VIRGIN
468
VIRGIN
praises His mother in a most emphatic way; for she
excelled the rest of men in hohness not less than in
dignity (cf. St. Augustin, de virgin,, 3, P. L., XL, 398;
pseudo-Justin, quaest. et respons. ad orthod., I, q.
136, P. G., VI, 1389). Most probably, Mary was
found also among the holy women who ministered to
Jesus and His apostles during their ministry in GaUlee
(cf. Luke, viii, 2-3); the Evangelists do not mention
any other public appearance of Mary during the time
of Jesus's journeys through Gahlee or Judea. But
we must remember that when the sun appears, even
the brightest stars become invisible.
Since the Passion of Jesus Christ occurred during the paschal week, we naturally expect to find Mary at Jerusalem. Simeon's prophecy found its fulfilment principally during the time of Our Lord's suffering. According to a tradition, His Blessed Mother met Jesus as He was carrying His cross to Golgotha. The Itinerarium of the Pilgrim of Bordeaux describes the memorable sites which the writer visited A. D. 333, but it does not mention any locaUty sacred to this meeting of Mary and her Divine Son (cf. Geyer, Itinera Hierosolymitana sseculi IV-VIII, Vienna, 1898, 1-33; Mommert, Das Jerusalem des Pilgers von Bordeaux, Leipzig, 1907). The same silence prevails in the so-called Peregrinatio Silviae which used to be assigned to a. d. 38.5, but has lately been placed in A. D. 533-540 (Meister, Rhein. Mils., 1909, LXIV, 337-392; Bludau, Katholik, 1904, 61 sqq., 81 sqq., 164 sqq.; Revue Benedictine, 1908, 458; Geyer, 1. c; Cabrol, Etude sur la Peregrinatio Silviae, Paris, 1895). But a plan of Jerusalem, dating from the year 1308, shows a Church of St. John the Baptist with the in- scription "Pasm. Vgis.", Spasmus Virginis, the swoon of the Virgin. During the course of the fourteenth century Christians began to locate the spots con- secrated by the Passion of Christ, and among these was the place where Mary is said to have fainted at the sight of her suffering Son (cf. de Vogiie, Les Eghses de laTerre-Sainte, Paris, 1860, p. 43S; Lievin, Guide de la Terre-Sainte, Jerusalem, 1887, I, 175). Since the fifteenth century one finds always "Sancta Maria de Spasmo" among the Stations of the Way of the Cross, erected in various parts of Europe in imi- tation of the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem (cf . 'Thurston, in The Month for 1900, July-September, pp. 1-12; 15.3-166; 282-293; Boudinhon in Revue du clerge frangais, Nov. 1, 1901, 449-463). That Our Blessed Lady should have fainted at the sight of her Son's sufferings, hardly agrees with her heroic behaviour under the cross; still, we may consider her as woman and mother in her meeting with her Son on the way to Golgotha, while she is the Mother of God at the foot of the cross.
While Jesus was hanging on the cross, "there stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary Cleophas, and Mary Magdalen. When Jesus therefore had seen his mother and the disciple standing whom he loved, he saith to his mother: Woman, behold thy son. After that, he saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother. And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own" (John, xix, 2.5-27). The darkening of the sun and the other extraordinary phenomena in nature must have frightened the ene- mies of Our Lord sufficiently so as not to interfere with Ilis mother and His few friends standing at the foot of the cross. In the meantime, Jesus had prayed for His enemies, and had promised pardon to the penitent thief; now. He took compa.'ision on His deso- late mother, and provided for her future. If St. Joseph had been still alive, or if Mary had been the mother of tho.se who are called Our Lord's brethren or sisters in the gospels, such a provision would not have been necessary. Jesus uses the same respectful title with which he had addressed his mother at the marriage feast in Cana. Then lie commits Mary to John as his mother, and wishes Mary to consider
John as her son. Among the early writers, Origen
is the only one who considers Mary's motherhood of
all the faithful in this connexion. According to him,
Christ hves in his perfect followers, and as Mary is
the Mother of Christ, so she is mother of him in whom
Christ hves. Hence, according to Origen, man has an
indirect right to claim Mary as his mother, in as far
as he identifies himself with Jesus by the life of grace
(Praef. in Jo., 6, P. G., XIV, 32). In the ninth cen-
tury, George of Nicomedia (Orat. VIII in Mar. assist.
cruci, P. G.,C, 1476) explains Our Lord's words on the
cross in such a way as to entrust John to Marj-, and
in John all the disciples, making her the mother and
mistress of all John's companions. In the twelfth
century Rupert of Deutz explained Our Lord's words
as establishing Mary's spiritual motherhood of men,
though St. Bernard, Rupert's illustrious contem-
porary, does not enumerate this privilege among Our
Lady's numerous titles (cf. Sermo dom. infr. oct.
Assumpt., 15, P. L., CLXXXIII, 4.38). After this
time Rupert's explanation of Our Lord's word.s on
the cross became more and more common, so that
in our day it has found its way into practically all
books of piety (cf. Terrien, La mere de Dieu et la
mere des hommes, Paris, 1902, III, 247-274; Knaben-
bauer, Evang. sec. Joan., Paris, 1898, 544-547;
BeUarmin, de sept. verb. Christi, I, 12, Cologne, 1618,
105-113).
The doctrine of Mary's spiritual motherhood of men is contained in the fact that she is the antitype of Eve: Eve is our natural mother because she is the origin cf our natural life; so Mary is our spiritual mother because she is the origin of our spiritual hfe. Again, Mary's spiritual motherhood rests on the fact that Christ is our brother, being "the firstborn among many brethren" (Rom., viii, 29). She became our mother at the moment she consented to the Incarna- tion of the Word, the Head of the mystical body whose members we are; and she sealed her motherhood by consenting to the bloody sacrifice on the cross which is the source of our supernatural life. Marj- and the holy women (Matt., xvii, 56; Mark, XV, 40; Luke, xxiii, 49; John, xix, 25) assisted at the death of Jesus on the cross; she probably remained during the taking dowTi of His sacred bodj' and during His fvmeral. The following Sabbath was for her a time of grief and hope. The eleventh canon of a council held in Cologne, in 1423, instituted against the Hussites the feast of the Dolours of Our Blessed Lady, placing it on the Friday following the third Sunday after Easter. In 1725 iBenedict XIV extended the feast to the whole Church, and placed it on the Friday in Passion Week. "And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own" (John, xix, 27). Whether they lived in the city of Jerusalem or elsewhere, cannot be deter- mined from the Gospels.
(4) Mary after our Lord's Resurrection. — The in- spired record of the incidents connected with Christ's Resurrection do not mention Mary; but neither do they pretend to give a complete account of all that Jesus did or said. The Fathers too are silent as to Mary's share in the jovs of her Son's triumph over death. Still, St. Ambrose (de Virginit.. Ill, 14, P. L., XVI, 283) states expressly: "Mary therefore saw the Resurrection of the Lord: she was the first who saw it, and believed. Mary Magdalen too .<aw it, though she still wavered". George of Nicomedia (Or. IX, P. G., C, 1,500) infers from Mary's j^hare in Our Lord's sufferings that before all others and more than all she must have shared in the triumph of her Son. In the twelfth century, an apparition of the risen Saviour to His Rle.s.sed Mother is admitted bv Rujicrt of Deutz (de div. offic, VII, 25, P. L., CLXX, .30r>\ and also by Eadmer (de excell. V. M., 6, P. L., (T.IX, 5GS), St. Bernardin of Siena (Quadrages. I, in Re.^nrrect., eerm. LII, 3), St. Ignatius of Loyola (Exercit. spirit, de resurrect., I apparit.), Suarez (de myeter. vit.
