fRANCISCO DE ZURBáRAN:

In an insightful article, Aaron Kheriaty, MD writes about our selfish tears in times of distress:
“In my clinical practice, I frequently see patients who have endured unspeakable evils. They bear an anguish that cannot be communicated or comprehended. Trying to accompany them in their pain has been my daily bread for over twenty years. This professional experience has provided a window into the suffering of the human heart that most people probably cannot access in the same way, at least outside of their own personal experience of suffering. When we suffer, we understandably want to comprehend the reasons for our anguish. My patients often ask, as I ask when I am in pain: Why is this happening to me? Did I do something wrong to deserve this? Is God punishing me? Why is God—who is all good, all-knowing, and all-powerful—allowing me to suffer when He could have prevented it? These questions are perfectly natural. Notice, however, that they all involve asking God to teach me about my suffering…”

Dr. Kheriaty continues arguing that these questions are beyond the capacity of our finite intellect to comprehend, and then warns us that if we do not fix our gaze on Christ’s Cross, any answer to questions about suffering is incomplete or simply wrong. We must learn from Jesus’ suffering and go more deeply into His Passion to find peace. Kheriaty says: “ During my nearly five years of dealing with a severe, debilitating chronic pain condition, […] I wish I had learned sooner to turn my attention to Christ’s Cross rather than focusing on mine. […]  I needed a crucial shift in focus: anything to do with my sufferings puts me at the center instead of God. When I rightly recognize His place, my attention reorients from my own suffering to His. There I can find liberation.” 
Faced with Christ’s suffering, our suffering eventually fades into the background. Mary’s tears convey exactly this truth. She sees her Son’s sufferings. She focuses on His precious blood.
Francisco de Zurbarán was a deeply religious painter who experienced sorrow, too. He experienced the plague that killed half of the population in Seville in 1649. His adult son John, aged only twenty-nine, was among the victims.
Francisco de Zurbarán wants us to see the tears of the Virgin even in the quiet days in her home at Nazareth. He forebodes Mary’s intense participation in the passion of her Son. Mary knew that she couldn’t prevent it. She could only wait in patience and repeat her “Fiat.”
In another work by Francisco de Zurbarán, the Child Mary, surrounded by a cloud of glory, contemplates God. Even in this painting, the girl’s expression is deeply intent and almost tearful. 
Mary’s tears open a window into her pure heart. The purer her heart, the more excruciating her pain from the sins and evil committed by people around her. Sin touches her heart like a sword.
Therefore, Mary’s concern for sinners is so profound that she often intercedes even before the sinner cries out for help when facing temptation. As Dante writes: “…ma molte fiate/ Liberamente al domandar precorre (but many times she freely anticipates the request…). “Blessed are those who weep because they will be consoled.”   ◼