Glory to Jesus Christ. I'm Mother Natalia a Byzantine Catholic nun from Christ to the Bridegir Monastery and this is Pines with Aquinas.

We just celebrated yesterday the leave taking of the exultation of the cross and so this past week I've been

continuing to pray with this concept of of suffering of of why we look at the

cross and and what it's supposed to mean to us, what it's supposed to teach us, what the death

and resurrection of the Lord is supposed to teach us. And in the midst of that, I've been reflecting

particularly on the midst of that I've been reflecting particularly on the words of the the priest who had

liturgy for us for the exaltation of the cross I I won't share his name because I think he would get embarrassed but he's a very beautiful

homilist and in his homily for the exaltation of the cross he talked about how John and Mary at the foot of the cross were what he called the useless

presence of love useless. the useless because

because they didn't solve the problem.

Their presence didn't solve the problem,

their presence didn't solve the problem, the problem it didn't remove the

it didn't remove the cross for Jesus.

And this is what we are supposed to do.

We should be the useless presence of love in people's lives.

And so often we just want to solve the problem.

And, yeah, and take people's crosses away

as opposed to just suffering with them and being present with

them in their suffering and helping them to bear their cross and so as I've continued to reflect on that homily and just think about

how terrible it must have been for Mary

to see her son indoor suffering,

like for any parent to see their child indoor suffering and to feel useless to prevent it.

...