Antiphona ad Benedictus

From John 19:25, this antiphon places Mary at the Cross: 'Stabant autem juxta crucem Jesu mater ejus' (there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother). The verb 'stabant' (they stood) indicates firm presence, not collapse - Mary's co-redemptive suffering is upright and voluntary. The enumeration of the three Marys (his mother, Mary of Cleophas, Mary Magdalene) establishes witnesses to the Passion. At Lauds on the Seven Sorrows (September 15), this antiphon introduces the day's meditation: Mary's fidelity when the apostles fled. The Benedictus's prophecy of redemption receives its somber fulfillment at Golgotha.