This moment marks the ultimate sorrow—the brutal reality that shattered any remaining illusions of earthly power among Christ’s disciples. Only John was courageous enough to remain at the foot of the cross alongside the Blessed Mother and the other women close to Jesus. 

Too often, we are like the disciples who fled. Moments of sorrow and suffering are what we frequently wish to avoid—the inevitable death before new life. Jesus embodies what he had taught, “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.”

As we enter this Good Friday, how are we being called to surrender—fully, without reservation? How can we let go of the plans, people, and earthly possessions we cling to so that, by truly dying to ourselves, we may rise with Christ into the fullness of eternal love?

^{_{Image Credit: Francken Family, (Flemish, active 17th century), Christ on the Cross, 1620-1640, Oil on panel, Raclin Murphy Museum of Art, University of Notre Dame. Gift of Mr. Fred B. Snite Sr., 1962.036.001.}}