Dear Parishioners of Mary Immaculate and Saint Rose,
Toward the end of His agony on the Cross, Jesus looks upon His Mother, and John, His beloved apostle.  He addresses these words to them (John 19:25-27):  Seeing His mother there with the disciple whom He loved, Jesus said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son.” In turn, He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother.” From that hour onward, the disciple took her into his own home.
So much occurs in the time that Jesus hangs upon the Cross. There are things that are easy to see and things that are veiled in mystery. At the foot of the Cross is Mary, the mother of Jesus.  This is the fulfillment of the prophecy uttered by Simeon when Jesus was presented in the Temple as an infant. Luke 3:34-35:This child is destined to be the downfall and rise of many in Israel, a sign that will be opposed -- and you yourself shall be pierced with a sword. . .The Virgin Mary must be in such sorrow at the cruel, violent treatment of her son Jesus. It must truly feel as if her heart is pierced with a sword of sorrow.
Also at the foot of the Cross stands the apostle John. He is the youngest of the twelve, possibly still in his teen years. All the older apostles have fled, yet the young John stands courageously with Jesus in his final hour. Jesus entrusts John with the care of His mother.  Obviously, John is to provide for her physical needs: She is widowed, and now with the death of her only son, and with no other close male relatives, she will be destitute, so John is charged with her care.
The mystery is that Jesus is giving John not just a tremendous responsibility, but a wonderful gift. Through John, all of humanity receives that gift. Jesus not only opens the gates of Heaven to us by His sacrifice on the Cross; He also gives to us an advocate, a gentle presence, an intercessor to pray for us, a model and guide for our journey to Heaven.  Jesus gives to us all the gift of His own Mother, so that we are now joined to Him as sons and daughters of His Heavenly Father, and also as brothers and sisters to Him as we share His Mother.
Holy Mary, Mother of God (and our Mother!) pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.
Msgr. Cox

Christ on the Cross with Mary and St. John, Rogier van der Weyden (ca. 1464)