Good Friday Reflection on Their Last Words

A Good Friday tradition for me is to read "Seven Words of Jesus and Mary" by Archbishop Fulton Sheen. It's a small book that has a big impact on me every year.

Since I couldn't share the whole book with you, mostly because mine is high-lighted and marked up more than any other book I own (oh, and because there are copyright laws), I posted a great reflection below on the final words of Mary and Jesus. 

Take a moment, read it, and ponder it in your heart today... and always.

Good Friday Reflection:

When Our Blessed Mother saw him bow his head and deliver his spirit, she remembered that last word that she ever is recorded to have spoken in Scripture. It was to the wine steward at the marriage feast of Cana: "Do whatever he tells you."

The sweet relationship of three decades in Nazareth now draws to a close and Mary is about to give Emmanuel to us all, and she does it by pointing out to us the one and only way of salvation: complete consecration to her Divine Son. Nowhere in the scriptures is it ever said that Mary loves her son. Words do not prove love. But that love is hidden under the submission of her mind to his and her final injunction to us: "Do whatever he tells you."

Both the last recorded word of Jesus and the last recorded word of Mary were words of surrender: Jesus surrendered himself to the Father; Mary asked us to surrender ourselves to the Son. This is the law of the universe. "For all are yours: And you are Christ's. And Christ is God's" (1 Cor 3:22-23).

Finding Peace in Pondering Prayer

Have you ever wondered, "Why me Lord?" Have you ever thought, "Why is this happening to me?" 

Sometimes it is so hard to stand in our suffering and confusion and see any rhyme or reason. In those moments, look to the one woman who suffered the most and yet responded with the purest faith and the most ultimate courage, and follow her lead—hold those moments in your heart (Luke 2:51).

When life confronts you with what appears to be obscure events, take them to your heart and ponder, "What does this mean in light of God's will for me?" That's what Our Lady did, even in her greatest suffering, and from it arose the greatest joy —being with Him forever in heaven!