"The Sorrowful Mother Stood" ("Stabat Mater" stanza 10)

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Today we ponder just one stanza, so powerful and tender:

Make me feel as thou hast felt;
Make my soul to glow and melt
With the love of Christ my Lord.

The author of this beautiful hymn, seems to be crying out to our Mother – I believe he was prompted by the Holy Spirit to write such words – acknowledging the weakness of human nature. Surely the author had heard deeply these words of Jesus from His Cross:

"Behold your Mother".

Do our hearts cry out to Mary, asking to feel as she felt or do we run away in fear of our own human weaknesses? There is a mystery in suffering for the sake of love because we are in some ways torn between “self-love” and the impetus of Divine Charity. Do we truly love God more than we love ourselves? Jesus commands our love not only for Him, but in order that we may learn from Him to love one another.

This is My Commandment: That you love one another as I have loved you (Jn 15:12)

The Beloved Disciple John learned from Jesus and Mary, and wrote in his first letter to the early Christians:

The way we came to know love was that He laid down his life for us; so we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. (1 Jn 3:16)

How did Mary our Mother and John the Beloved Disciple lay down their lives? They opened themselves to receive God’s Love – without Him we can do nothing, but with Him nothing is impossible. Only by God’s Grace, coming to us through Mary can our souls “…glow and melt with the love of Christ…”