At the foot of the cross

Gospel Reflection

This reflection was shared on the 12 noon fiesta mass (July 16, 2021) of Our Lady of Mount Carmel at the Minor Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Quezon City, Philippines.

Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. Seeing his mother and the disciple he loved standing near her, Jesus said to his mother, ‘Woman, this is your son.’ Then to the disciple he said, ‘This is your mother.’ And from that moment the disciple made a place for her in his home.

John 19:25-27

To Mary he said, Woman, this is your son... and to the beloved disciple, This is your mother.

Today we honor a most beautiful disciple of Christ, our dear mother and sister, the lady of the place, Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

More than 800 years ago, a group of people of different backgrounds - from military men fighting to protect and gain back the Holy Land from those they consider as the enemy of the faith, because at that time there was no concept of, you know, respecting other faiths and realizing the presence of God in these faith traditions, but their desire was pure; there were also those who wanted to radically follow Christ - the pilgrims who wanted to experience the places where Jesus lived, breathed, ate, cried, walked; and so many others. Many of them settled in the caves of Mount Carmel, living as hermits.

Eventually they decided to come together and support each other, since they have the same goal, anyway, to live the life Jesus lived. It may have seemed to be an easy life. Basically doing nothing except to pray and fend for themselves, coming together to pray, then off to their caves to again be in God's presence in their cells.

But then they had to leave this albeit "comfortable place" and return to the city where their real mission is. There were, of course, many who complained, wanting that contemplative life that is detached from the worries of the world, but honestly, all of us, as followers of Christ, are called to mission. We are called to go out into the world and to proclaim the Good News. And that was the challenge. These hermits who have become people of the mountain, have decided to live in the city, they were afraid, and there were many who opposed them. Many who persecuted them because they were different, and they did not take them seriously, because they dressed weird. They were wearing striped robes which was not usual for friars at the time. St. Simon Stock, prayed earnestly for the intercession of the Blessed Mother, that they would be able to overcome the persecutions. That is why the Blessed Mother appeared to him and gave him her mantle to signify their belongingness to Mary.

This appearance of Mary was a reminder that we have been entrusted by Jesus to his mother, if only we would stand by the foot of the cross, to be with Jesus not just in good times, but most especially in those times when he suffered, in those times that he is persecuted, in those times that he was rejected.

And we see these instances almost everyday, in God's anawin, in our poor brothers and sisters who continues to suffer, who continues to be persecuted, who continues to be rejected. Where are we?

We have been entrusted to Mary, but Mary too has been entrusted to us and this means that we should love her just as much as Christ loved her, that we should care for her, that we should give her respect, that we should listen to her.

When Mary was entrusted to us, we have been given a perfect disciple to emulate, to follow. How did she follow Christ. All her life was about bringing and revealing Christ to the world, and that too is our challenge, how could we bring and reveal Christ to those, most especially, needs to feel and to experience the presence of Christ in their life?

As we celebrate to honor our dear mother and sister, to whom we have been entrusted and who has been entrusted to us, let us remember that out of their deep love for Christ, our dear mother and the beloved disciple, stood by the foot of the cross, their presence a source of consolation, strength and courage, not just for Jesus who was in the brink of death, but for each other as together they face the coming loss of someone who was so dear to them. And as we continue to celebrate the Eucharist, let us stand in front of our dear and beloved Jesus, remembering that his passion, death, and resurrection is the very manifestation of God's love for us, how then can we share this message of love to all those wanting of God's loving presence?

Art: Crucifixion (detail) by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo.