Twenty-fourth Day
There is a great lesson in this sorrow of Mary: that we must learn how to bear our crosses in this life. We must not throw them away; we must not come down from Calvary until we are crucified, and then we and the cross are inseparable. Calvary is a place where much impatience is manifested; many go up well enough, and carry their cross with perseverance, but when it comes to lie down on that cross, and be nailed to it, they go away again, forgetting their duty, though it was duty that brought them that far; they are only half-crucified souls. We do not rob them of the merit of what they have done, but they might have done more. They have lost their courage because they did not observe the silence that Jesus preserved in His crucifixion; they were too much distracted; silence is the atmosphere of the cross. We shall contemplate two individuals on Calvary: Jesus and Mary. They teach us how to die. Jesus would certainly have spared His Mother the scenes of His sufferings unless it were good for her to witness them. She is to be with Jesus in His hour of death; she is also to be with us in our last hour. Then we too will thirst, and our soul will yearn for strength, which we will draw from the last sacraments and from Mary’s presence.
Prayer.
O Heart of Mary, I offer, etc., etc.