It is because Mary has the clarity of vision possible only to the one immaculately conceived, she can see the goodness of her Divine Son, and the difference there is between Him and ourselves. All the sorrow in the world is as nothing compared to what she knew. She did not become bitter with us, but with her immaculate heart full of love, seeing exactly what we needed, all of us, from the first man to the last of any time or place just by looking upon her Son, she, with that knowledge, interceded for us, prayed for us, these being her birth pangs which gave birth to the entirety of the Mystical Body of Christ. How dare anyone say that Mary never knew birth pangs because she was immaculately conceived (an increase in anguish being one of the punishments for original sin)! Sure, the birth of our Lord was miraculous. But our belonging to the Mystical Body of Christ…. such a miracle brought about by purity, by sorrow, by intercession, by solidarity with her divine Son, Christ our God. Her Immaculate heart was pierced open with sorrow as we read in the Gospel of Luke. His Sacred Heart was pierced through by our sins symbolized by the spear of the soldier.
The Immaculate Conception and the Hour of Mercy? Yes. This is her hour of intercession for us as foretold by our Lord at the wedding of Cana. It is at this hour that we receive the true Wine, the Blood of Christ. It is at this hour that we celebrate the marriage of the Lamb with His bride the Church at the Last Supper with those wedding vows of His: This is my Body and Blood given over and poured out for you… in sacrifice. Is this The Hour of the Immaculate Conception to finish her work of maternity, of giving birth to us precisely because of her immaculateness? Is this the hour when she is mediatrix of all graces? Is this the hour when she is co-redemptrix, that title given to her some dozens of times by Pope John Paul II and so many others, pointing to the justice of it all, that we are redeemed only by her Divine Son even while it is most fitting in all justice that one of us perfectly intercede, pray for those graces of redemption? Well, yes, it is that hour. The hour taken from Satan and now owned by the Prince of the Most Profound Peace, and by His Mother, the Immaculate Conception.
Happy Feast Day.
Know that there is great rejoicing in heaven on this day.
May the Lord continue to bless you all according to the perfect intercession of the Immaculate Conception.
Accompany me, Father George David Byers, S.S.L., S.T.D., as I begin life as a Catholic Priest-Hermit by choice. Holy Souls Hermitage is dedicated to the sanctification of my fellow priests, bishops, deacons & seminarians going through the purgatory of this life or the next. Prayer and sacrifice go up, of course, for both Benedict XVI and the next Successor of Saint Peter. 
I heard an interview with Mel Gibson about this scene and he said it is as Mary is saying “look what you have done” but I feel like she is saying “Look what He has done for you”
Patricia: Indeed — “I’m interceding for you. Look at His great love for you.”
One of the advisers for the film was a friend and parishioner in Australia. He was trying to get me to be a chaplain on the set. Yikes!
Thank you for this series, Father!
Some time during the 3pm hour today I remembered you (and your book project of the popular version of your work on Genesis) in prayer Fr George, in the crypt chapel at the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help here in WI, where I was fortunate to be able to visit with some friends.