The Cross is the “hour” of redemption. It is the moment when God’s plan for our salvation is accomplished. According to that plan, every disciple is now bound to Mary in the order of grace. She is our mother, not just for a time, but for all eternity. In the birth pangs of Golgotha, the Church is born. And, at the center, there beats the heart of a mother.
Three groups of people mock Jesus on the cross. First, people passing by. They raise their voice and utter blasphemies against Jesus. They mock his claim to destroy the temple and then rebuild it in three days.
No character of the Passion leaves us with a lingering question like Barabbas. His story is broken off before it concludes. Barabbas was a “bandit” (Jn 18:40). The gospels paint him as much more than a petty thief.
Both Jesus and Peter made predictions at the Last Supper. Peter predicted that he would never deny Jesus, even if it meant prison and death (cf. Lk 22:33; Mt 26:35). Jesus predicted that Peter would fail.
After the arrest of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was taken prisoner to the home of the high priest Caiaphas. The other disciples all fled. Not Peter. He had boasted at the Last Supper, “Even if all fall away from you, I will not” (Mk 14:29). To his credit, he does follow Jesus to Caiaphas’ house. But he does so at a distance.