Romana

We have just read the story of the Passion and accompanied Jesus from Gethsemane to Calvary. Among all the people who appear on this path, I would like to focus on three, to whom Jesus directs a special look: Peter, John and our Lady.

The Peter we witness here is very different than the one at the Last Supper. There we saw an energetic Peter, capable of doing anything for our Lord: “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death” (Lk 22:33). He had said this with full conviction. And indeed, we see him put this resolve into practice in the Garden of Gethsemane. He drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest. He wanted to defend the Master, even with all the risk that this entailed.

But at the time of the trial, when Jesus is being interrogated, he is unable to stand up for his Lord, and swears he never met Him. His bitter tears afterwards express his sorrow and mark the beginning of his conversion. From then on Peter will not rely on his own strength, but on his contrition. Peter will now be much more of a Rock than before, because he is more aware of his weakness and of the greatness of God’s love. The look that Jesus directs to him, as later on the shore of the lake, is not a reproach, but a confirmation of his role as head of the Church: “a look that reaches his heart and unleashes tears of repentance” (Pope Francis, Homily, 29 June 2016).

As for John, we know he was “the beloved disciple.” He was the adolescent apostle who “loved Christ with all the purity and tenderness of a heart that has never been corrupted” (Saint Josemaría, Friends of God, no. 266). From his youth, Christ had become the center of his existence, and that is why we find him very close to Him throughout the Passion until his death on the Cross. He wasn’t concerned about being recognized as one of his disciples.

Thus John shows us a courageous and unapologetic testimony and is not afraid to stand up for his Lord in the most trying moments. We see him mingled with the crowd during the trial, at the scourging, on the way to Calvary. When perhaps the easiest thing would have been to flee, like the rest, he remains. Without fearing those around him, he shows himself as he is: a person in love with Christ. Jesus crucified on the Cross would surely have given him a grateful look for his fidelity and, above all, for looking after our Lady on that day of sorrow. That is why He exclaimed: “Behold, your mother” (Jn 19:27).

This leads us to turn our eyes now to our Lady. The day has come when Simeon’s prophecy has come true: “A sword will pierce through your own soul also” (Lk 2:35). There is no sorrow like her sorrow. But she doesn’t flee. Like her Son, who embraced the Cross that would cause his death, Mary also “embraces” his Passion and accompanies Jesus in each moment of his suffering. “Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother” (Mt 12:50). Mary is the mother of Jesus not only in a physical sense, but also because of her perfect union with God’s will, which she embraces now without any reservation.

The thirst that our Lord has in those moments is a thirst for our salvation, for our happiness. And looking at his Mother now, He finds in her a comforting look that relieves his thirst. Just by her presence, Mary offered Him the greatest possible consolation. That is why Christ gave us his Mother, so that we too can find the same consolation in her.

Jesus also looks at each one of us. When like Peter we deny Him, He looks at us and invites us to be faithful to our vocation as Christians. As He looked at John, Jesus looks at us with grateful love when, with an undivided heart, we faithfully follow Him in the darkest moments. And as He looked at our Lady, Jesus looks at us with the eagerness to find in us the same consolation that He found in his Mother.