Darkness – totally! and: Love – totally! What a moment!
Mary, the Mother of Jesus is standing underneath the cross. Thirtythree years she had offered human space to Jesus to go His way. Often she couldn’t understand Him. But she had believed in Gods will and so she did what she had said to the servent at the wedding of Kanaan: “Do what He tells you to!” Now, He was delivered to the Romans by devout Jewish Circles and driven to the cross in the name of their religion. Mary is standing underneath the cross and seas the huge suffering in the eyes of her son, she hears the hurting words of many poeple: “It is right! He helped others, now He can try to help himself!” and she feels her faint, she is not able to give her son relief. The only think she can do is to stay with Him. And that is the deepest: She is standing there and stands with Him the unbelievably. A being of love in darkness!
And Jesus? The pains of being driven at the cross are tearing Him. The scorn of the people underneath the cross are drawing Him into deepest souly darkness. He feels himself at the end, totally misunderstood and between heaven and earth. Left by God and His fellows, broken down! And still He sais: “Father, I lay my spirit into Your hands!” He gives Himself untill the end. Even here: A being of love in darkness!
The views of these two endlessly suffering and endlessly givingly ones meet each other – lay down in each other. Given to each others completely and to the world they give each other a hold for a short time. But the way is not over yet. Jesus looks at His mother and recomends her to his favourite disciple Johannes. Even in this deepest suffering she doesn’t have any time to be at her own pain. Immidately He, her heavenly son, calls her to the next do of givingly love. Not feeling any sense – not seeing any light and still giving believingly herself! Thats the heavenly secret of Jesus, that He had lived Himself: He calls (you) always to give (yourself) – even in deepest darkness is only one thing possible: stay in loving giving yourself!
Dear friends of the word, the dead bishop Klaus Hemmerly tried to live like that. Already drawn by death and with always new last power he had talked to the different visitors, who had come to his room. One of these last visitors was Salvatore, a Pizza-baker of Aachen, where the bishop his restaurant very often. He appeared with a huge flower bouquet at the dieing one. And even he heard from his dieing friend: “Thank you for comming. Thank you for being here. I have to thank you for everything you did for me!” Let us give ourselves to our next ones – even in deepest darkness!
Prayers and Reflections 
