Fourth Station - Jesus meets His afflicted Mother

Lamentations 1:12

I have just seen my mother Mary.  I wished that she and I could have been spared that meeting, which was painful.  Was I trying to hide this final agony from her, thinking she might not be strong enough for it? …

Do you tend to avoid your loved ones, and they you, in times of crisis?  Some spend a lifetime shielding their deepest selves from their mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, sons and daughters.  In the end, this will fail, because your death has a way of exposing your weakness to your loved ones as nothing in life could.

Why wait until death or desperation to “meet” your loved ones?  While you have the opportunities now, share with them the aspirations, joys, fears and troubles that are most significant to you, the things that can help them understand you better.

No matter how often you open yourself to them, especially in crises, it won’t be easy.  I know about that.  You want them to see you at your best, just as I wanted my mother to see me only at my best.  I didn’t want her to see me so helpless.  I was underestimating her and losing sight of my Father’s grace.  Just as he gives you the grace to face loved ones when all hope seems lost, so he gives them the grace to cope not only with your pain but their own as well.