AQUINAS wrote in his Summa of Mary’s suffering at the foot of the cross. He said that the Blessed Mother felt, in the words of a translation by Father Philip Hughes, “a staggering of the mind.” She knew the complete goodness of her son and witnessed his complete disgrace and torture.

“[H]er mind swayed, for she saw Him the victim of such vileness, and yet knew Him for the author of such wonders.” Her suffering was enhanced by her own perfection.

Mary is an example to mothers everywhere. To be a mother is necessarily to suffer and sacrifice for one’s children. An essential part of a mother’s role is awareness. This is the keen awareness of, and the vicarious experience of, a child’s hardships.

In contemplating Mary’s awareness, we are elevated, as if she conveys some of her fortitude. A mother’s awareness never ends, but with it she is brought along the steep paths of divine contemplation.

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