The First Sorrowful Mystery- The Agony in the Garden

The First Sorrowful Mystery- The Agony in the Garden

After the Last Supper, Jesus went to Gethsemane to pray (Luke 22:39 and following). He knelt and prayed, "Father, if it is your will, take this cup from me; yet not my will but yours be done" (vs 42). Luke tells us an angel comforted Christ, who prayed so intensely that his sweat 'became like drops of blood falling to the ground" (vs 44). He then found his disciples asleep.

Twenty-seven years ago this summer, I stood in Gethsemane while on my honeymoon. I was profoundly moved by the place, which is a simple olive grove with a requisite church commemorating Christ's prayer, betrayal and arrest there. I felt like I should pray, but what should I pray? I couldn't conjure a prayer.  An Our Father was the best I could summon as the tour group was moving on.

Fifteen years later during Holy Week, I found myself leaving the confessional with a prayer-penance that was....well....different, for me anyway. Not certain how to approach it, I returned the following day for guidance. I explained my dilemma to the (different) priest, who suggested, "Think of Jesus in Gethsemane."

Now, I did not know this priest well at the time ( it's Fr. Ross for those of you wondering :-)) , but I will tell you this: no amount of psychology, no amount of seminary training could have known how deeply those words reached me. Every Christian has a reaction to Gethsemane, but he had no way of knowing I had been there 15 years prior- with difficulty praying. Problem solved, just be in the Lord's presence in prayer, he'll take care of the rest.

Lesson # 1 of the First Sorrowful Mystery: We speak to and are spoken to by the priest in Confession, but never forget: it is really Jesus Christ doing the talking! He stands in persona Christi - and the Lord will speak to you through him- if you are willing to listen.

Fast-forward another five years. I was facing surgery for something I shouldn't have had to have surgery for. It wasn't my fault; I had done everything right...and I was not happy about it. I was 30 years old and the only surgery before that was a tonsillectomy when I was five. I was scared, I'll admit it. And I knew that despite the bad situation, the Lord could make good come from it... I just didn't understand why it had to be this way.

So I prayed. It was a Tuesday, so I prayed the Sorrowful Mysteries. I never got past the first decade, I got stuck in Gethsemane.

Remember waaaayyy back in the second blog entry- when I talked about meditating on the mysteries as you say the prayers?  I pictured the quintessential Gethsemane picture...Jesus next to a big rock, hands clenched, angel ... and the only words I could hear were: Father, if it is your will, take this cup from me; yet not my will but yours be done....over and over again.

I knew the Lord was telling me, "We can do this your way, or we can do it MY way. In the long run, my way works out better....but you must drink from the cup."  I drank. Deeply. And amazing things have happened.

To this day, when I receive the Precious Blood, my prayer before I drink is : Lord, your will- not mine.  Some days, I know I'm not ready to say that, so I don't receive from the cup. (Which is fine, because we receive Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity even when we receive under one species only) Also, for those who pay attention to these things, I won't drink from a glass cup at Mass. And some days I don't receive from the cup because I don't feel well.

Lesson #2 of the First Sorrowful Mystery: When we do "drink from the cup" the Lord has for us, we are surrendering ourselves to God's will in our lives. Buckle up: powerful things will happen! 

The words "his sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground" had always mystified me. While there is a medical condition that occurs under severe stress that can cause the capillaries to burst and allow blood to leak from the pores and mix with blood, I'm not positive that is what happened. I always imagined Jesus sweat so profusely that it was literally dripping off on him. Either way, the guy was under a LOT of pressure, who wouldn't be?

And what are his friends doing?

They are asleep.

In other Gospels, we hear Jesus three times ask them to stay awake with him, even if just for an hour.

Lesson #3 of the First Sorrowful Mystery: When you have a friend going through a tough time, just be there. Even if you don't have a thing to say, not a single word of comfort. Your presence alone will be comfort beyond words, and your absence would be missed.

Oh- and keeping watch with the Lord for an hour? That is where the tradition of a Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament originates.

Will you keep watch with him for an hour?

Don't know what to say"

Just be in the Lord's presence in prayer, he'll take care of the rest!

The Fifth Luminous Mystery- The Institution of the Eucharist

The Fifth Luminous Mystery- The Institution of the Eucharist

This is- so far- the most difficult Mystery for me to write about, not because the subject matter is so difficult, but because there is SO MUCH to say! 

You know the story of the Last Supper. We hear the words at every Mass. ..."Do this in remembrance of me."

Those are very important words, and they sent a clear message to those who heard Jesus speak them. You see, "remember" had a far deeper meaning for them than it does for us, especially in the context of the Passover meal Jesus was celebrating with his disciples. In the Passover meal, the Jews believe they are joining at that moment with everyone who has ever eaten the Passover, and with everyone who will ever eat the Passover. It makes all time present in that moment, when they remember God bringing them out of slavery and to freedom. And the guest of honor at the Passover meal was the lamb. It was by the blood of the lamb that they were protected....but there was another specification: everyone present was required to eat of the flesh of the lamb that had been sacrificed, whose blood was poured out.

See where this is going? 

Now. Grab your Bible ( or Google) the Gospel of John, chapter 6. Read it now. Go ahead, I'll wait!

Hum-de-dum-dum....  Back already? Did you really read it?  Go on, even if you think you know what it says. 

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John 6: 54-58  ( from USCCB.ORG )

Whoever eats^* my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.55For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.56Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.57Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.58This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.”

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Notice- not once, not twice but THREE times, Jesus says you must eat his flesh. Ever wonder why we say HOLY HOLY HOLY during Mass? Or repeat LAMB OF GOD three times? It is because in Hebrew, there are no comparative or superlative forms. So, you cannot say something is 'better' or 'best,'  but it can be GOOD GOOD or GOOD GOOD GOOD. Repetition was also used for emphasis.

Yes. I know Jesus spoke Aramaic. Yes, I know the Gospels were written in Greek. But Jesus also spoke Hebrew ( he could read from the scrolls in the temple), and the literary form of repetition for emphasis was understood then- and is even used in writing and speaking today, because it works, it gets the message across. 

This is what the  United States Council of Catholic Bishops say about the above-cited passage: 

[6:54–58] Eats: the verb used in these verses is not the classical Greek verb used of human eating, but that of animal eating: “munch,” “gnaw.” This may be part of John’s emphasis on the reality of the flesh and blood of Jesus (cf. Jn 6:55), but the same verb eventually became the ordinary verb in Greek meaning “eat.”

When you look at the big picture, there can be no doubt in the reasonable persons mind: Jesus said we must eat his flesh- the flesh of the Lamb whose blood was poured out - if we want to have eternal life. 

When we join in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, we are present for the ONE sacrifice of Jesus Christ. And we are doing exactly what he asked us to do.

In the Fifth Luminous Mystery, we remember what we may take for granted: the Eucharist is the Real Presence of Jesus Christ, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity.