![]() ![]() God knew, as Jesus did, that ultimate salvation could only be found at the cross. Similarly, God did not change the world so that Jesus could escape crucifixion. Their worldly circumstances did not change and they still faced some rather monumental challenges. The apostles were scared of the fate that might befall them but God gave them strength and guidance through the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ experience in the garden mirrors the apostles’ experience in the Third Glorious Mystery – The Decent of the Holy Spirit. We truly follow in Jesus’ footsteps when we imitate His ways despite our human fears and doubts that make us want to do otherwise. ![]() However, Jesus shows us that we cannot let those emotions impede us from doing God’s will. Seeing Jesus scared reminds us that being scared is a normal human response when facing monumental obstacles and challenges in our lives. If we saw the fully divine Jesus go to His death, fully at peace because He knew about His ultimate resurrection and redemption, we would not be able to relate to Him much less imitate Him. And there lies the reason why we see Jesus in this very human state. Fear and desperation are not exactly traits we associate with God but ones we use to describe ourselves. He pleads with God that this terrible fate not befall Him. He shows us very human emotions such as the fear of being tortured and killed and disappointment upon discovering His apostles sleeping instead of praying. We also see the dichotomy of Jesus being both fully human and fully God. When we pray are we like Jesus laying ourselves out before God or are we like the apostles - physically there but spiritually asleep? I’m thinking about work, a television show or movie, finances, something someone said, or politics. Ask yourself, do you earnestly lay your soul before God in prayer or do you just go through the words and motions? I know from my experience that when I pray I am often thinking of other things. This rosary mystery really forces us to focus on the quality of our prayers. That make me wonder, have I every prayed so hard for anything in my life? When I face large challenges, do I first turn to prayer and ask God for strength and guidance or do I try to figure out some way to avoid them? Or do I just throw out a quick “God, help me!” without much effort or faith that God will actually do anything. Jesus prays so hard that He starts sweating blood. But what does He do in that situation? Does He run and hide? Does He ask the apostles to fight and protect Him? Does he complain endlessly and ask, “why me?” No, instead He prays and prays earnestly. First we see Jesus facing His certain death. This mystery revolves around prayer as well as the lack of it. Finally, Jesus said that He would do God’s will despite any fears He had. He later found his apostles asleep after he asked them to pray with Him. First, He prayed that God would let this horrible ordeal pass over Him. Before Jesus was arrested, tried, and crucified, He prayed in a garden for strength. This rosary meditation reflects on the First Sorrowful Mystery - The Agony in the Garden. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |