When we consider the passion and death of Christ on the Cross we tend to overlook the enormous suffering of his mother Mary. Because of her great love for Jesus, Mary suffered unspeakably. In this meditation we use texts from the Stabat Mater, St Josemaria and St Bernard to consider how:

• Mary was always united with Jesus, from his birth until his death on the Cross
• Mary suffered in her soul what Jesus suffered in his body because her heart was one with his
• Our Lady is with us in our own crosses
• Jesus gives us Mary to be our mother and we, like John, should take her into our heart
• Because of her great suffering, Mary can be called truly a martyr