Sunday of the Lord’s Passion
March 29, 2015
“Woman,
behold, your son.”
The Sacred Scripture records the
Seven Last Words of Jesus. Why only seven? I do not exactly know why only
seven, but for sure these are words that Jesus wanted us to remember. On the
cross, Jesus was in great pain, dying and catching for breath, and thus, every
word is so precious and meaningful. But, one that catches my attention most is
“Woman, behold you son”. Why? Because the crucified Jesus did not forget to
dedicate His last word to the most special woman in His life just there nearest
to his cross, Mary, His mother.
Yes, in Filipino translation, she
was called ‘ina’, and even in Indonesian translation, ‘ibu’, both meaning
mother, but not in English and even in original Greek. Jesus called her,
‘Woman’. Why? Fathers of the Church believed that Mary is the New Eve, the
Woman, but I believe that Jesus did not only address Mary there, but also every
woman who also stands near His cross. While other male disciples were running
away and hiding, this woman faithfully followed Jesus. This woman is not
running away, is not kneeling, is not weeping, but she is standing firmly under
the cross. The last man standing is not even a man!
There are a lot of women standing
at side of the cross, cross of marriage, of family, of work and of life. She is
a wife who tries to be faithful to her Catholic marriage despite the infidelity
of her husband. She is a mother who is juggling among her husband, children and
work. She needs to wake up early morning, to prepare things for her family, to
spend time in the office to earn for the family, and to sleep late because she
needs to take care of mess at the house. She is a religious sister who works so
hard for the congregation and the Church, yet she was not appreciated and even
betrayed.
The gravity of ‘standing at foot of the cross’ sinks into my heart when
Fr. Edmund Nantes, OP brought me to a charitable institution in Marikina City.
This charitable institution houses physically and sexually abuse young women
and teenagers. As I interacted with them and listened to their stories, my
heart was pierced. I could not imagine that men and other women can be so
violent to people close to them. It is a story of young girls raped by their
own fathers; of little daughters sold by her own mothers. But, one of the
volunteers told me that these girls were lucky because the institution took
care of them, but out there, millions women fell victims into domestic violence
and human trafficking, forced into sex slaves and unpaid labors. Every day,
women die in giving birth and cute baby girls born malnourished. And who are
the cause of all this evil? Somehow it is us!
We abuse these strong women if we
take for granted their beautiful identity and worse, use them as a tool to gain
our own satisfaction. We use our mother, abuse our wife and take advantage of
our friends. We simple forget that we are here because there is a woman who
decides to take all the pain of giving birth and to make the sacrifice in
rearing us. Jesus on the cross call our attention to these beautiful and strong
women of the cross. It is not too late for us to thank our mother before we
sleep today, to hug our wives or girlfriend with gratitude, and to listen to
little stories of our younger sisters.
For all women standing by the
cross.
Br. Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno,
OP
Thanks
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