Jesus meets His Blessed Mother

Jesus meets His Blessed Mother. J-J Tissot

From The Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by J-J Tissot (1897)

The meeting of Jesus with His Mother is not referred to in the Gospel narrative, but tradition is unanimous in asserting that it took place at the fourth Station of the Via Dolorosa.  Mary was accompanied by Saint John, Mary Magdalene and Mary Salome, with other Holy women, who, the Evangelists tell us, followed the Master to Calvary.  It was very natural that's the Mother of the Lord should have been present in the Forum at the scourging, though at a distance, and should have witnessed from afar the Ecce Homo incident; in fact, that she should have seen all that the rest of the crowd did.  

When the procession began to move off on its way to Golgotha, Mary, who had just heard the sentence of death passed upon her Son from the Gabbatha and who had seen the cross placed upon His shoulders, tried to get near enough to Him to help Him with His burden, but it was impossible, for the narrow street was already blocked up with soldiers and the crowds accompanying the Victim.  The Virgin was, therefore, compelled to take another route and, after a most careful examination of the district, we feel able to assert pretty confidently which way she went.  A tradition tells us that in the angle formed by the street leading to the Sheep-Gate and the Tyropœon Valley, or valley of the cheese merchants, there was a house with courtyards and out-buildings belonging to Caiaphas, who, as we know, had his Judgment Hall in the Sion quarter.  Now Saint John, as already stated above, had relations amongst the attendance of the High Priest, and it was thanks to this circumstance that he was able to go into the Judgment Hall and to secure the admittance of Saint Peter.  He would thus also be able to let the Blessed Virgin and her companions pass through the courts and gardens of this house and, cutting diagonally across from one street or another, he managed for the little party of friends of the Master to arrive at the fourth Station of the Cross in time to meet Jesus, without having to go up the steep ascent climbed by the procession.

The locality speaks for itself in a remarkable way, and no one who is considered the matter on the spot, can fail to feel sure that the meeting between the Mother and Son took place on the spot indicated above and nowhere else.  It is generally supposed that the fall of Jesus occurred at the very moment of the touching meeting.  This is what an Catherine Emmerich says on the subject: "Then one of the executioners asked of those standing by: Who is that woman lamenting so bitterly?  And someone replied: it is the Mother of the Galilean.  Then the wretches loaded the unhappy Mother with insult and mockery, they pointed at her with their fingers, and one of them took the nails which were to fasten Jesus to the Cross and struck Him with them, mocking Him before the eyes of the Blessed Virgin.  As for her, she gazed upon Jesus and, overwhelmed with grief, was obliged to lean against the door to save herself from falling.  She was as pale as death and her lips were livid."

Totus tuus ego sum 

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam