his breast.  Mary approached him instantly, and said, ‘Simon, tell me, I entreat you, what is become of Jesus, my Son?’ These words pierced his very heart; he could not even look at her, but turned away, and again wrung his hands.  Mary drew close to him, and said in a voice trembling with emotion:  ’Simon, son of John, why dost thou not answer me?’—­Mother!’ exclaimed Peter, in a dejected tone, ’O, Mother, speak not to me—­thy Son is suffering more than words can express:  speak not to me!  They have condemned him to death, and I have denied him three times.’  John came up to ask a few more questions, but Peter ran out of the court as if beside himself, and did not stop for a single moment until he reached the cave at Mount Olivet—­that cave on the stones of which the impression of the hands of our Saviour had been miraculously left.  I believe it is the cave in which Adam took refuge to weep after his fall.

The Blessed Virgin was inexpressibly grieved at hearing of the fresh pang inflicted on the loving heart of her Divine Son, the pang of hearing himself denied by that disciple who had first acknowledged him as the Son of the Living God; she was unable to support herself, and fell down on the door-stone, upon which the impression of her feet and hands remains to the present day.  I have seen the stones, which are preserved somewhere, but I cannot at this moment remember where.  The door was not again shut, for the crowd was dispersing, and when the Blessed Virgin came to herself, she begged to be taken to some place as near as possible to her Divine Son.  John, therefore, led her and the holy women to the front of the prison where Jesus was confined.  Mary was with Jesus in spirit, and Jesus was with her; but this loving Mother wished to hear with her own ear the voice of her Divine Son.  She listened and heard not only his moans, but also the abusive language of those around him.  It was impossible for the holy women to remain in the court any longer without attracting attention.  The grief of Magdalen was so violent that she was unable to conceal it; and although the Blessed Virgin, by a special grace from Almighty God, maintained a calm and dignified exterior in the midst of her sufferings, yet even she was recognised, and overheard harsh words, such as these:  ’Is not that the Mother of the Galilean?  Her Son will most certainly be executed, but not before the festival, unless, indeed, he is the greatest of criminals.’

The Blessed Virgin left the court, and went up to the fireplace in the vestibule, where a certain number of persons were still standing.  When she reached the spot where Jesus had said that he was the Son of God, and the wicked Jews cried out, ‘He is guilty of death,’ she again fainted, and John and the holy women carried her away, in appearance more like a corpse than a living person.  The bystanders said not a word; they seemed struck with astonishment, and silence, such as might have been produced in hell by the passage of a celestial being, reigned in that vestibule.