and she had been a widow for about eighty-four years), who didn't depart from the temple, worshipping with fastings and petitions night and day.
And so he is telling Mary, "Look, this child is set for great blessings to the people, but it's going to pierce as a sword through your own soul." Preparing her for the agony and the pain that she would experience, as she would watch one day this child, hanging on the cross.