“One can dimly guess the psychological horror of the progressive stages of fear, anxiety, and sorrow which prostrated Him before even a single blow had been struck. It has been said that soldiers fear death much more before the zero hour of attack than in the heat of battle. The active struggle takes away the fear of death which is present when one contemplates it without action. It is very likely the Agony in the Garden cost Him far more suffering than even the physical pain of Crucifixion, and perhaps brought His soul into greater regions of darkness than any other moment of the Passion.”
Fulton J. Sheen
What did the disciples do amidst this terrifying moment for our Lord? They slept. Even after instructing them to stay and be alert, and then checking in and redirecting them, they still couldn’t keep their eyes open.
We can think of all the people in our world who are broken and alone, facing stress and pain in their own “Agony in the Garden.” What they share, and we share with them, are the issues and obstacles that life brings. We find ourselves in Gethsemane more often than we know. And what is our tendency? To keep closed in our own little hearts and minds, too busy in our own lives and in our own circumstances.
Jesus was literally on the precipice of the most important moment in the history of the world and we couldn’t stay awake.
As we place ourselves in the garden with Jesus, the emotions and thoughts are almost too strong and all over the place. We ask for His forgiveness. We thank Him for what He is about to do. We ask for His mercy in our weakness and with tired eyes. We ask for His grace to help those in our world who need us to stay awake, and who need us to bring His love to them.
What was Jesus’ response to the disciples sleeping? The same it would have been if they would have been alert and engaged. As he told them to “Get up and let us go,” we do the same.
We never forget this agony of Jesus. We feel the profound sorrow for letting Him go off to die while we couldn’t stay awake. We use this sorrow and remorse as fuel to be there for others, and in that sense, now really be there for Jesus. We use our present life as an opportunity to apply what we’ve learned and what we will continue to learn because of that garden. And like Jesus, we get up and go into the world to carry not only our cross, but to help carry the crosses of others.
Fulton J. Sheen
What did the disciples do amidst this terrifying moment for our Lord? They slept. Even after instructing them to stay and be alert, and then checking in and redirecting them, they still couldn’t keep their eyes open.
We can think of all the people in our world who are broken and alone, facing stress and pain in their own “Agony in the Garden.” What they share, and we share with them, are the issues and obstacles that life brings. We find ourselves in Gethsemane more often than we know. And what is our tendency? To keep closed in our own little hearts and minds, too busy in our own lives and in our own circumstances.
Jesus was literally on the precipice of the most important moment in the history of the world and we couldn’t stay awake.
As we place ourselves in the garden with Jesus, the emotions and thoughts are almost too strong and all over the place. We ask for His forgiveness. We thank Him for what He is about to do. We ask for His mercy in our weakness and with tired eyes. We ask for His grace to help those in our world who need us to stay awake, and who need us to bring His love to them.
What was Jesus’ response to the disciples sleeping? The same it would have been if they would have been alert and engaged. As he told them to “Get up and let us go,” we do the same.
We never forget this agony of Jesus. We feel the profound sorrow for letting Him go off to die while we couldn’t stay awake. We use this sorrow and remorse as fuel to be there for others, and in that sense, now really be there for Jesus. We use our present life as an opportunity to apply what we’ve learned and what we will continue to learn because of that garden. And like Jesus, we get up and go into the world to carry not only our cross, but to help carry the crosses of others.