"There stood by the cross of Jesus, His Mother."
Mary did not faint at the sight of Jesus on the cross. She, the valiant woman, stood there. She gazed on her divine Son as He hung, torn and bleeding, on the tree of ignominy. Every pang He suffered was re-echoed in Mary's heart; by her compassion she shared in His anguish, and offered her sufferings for the redemption of men, in union with the passion of Jesus, and she suffered thus because, animated with the same sentiments as Jesus, she was consumed with burning zeal for souls.
