As countless individuals around the world receive ashes as a visible sign of our dependence on God — from dust we’ve come and to dust we’ll return, we hear — the holy season of Lent begins, and with it, we begin the walk to Calvary with Jesus.
“Every Lent leads to the same mystery: the Crucifixion, Death and Resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ,” wrote Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila in his new Lenten pastoral note, “Standing with Mary at the Foot of the Cross.” “Every Lent prepares the Church and all her members to experience and participate more profoundly in the Paschal Mystery. It is a season of purging our souls of sin and disordered attachments to become more like Jesus. We believe with St. Paul that ‘If we have died with Christ, we will also live with him’ (Rom 6:8). It is a season where we set our gaze on the cross of Christ and place our hope in his resurrection.”
More than an ordinary Lent, in the Archdiocese of Denver, we also begin the public period of a nine-year novena leading up to the extraordinary Jubilee of our salvation in 2033 — the 2,000th anniversary of the Paschal Mystery, which is the suffering, death and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus.
The nine-year novena began in discernment with Archbishop Aquila and his team, as they asked the Holy Spirit to guide and direct this archdiocesan prayer. While it was clear early on that the archdiocese ought to turn to our Blessed Mother, her litany of titles posed a unique challenge: under which name should we invoke her?
After a time of prayer and discernment, the Holy Spirit led the team to the foot of the Cross, where they found Mary, the perfect example of a missionary disciple, she who followed Jesus to the end.
“To lead and accompany us toward the 2033 Jubilee, I have chosen to direct the novena to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title ‘Mary at the Foot of the Cross.’ As Mary was present with Jesus throughout his passion, she will guide us in meditating upon these mysteries and participating in Jesus’ salvific mission on the cross,” he wrote, announcing the public period of the novena and inviting all archdiocesan faithful to participate, beginning this Ash Wednesday, Mar. 5.
“Mary is our example of how to respond to the Cross of Christ,” he continued. “There is only one fitting option: to give our entire lives to Jesus and into the hands of the Father. Jesus’ Father is our Father! Let us receive that as Mary did and let us turn to Mary for the strength and humility to surrender ourselves to God’s plan and leave everything behind.”
The multi-year novena is not unprecedented in the Archdiocese of Denver. In fact, ahead of the great Jubilee of the Incarnation of Jesus — that is, his becoming man and taking on our human condition — in the year 2000, then-Archbishop Stafford proclaimed a similar nine-year novena. The spiritual effort led to the creation of the Our Lady of the New Advent icon and devotion, complete with a local feast day on Dec. 16.
In like manner, the public period of this nine-year novena ahead of the Jubilee of our salvation in 2033 will offer the faithful the opportunity to pray, reflect and delve deeper into the mysteries of our salvation while reflecting on a new icon written by Elizabeth Zelasko, a local sacred artist and Denver Catholic columnist, and entitled “Mary at the Foot of the Cross.”
“The entire purpose of sacred art is to help us pray, pray together and center our thoughts on the transcendent truths of our faith,” said Zelasko. “I had many hours to sit with the Virgin Mary at the foot of the Cross while I was painting. I thought about the magnitude of that moment, her Immaculate Heart being pierced with a sword, the evil one losing, and her great love for us and for our Archdiocese. I prayed for all of you while I worked. May this image be a blessing for you.”
To kick off the efforts in addition to his announcement and explanation in “Standing with Mary at the Foot of the Cross,” Archbishop Aquila unveiled the icon at the Archdiocesan Pastoral Center in Denver Tuesday. He also encouraged priests in the Archdiocese of Denver to consider offering Masses of reparation for sin — both our own and those of others —throughout the novena. The Archdiocese has also mailed prayer cards to parishes in Northern Colorado so that the faithful might reflect on the new image of Mary and pray for her intercession.
“As we move towards the 2,000-year anniversary, let us keep these mysteries before us and keep our eyes fixed on the grace available through Mary at the Foot of the Cross. As she kept her gaze fixed on Jesus, so too are we called to ‘keep our eyes fixed on Jesus’ (Heb 12:2). My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, I pray that we invoke Mary daily this Lent and throughout these years, preparing for the Jubilee in 2033,” the archbishop concluded.
Prayer to Mary at the Foot of the Cross:
Most Blessed Virgin Mary, who stood firm at the foot of the cross, you never abandoned your Son, Jesus, even in the hour of his Passion and Death.
We honor your courage, hope and profound love for the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Grant that we, who desire to stand with you at the foot of the Cross, will open our hearts to the mysteries of salvation, will be strengthened in hope by Jesus’ Passion, and will live in surrender to the Father’s plan.
We pray to you, Dearest Mother, for your intercession for the reparation of our sins and those of the whole world.
May your Immaculate Heart triumph from the foot of the Cross. Amen.
