Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending a wedding. Normally, the previous sentence would be the setup to a joke. You see, I generally do not like weddings. Matrimony, of course, is a wonderful institution sanctified by Christ. Weddings, however? I cannot imagine Our Lord had in Mind ushers who do not know how to seat a couple, bridesmaids who do not know how to properly walk down an aisle and guests who have not seen the inside of a church since their baptisms. Don’t get me started.
This wedding, though, was quite different. I will state that it was a trad wedding held in a beautiful church. Other than a handful of guests who failed to remove their Stetsons and this proved themselves to be fake cowboys, the ceremony was quite edifying. Here’s to the newlyweds!
After Mass I used the opportunity to snag some pictures to keep in the old camera roll for future blog posts. I want to share one with you here.
In this image of the Eleventh Station we see the Blessed Mother mournfully witnessing the crucifixion of her Son. As the Stabat Mater teaches us, Mary stood by Jesus “to the last” and suffered with Him for the salvation of the world.
It seems to me, though, that her hand is outstretched for a number of reasons.
It could be that the artist wanted to show Mary’s willingness to die with her Son. Her hand is stretched as if to say “Nail my hands to the cross with His.”
It could be that she holds her arm outstretched in a gesture to us as if to say, “Behold what my Son has done for love of you!”
Or it could be, as I would like to believe, that she is inviting us. Blessed Mother is ever to be found standing beside her Son. She is, in a way, our link to Him and in this His most bitter agony and hers, thinking not of her tremendous sorrow but of our need for salvation, she fulfills her role and urges us to take her hand to be united with His.
O Fairest of Our Race, O Queen of Calvary and Sorrowful Mother!
O Mary Conceived without Sin, Pray for Us Who Have Recourse to Thee!
Harvey Millican's Blog: Musings of a Trad Dad 