NOTES for Joh 19:26-27

The Gospels in general tell very sparingly about the life of the Mother of God, so the small details they do convey are all the more important. The youngest of the disciples, John, the one whom Jesus loved, takes upon himself care for the Mother of Jesus. Even on the cross Jesus does not forget Her and entrusts Her to His beloved disciple. This has a purely everyday meaning: women in Israel did not support themselves; they were homemakers, and the means for life were earned first by fathers, then by husbands, and then by sons. With Jesus' death, Mary has no one left to provide for Her life; She had no savings. The Holy Family always lived in poverty. Therefore Jesus' care for Her in the last moments of His earthly life is very important for both of Them.

But there is another meaning too. The Church created by Christ is called to continue His work, to do everything He did. By receiving Mary, the disciples show themselves to be Jesus' brothers, and the Church becomes one family, in which there is a Father, there is a Mother, and there are children, brothers and sisters to one another, living in unity with Christ, in obedience to the Father, and in care for the Mother, who overshadows them with Her maternal love.