Michelangelo’s iconic masterpiece, the Pieta, shows God’s mother holding her dead son in her arms. It is a superb display of God’s self-imposed powerlessness through the hands of humans.  It is an honest manifestation of just how far God is willing to endure pain so that his beloved creation has a second chance to regain God’s love.

As we know, Mary quietly sits observing the entire crucifixion scene in silence. She then watches the men remove Jesus from the cross lovingly placing him in Mary’s lap. Through this marble monument’s depiction, we watch Mary pondering all this activity in her heart while she tenderly caresses her lifeless son. 

Onlookers may wonder what her thoughts and memories are as she wordlessly moves between both grief and joy at this moment.  How enthusiastic are her words as she recalls: My Soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord!  She also may be whispering the words of her fiat: Thy will be done – always.

Gazing intently at this masterpiece, we notice one outstanding peculiarity. Mary seems larger than Jesus. When Michelangelo was questioned about this size disparity, he responded that he wanted Mary seen as holding not just the savior of the world, but her little boy.

That is the grieving moment. She was suffering. It was her son, seen not as he is, but as he was to Mary, his mother. Her beloved little boy who needed her to be his mother at this moment.

This is why she loves watching her son tended to by those he loved. They are giving back for all Jesus gave up for them. Her aching heart finds some joy: “My soul magnifies the Lord. My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”  This is her consolation. With God, and Mary too, it is never too late to love back.  They wait, and when it comes, they are lifted up.

The Pieta also displays Mary’s holiness. Within the Pieta’s fascination, it welcomes each of us, mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters to seek that same holiness through the acceptance of our human situation and whatever it sends us.

Mary became holy by giving to God her life, work, and prayer humbly and sincerely. True holiness arises from the ordinary and the everyday. Saint Francis de Sales encourages us to live our ordinary life extraordinarily well. From these actions, sanctity blossoms!

Remember: The only difference between a saint and a sinner is every saint has a past, while every sinner has a future.