Page:SermonsFromTheLatins.djvu/259

 or more  uneven  road  trod  by  two  poor  mangled human feet! Poor Mary  follows  in  the  crowd,  and, as she  sees  the  bloody  footprints  His  feet  have  made, her maternal  heart  can  contain  itself  no  longer. In a frenzy  of  despair  and  with  a  superhuman  effort,  she rushes frantic  through  the  crowd. Men fall  back  in alarm  before  her  fierce  earnestness,  and  on  she  goes through the  parted  ranks  until  she  stands  face  to  face with her  Son. " Mother,"  He  sobs,  "  Mother,"  and at the  word  all  her  unnatural  courage  dies  out,  all  the love and  tenderness  of  her  nature  come  back  to  her, and in  a  moment  she  is  a  helpless  woman,  a  heartbroken mother  again. Speechless with  emotion, their eyes  meet  in  one  long,  last  look,  and  then  the rough guard  brushes  her  aside,  and  the  gloomy  procession moves  on. Oh, how  the  great  heart  of  that fondest of  sons  must  have  ached  with  sympathy  for His poor  Mother! What bitter  tears  He  must  have shed on  that  dreary  march  as  He  compared  the  happiness of  their  life  long  ago,  in  the  little  home  of Nazareth,  with  the  misery  of  their  present  condition! Aye, I  feel  as  sure  as  if  Christ  Himself  revealed  it  to me,  that  one  of  the  bitterest  of  all  the  bitter  pains  He had  to  endure,  was  the  thought  of  His  poor  Mother's grief  and  desolation;  for  His  generous  heart  felt  first for His  Mother,  then  for  mankind,  and  last  of  all  for Himself. That is  why,  when  He  fell  three  times under the  cross,  He  suffered  more  from  the  thought that His  Mother  was  listening  to  His  groans  and  the blows He  received,  than  He  did  from  the  blows  themselves. That is  why,  also,  He  honored  His  Mother