Station 4: Jesus Meets His Mother

It has been two years since my grandma passed, yet some days, the grief feels just as fresh as if it happened yesterday. No one can ever truly be prepared for the loss of a loved one, but I certainly was not ready.

When she was hospitalized, the prognosis was grim, but I clung to even the smallest glimmer of hope, praying for a miracle—that God would restore her, make her whole again.

I remember sitting by her bedside, watching the rhythmic rise and fall of her breath, while across from me, my grandpa gripped his rosary, his fingers pressing into each bead as if his prayers could physically hold her here a little longer. In that moment, I felt utterly helpless.

There was nothing I could do but entrust everything into Mary’s hands—pleading for my grandma’s healing, or if that was not God’s will, trusting that Mary herself was holding my grandma as she journeyed home.

Mary’s Presence in Suffering

Even now, grief still lingers. It settled in my heart before she even passed—knowing what was to come, but not knowing how to bear it. And I wonder—

Was this how Mary felt when she met Jesus on the way to Calvary?

Did her heart ache with the same anguish, knowing the inevitable was near, yet still holding onto faith that God’s plan was greater than the suffering before her?

A Witness to Hope

Mary’s silent presence with Jesus teaches me something about grief and love.

She did not turn away. She remained.

And in remaining, she became a witness to hope—not the kind of hope that denies suffering, but the kind that walks through it, believing that love has the final word.

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." (Matthew 5:4)

A Prayer for Those Who Grieve

That same hope carries me today.

🌿 The hope that my grandma is at peace.
🌿 The hope that, in my own grief, God is near.
🌿 The hope that Mary, too, walks with me as I navigate both sorrow and motherhood.

I pray for the grace to embody her steadfast love and trust in God’s promise, even when the weight of loss feels unbearable.

And I pray for all who grieve, that the love our departed ones imprinted on our hearts may always lead us back into the tender arms of Jesus.

Tami Nguyen- Tran

Ignis