Setting: To meditate on this passage, it is important to be aware that, in the mind of St. John, the crucifixion of Jesus is not a defeat, but Jesus' supreme victory. His determination to carry out the Father’s will has triumphed over every evil force that tried to stop him.
This is, then, Jesus’ ’’Hourâ€, the hour of his glorification. And it is in this hour, at the moment of his death, that Jesus â€hands over his Spiritâ€, the Holy Spirit. This scene, then, is, for St. John, the beginning of Pentecost and the birth of the Church. And it is precisely in this same hour that Jesus gives his mother as mother to all the disciples, to those who do his Father’s will, to the Church.
Gace: Ask God for the grace to feel more deeply his great love for you.
Reflect on: Jesus sees his mother and the beloved disciples at the footof the cross, united with him in doing the Fathers will.
Conversation: Take Mary “with you into your home†and speak with her aboutwhat it means that you are now her son or daughter in a specialway - and listen to her as she tells you what it means to her.
