Good Friday

The eyes of Jesus and Mary met for a fleeting moment on the via crucis. Because Mary and Jesus loved immensely, they could encourage the other forward through the streets toward Calvary. They knew the present kenosis (self-emptying) would hollow them to receive the greatest capacity possible for God’s life and love, although such thoughts were smothered in the feelings of utter abandonment, dread, and excruciating emotions and physical pain. Jesus allowed Mary to share his pain. It nearly broke her, but Mary continued to Calvary where she stood beneath the cross. The scene surrounding Jesus and Mary was horrific: the sound of whips and hammering nails, the jeers, the shouts of “Crucify!’ Yet what Jesus and Mary felt in their hearts toward each other, in that empathetic moment when their eyes met, conveying they would gladly have taken on the other’s pain, their hearts held unsurpassed beauty.