In the great honour we give to Mary as the Mother of Jesus and Mother of God, we can often forget the level of suffering that was part of her life. One might have thought that God would have treated His Son's Mother differently. It all began with that unconditional 'Yes' she gave to the angel when she was invited to be the mother of God's Son Incarnate. It was a 'Yes' she never withdrew. It was there when she had to give birth to her Son in conditions of great discomfort and in a strange place. It was there when she heard Simeon say that a 'sword of sorrow' would pierce her heart. It was there during those three days of great distress when her Son was lost in a big city full of strange visitors. And, above all, it was there that she saw her Son arrested, condemned to death, viciously scourged and mocked and finally hung naked before mocking crowds on Calvary. And, through it all, she was there with Him. Mary has much to tell us about the ways in which we are to find God's love in the pain of our own lives.