Ave Maria, by Jenny Koralek

As the following passage begins, Jesus of Nazareth, here called Yeshua, is suffering on the cross, attended by several including his mother, Mary, here known as Maryam, and Elizabeth, cousin to Maryam and mother of John the Baptist. It is Elizabeth who narrates. —The Editors The cross, or whatever other heavy burden the hero carries, is himself, or rather the Self,…