In The Life of Christ Revealed, Blessed Veronica sees a hidden moment of sorrow and love between Jesus and His Mother before His Passion. She witnesses Christ consoling Mary, their tender exchange of blessings, and Mary Magdalene’s plea for Him to stay. This vision shows Christ’s obedience and the deep heartbreak of those who loved Him most.
A Hidden Colloquy in Bethany
On the night of the Lord’s Supper, Blessed Veronica was taken up into a mystical trance and led by an angel to Bethany, into the house of Martha and Mary Magdalene. There, she saw a table in an upper room, at which were seated Christ and the Blessed Virgin. No one else was present, so that they were able to speak with each other in perfect privacy. The divine Son and the Blessed Mother spoke freely of the passion which Christ was to undergo. Jesus urged Mary to endure with patience all the great sufferings of soul and heart which He knew lay in store for her. He also warned her not to fall prey to despair at His impending death.
Christ Explains His Destiny
“For it is necessary for Me to go forth to Jerusalem now,” Jesus said, “to have my Last Supper with my disciples there, and to undergo death upon the cross.”
Upon hearing these fateful words, the merciful Mother gave forth deep sighs from the depths of her heart, and burning tears flowed forth from her eyes. She urged her Son not to undertake this journey to Jerusalem. But Christ expounded to her the ancient oracles of the prophets which foretold the inevitability and necessity of the only-begotten Messiah of God, and His duty of obedience to the will of the eternal Father. He explained that it was to fulfill this very destiny that He had come into the world, in order to save the human race from sin and eternal damnation.
A Mother’s Sorrow and a Son’s Consolation
Blessed Veronica witnessed the holy Mother of God hear these words attentively and ponder them deeply. Yet although the Blessed Virgin understood all these things, the maternal anxiety and compassion she felt seemed to overwhelm her, and she almost collapsed to the ground. But Christ was at hand to raise her up gently and lovingly.
The Mother and Son spent the whole night in private colloquy, exchanging words of infinite love and divine wisdom. So intent were they upon their conversation that neither of them consumed any food. At the end of this night-long exchange, Veronica saw Jesus and Mary rise from the table. Jesus then knelt reverently before Mary and requested her maternal blessing for the ordeal which lay ahead of Him. Then the Blessed Virgin knelt before her Son and requested His blessing, for she knew that this Son of hers was truly God Himself. With tears of love, they exchanged blessings in this manner.
Mary Magdalene Pleads with Christ
After this, Mary, with natural maternal love, urged Him to remain with her longer. “My Son, do not depart from me!” she exclaimed, her voice ringing out with such dolorous passion that everyone in the house could hear her clearly. Mary Magdalene quickly rushed in, inflamed with the fire of love, and anxiously asked the Mother of Christ what was the cause of her plaintive exclamation and the tears which she shed in such profusion. The Blessed Virgin replied: “Ask this of my Son! For He has resolved to go forth to Jerusalem, where it is certain that He will undergo most dire sufferings and a terrible death.” Upon hearing these words, Mary Magdalene threw herself at the feet of Jesus. With tears of tender love, she implored Him: “My Master, do not go to Jerusalem, I beg You! For You know full well all the wicked and diabolical plans which the temple authorities have contrived against You.”
Christ’s Unwavering Obedience
But to this, Christ replied firmly: “Do not ask me such a thing! For it is the divine plan that I go forth to the Holy City at this time, and there I am destined to undergo much suffering and death.”
Blessed Veronica observed Jesus remain in the presence of the two women for a little longer, and then He departed quietly. At this point, His Mother spoke to Mary Magdalene, saying: “O Mary Magdalene, follow my Son! Hasten after Him, and in my own name, implore Him to return to me!” And Mary Magdalene did just as the holy Mother of God had instructed her, and soon conveyed these words of maternal pleading to Jesus. But He ordered this most devoted of His disciples to return quickly to His Mother, and to solemnly assure Her that very soon He would indeed return joyfully to her presence in the near future—but only after He had fulfilled His divinely preordained destiny of suffering, dying, and rising again from the tomb, for the salvation of all mankind.
A Vision of Holy Sorrow
Mary Magdalene returned to the Virgin Mary and told her everything that her Son had said. Blessed Veronica testified that she witnessed tears and laments of almost indescribable sorrow and anguish then to come forth from both the Mother of Christ and Saint Mary Magdalene. Though they both had absolute faith in the promise of the glories of the Resurrection, yet they were horrified at the thought of the agonies and shame which Jesus, whom they each loved dearly, was to undergo. And so, they gave free rein to all the bitter heartbreak they shared at that time.
Veronica was also granted a vision of the face of Christ at that time. She noticed that it was suddenly imbued with a death-like pallor and bore an expression of genuine human dread and foreboding which He never once displayed before His disciples or the public. Indeed, it almost seemed to become, for an instant, the face of another person altogether . . .
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This article is taken from a chapter in The Life of Christ Revealed by Blessed Veronica of Milan which is available from TAN Books.
