St. Mary of Clopas

Mary, Mary, where you going to

St. Mary of Clopas is one of the many Marys mentioned in the Gospels, but most importantly, she was one of the women to stay and stand at the Crucifixion. She stood as witness for all of us, and shows us how to do the same.

There’s a lot of back and forth about who exactly Mary of Clopas is but none of it really matters unless you’re super into the family tree of Jesus. I’m not, that doesn’t really concern me much, so I acknowledge that there are a lot of theories and move on. What impresses me about Mary of Clopas is that she stayed.

It was dangerous to stay at the Crucifixion. If people found out you were a follower of Jesus’s, you might be put to death, too. Even the women! That’s why, of all the apostles, only John stayed. Mary, whether she was Mary’s sister or Joseph’s sister-in-law or whatever, Mary decided Jesus was worth sticking around for. Jesus is worth sticking around for. Perhaps what makes him most worth sticking around for is that he sticks around for us. He sticks around for me. When all others leave, Jesus is still there. And Mary of Clopas teaches us that wherever Jesus is, others will follow, so we will never truly be alone; we will always have community.

St. Mary of Clopas, pray for us!