John 19:25-27: “Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, ‘Dear woman, here is your son,’ and to the disciple, ‘here is your mother.’ From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.”
We don’t know what thoughts went through Mary’s mind while Jesus hung on the cross, but surely she couldn’t forget the announcement by the angel that she would give birth to the Son of God, the Messiah, and the miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit. Mary didn’t understand some things as she stood on Calvary, but she did know that Jesus had not forgotten about her. Her son made arrangements for to have a home.
Mary remembered that a few days after the birth, Jesus was taken to the temple, and Simeon said, “… and a sword will pierce your own soul too” (Luke 2:43-35). As that prophecy was fulfilled, Jesus, even while suffering on the cross, remembered his mother, affirmed his mother, comforted her and provided for her (A. Ross in the New Bible Dictionary, s.v. “The Seven Words”).
On the cross, Jesus attention was not on himself and his own suffering, but on his beloved mother; and in so doing, he gave us a superb example of filial piety.