Together, they reveal that the Cross is not only the means of redemption but the school of divine love.
The Virgin’s compassion teaches gentleness in the face of cruelty, patience in sorrow, and intercession for sinners. Saint John’s example calls believers to embrace the Cross daily, to meditate upon its mysteries, and to measure every action by its shadow. In them, divine love and human faith meet the perfect response to divine suffering.
Continues 👇🏾