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| Saint John And Blessed Mary after the burial of Christ |
Blessed Mary retired, after
the burial of Christ, to the house of the upper room. Remaining in the hall of
the last Supper in the company of saint John, the Marys, and the other women
who had followed Christ from Galilee, She spoke to them and the Apostle,
thanking them in profound humility and abundant tears for persevering with Her up
to this time throughout the Passion of her beloved Son and promising them in
his name the reward of having followed Him with so much constancy and devotion.
At the same time She offered Herself as a servant and as a friend to those holy
women. All of them with Saint John acknowledged this great favour, kissed her
hands and asked for her blessing. They also begged her to take some rest and
some bodily refreshment. But the Queen answered: “My rest and my consolation
shall be to see my Son and Lord arisen from the dead.  |
| My consolation shall be to see Him rise from the dead |
Thereupon She retired with
saint John and being with him alone, She fell upon her knees and said: “Do thou not forget the words which my Son
spoke to us on the Cross. He condescended to call thee my son, and me thy
mother. Thou art my master, art priest of the Most High; and on account of this
dignity, it is meet that I obey thee in all that I am to do; and from this hour
I wish that thou order and command me in all things, remembering that I shall
always be thy servant and that all my joy shall be to serve thee as such until
my death.” This the Lady said with many tears. And among many other things,
the Apostle said: “ Mistress and Mother
of the Redeemer and Lord, I am the one who should be subject to thy authority,
for the name of a son implies devotion and subjection to his mother. He that
has made me priest, has made Thee his Mother and was subject to thy authority,
though He was the Creator of the universe (Luke 2, 51). It is reasonable that I
should likewise be so, and that I labour with all my powers to make myself
worthy of the office He has conferred upon me, to serve Thee as thy son, for
which I would desire to be rather an angel than a creature of earth.” This
answer of the Apostle was most appropriate; but it did not avail to overcome
the humility of the Mother of virtues, who answered: “My son John, my consolation shall be to obey thee as my superior,
since such thou art. In this life I must always have a superior, to whom I can
render my will in obedience: for this purpose thou art the minister of the Most
High, and as my son thou owest me this as a consolation in my solitude.” “Let
then thy will be done, my Mother,” said saint John, “for in this lies my own security.’ Without further answer the
heavenly Mother then asked permission to remain alone in meditating on the
mysteries of her divine Son; and She asked him also to provide some refreshment
for the holy women, who had accompanied Her, and that he assist them and
console them. She reserved only the Marys, because they wished to persevere in
their fast until they should see the Lord arisen; and She asked saint John to
allow them to fulfil their pious desire.
Saint John then parted from Her in order to
console the Marys and to execute the commands of the great Lady. Having attended
to their wants, these pious women all retired to spend that night in sorrowful
and mournful meditation concerning the mysteries of the Lord’s Passion She
approved of the fast of the Marys as being strong and fervent in their love;
and She took heed of the weakness of the others.
