When Jesus, therefore, saw his mother and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, thy son.”  Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, thy mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home (Jn 19:26, 27). 

With those words, the dying Christ commended his mother to the loving care of St. John the Apostle. Where Mary lived with the beloved disciple afterward is an open question.

Who or what is Jesus? 

According to author Martin Mosebach, “The early Christians knew that the Christian message was Jesus himself. The essence of the Gospels’ new, more profound, and more compelling picture of God was that God had become flesh, present among us.” (“The Heresy of Formlessness: The Roman Liturgy and Its Enemy” (Ignatius Press). There was much confusion about Jesus’ precise relationship to God.

My favorite of this celestial company was St. Dympha . . . I found a frame for [her holy card] . . . and for many decades, it sat on my desk in Whitehall, to the amusement or consternation of my colleagues. I had the private enjoyment of knowing, alone among all who labour within the Foreign Office, that St. Dympha is the patroness of those afflicted with nervous disorders. In my profession I will accept all available assistance (Excerpted from “Enter the Lion: A Posthumous Memoir of Mycroft Holmes,” Hawthorn Books, 1979).

Youngsters astonish parents with unexpected occasions of instantaneous affection. Their compassionate little hearts eagerly prompt them to help Mom or Dad. And these wonderfully impulsive incidents become cherished memories.