Praying with Mary at the Foot of the Cross this Lent
- Elizabeth Zelasko
- Feb 27
- 4 min read
The Catholic Church is today in the early stages of a nine-year novena, moving towards the 2,000th anniversary of the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ. As we journey toward that anniversary, Denver Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila had the idea of gathering the faithful in prayer around one sacred image, an icon to help lead us, year after year, deeper into the mystery of the Cross.
I was beyond honored when he entrusted that task to me.
He gave me the freedom to create the icon; his only request was that it depict Mary at the Foot of the Cross. Archbishop Aquila could have asked for Christ crucified, and that certainly would have been fitting, but chose instead, in a deeply Catholic instinct, to lead us to Jesus through Mary.
When I arrived at our first meeting, I brought two concept sketches. One was chosen, and I went home to begin work.
But in truth, this image began long before that meeting.
Years ago, when I was a young iconography student in New York City, the Metropolitan Museum of Art was hosting an exhibition of Byzantine icons. If you can imagine, very old icons do not travel easily, so this was an extraordinary opportunity. I remember wandering through the galleries, immersed in centuries of sacred beauty, when one small icon stopped me dead in my tracks.
It was Mary at the Foot of the Cross.
Perhaps it is simply my melancholic temperament, but I was overwhelmed by the sorrow on her face. I walked straight toward it, transfixed. Something about her gripped me — and I had one pressing question: Why were her hands positioned that way? I stepped closer and read the plaque. The icon had once been part of a triptych: Christ crucified in the center, John the Beloved on one side and Mary on the other. She stood beneath her son as he hung on the Cross, and her hands were positioned as though she were remembering holding him as a baby. Only now her arms were empty.
I burst into tears in the middle of the museum. I did not care who saw. That tiny icon pierced my heart so deeply that day, and it has never left me. So, when the archbishop asked me for Mary at the Foot of the Cross, the composition was already fixed. I had no doubt she would carry the same posture.
Our Blessed Mother has many titles. One of them, referring to her sorrow, is the Stabat Mater, which means “the Mother stood.” She stood at the Cross. She did not collapse in despair. She did not flee. She did not lose hope. Though swords pierced her heart, she remained the purest vessel of trust in God. Her sorrow was real and devastating — but it was never without complete trust and faith.
St. Joseph is often called the Terror of Demons, but surely Our Lady shares in that title. Demons writhe in pain not at a loud display of power, but at her radical humility and unwavering obedience — the very things they rejected. Standing at the foot of the Cross, in her quiet endurance, she was radiant with a strength that hell could not stand.
It is no small thing to be Catholic during Lent and the Holy Triduum. The Church takes us by the hand each year and walks us through the Passion. We kiss the Cross. We venerate his wounds. We bury him. We sit in silence on Holy Saturday. And then Sunday comes. The Eastern Rite sings loudly on Easter morning:
“The Angel cried out to her that is full of grace: ‘Hail, O holy Virgin, and again I say: Hail! Thy Son is risen from the tomb on the third day and has overthrown death; O people, rejoice!’”
Mary stood at Calvary — but she also stood in the light of the Resurrection. How beautiful our God is! How beautiful our Church is! How beautiful our Lady is! We are a people who are not spared suffering, but neither are we denied glory. This Lent, let us choose to stand closer to this icon of Mary. May our hearts be pierced as hers was, and may they also be healed by the balm of the Resurrection.
I will forever be grateful to Archbishop Aquila for allowing me to create this icon for the archdiocese and for the many years he has guided us so faithfully as a good shepherd. I would like to close by sharing the prayer he has given us to accompany this image.
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.
