“‘Standing by the cross of Jesus was his mother’ (Jn. 19:25). The Virgin, with her mother’s grief, participated in a quite particular way in the Passion of Jesus, cooperating deeply with the salvation of mankind. Like Mary, each of us can and must unite with the suffering Jesus in order to become, with his own pain, an active part in the redemption of the world which he effected in the Paschal Mystery." (St. John Paul II)

We can never begin to comprehend the depth of Mary's sorrow, as she stood at the foot of the cross. She could have chosen not to be present. But she didn't. This was the will of the Father that Jesus should give his life for our lives. She embraced that will. Simeon had previously said that a sword would pierce her heart. She stands in support of her Son, uniting her sorrows with his sufferings. This is the lesson she teaches us. Suffering can be wasted or it can be beneficial. Wallowing in our suffering , complaining, "why me?" is useless. Suffering united to Jesus', allows that suffering to be part of the Paschal mystery of salvation.