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| Consummatum est. JJ Tissot. Brooklyn Museum. |
I have inserted references in the text to numbered footnotes. These references are not hyperlinked but may be found by scrolling to the end of the relevant paragraph.
Totus tuus ego sum et omnia mea tua sunt. Tecum tutus semper sum.
Ad Jesum per Mariam.
Ad Jesum per Mariam.
This grace I ask of thee to-day: obtain for me a continual remembrance of the passion of Jesus, and of thine also, and a tender devotion to them.
Agony of Jesus in the Garden of Olives
And a hymn being said, they went out to Mount Olivet. . . . Then Jesus came with them into a country place, which is called Gethsemani.[1] As soon as they had said grace, Jesus leaves the supper room with his disciples, goes into the garden of Gethsemani, and begins to pray. But, alas, at the commencement of his prayer, he is assailed with a great fear, an oppressive tediousness, and an overwhelming sadness. He began to fear and be heavy, [2] says St. Mark. St. Matthew adds, He began to grow sorrowful and to be sad. [2] Hence our Redeemer, overwhelmed with sadness, said that his blessed soul was sorrowful even unto death. Then was presented before him the melancholy scene of all the torments and ignominies which were prepared for him.
Gethsemani. JJ Tissot. Brooklyn Museum.
In his Passion these afflicted him one by one; but in the garden, the buffets, the spittle, the scourges, the thorns, the nails, and the reproaches which he was to suffer, came all together to torment him. He there embraced them all, but in embracing them he trembled, he agonized, and prayed: And being in an agony, He prayed the longer.[3][1] [30] And a hymn being said, they went out unto mount Olivet.
Et hymno dicto, exierunt in montem Oliveti.
[36] Then Jesus came with them into a country place which is called Gethsemani; and he said to his disciples: Sit you here, till I go yonder and pray.
Tunc venit Jesus cum illis in villam, quae dicitur Gethsemani, et dixit discipulis suis : Sedete hic donec vadam illuc, et orem. [Matt 26]
[2] [33] And he taketh Peter and James and John with him; and he began to fear and to be heavy.
Et assumit Petrum, et Jacobum, et Joannem secum : et coepit pavere et taedere Mark 14]
[37] And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to grow sorrowful and to be sad.
Et assumpto Petro, et duobus filiis Zebedaei, coepit contristari et moestus esse. [Matt 26]
[3] [43] And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony, he prayed the longer.
Apparuit autem illi angelus de caelo, confortans eum. Et factus in agonia, prolixius orabat. [Luke 22]
But, my Jesus, who compels Thee to submit to such torments? The love, he answers, which I bear to men constrains me to endure them. Ah, how great must have been the astonishment of heaven at the sight of omnipotence become weak, of the joy of paradise oppressed with sadness! A God afflicted! And why? To save men, his own creatures. In the garden he offered the first sacrifice: Jesus was the victim, love was the priest, and the ardor of his affection for men was the blessed fire with which the sacrifice was consummated.
My Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from Me.[4] Thus Jesus prayed. My Father, he says, if it be possible, save me from drinking this bitter chalice. But he prayed thus not so much to be delivered from the torments that he was to endure, as to make us understand the pain which he suffered and embraced for the love of us. He prayed thus, also, to teach us that in tribulations we may ask God to deliver us from them, but that we should at the same time conform entirely to his divine will, and say with him, Nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt. [4] And during the whole time of his prayer he repeated the same petition. Thy will be done. . . . And He prayed the third time, saying the self-same word.[5] Yes, my Lord, for Thy sake, I embrace all the crosses which Thou wilt send me.[4] [39] And going a little further, he fell upon his face, praying, and saying: My Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from me. Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
Et progressus pusillum, procidit in faciem suam, orans, et dicens : Pater mi, si possibile est, transeat a me calix iste : verumtamen non sicut ego volo, sed sicut tu. [Matt 26]
[5] [44] And leaving them, he went again: and he prayed the third time, saying the selfsame word.
Et relictis illis, iterum abiit, et oravit tertio, eumdem sermonem dicens. [Matt 26]
Thou, an innocent, hast suffered for my sake, and shall I, a sinner, after having so often deserved hell, refuse to suffer in order to please Thee, and to obtain from Thee the pardon of my sins, and Thy grace? Not as I will, but as Thou wilt: let not my will, but Thine, be always done.
He fell flat on the ground.[6] In his prayer in the garden, Jesus fell prostrate on the ground, because, seeing himself clothed with the sordid garment of all our sins, he felt, as it were, ashamed to raise his eyes to heaven. My dear Redeemer, I would not dare to ask pardon for so many insults which I have committed against Thee, if Thy sufferings did not give me confidence. Eternal Father, look on the face of Thy Christ: [7] look not on my iniquities, behold this, Thy beloved Son, trembling, agonizing, and sweating blood in order to obtain Thy pardon for me. And his sweat became as drops of blood, trickling down upon the ground. [8] Behold me, and have pity on me. But, my Jesus, in this garden there are not executioners to scourge Thee, nor thorns, nor nails to torture Thee; what, then, extracts so much blood from Thee? Ah! I understand Thee: it was not the foresight of Thy approaching sufferings that then afflicted Thee so grievously; for to these pains Thou didst spontaneously offer Thyself: He was offered because it was His own will. [9] It was the sight of my sins; these were the cruel press which forced so much blood from Thy sacred veins.[6] [35] And when he was gone forward a little, he fell flat on the ground; and he prayed, that if it might be, the hour might pass from him.
Et cum processisset paululum, procidit super terram : et orabat ut, si fieri posset, transiret ab eo hora :[Mark 14]
[7] [10] Behold, O God our protector: and look on the face of thy Christ.
Protector noster, aspice, Deus, et respice in faciem christi tui. [Ps 83]
[8] [44] And his sweat became as drops of blood, trickling down upon the ground.
Et factus est sudor ejus sicut guttae sanguinis decurrentis in terram. [Luke 44]
[9] [7] He was offered because it was his own will, and he opened not his mouth: he shall be led as a sheep to the slaughter, and shall be dumb as a lamb before his shearer, and he shall not open his mouth.
Oblatus est quia ipse voluit, et non aperuit os suum; sicut ovis ad occisionem ducetur, et quasi agnus coram tondente se obmutescet, et non aperiet os suum. [Isai 53]
Hence, it was not the executioners, nor the nails, nor the thorns, that were cruel and barbarous in Thy regard: no, my sins, which made Thee so sorrowful in the garden, have been barbarous and cruel to Thee, my sweet Redeemer. Then, in Thy great affliction, I too have added to Thy sorrows, and have grievously afflicted Thee by the weight of my sins. Had I been guilty of fewer sins, Thou shouldst have suffered less. Behold, then, the return I have made for Thy love in dying for me. I have added to Thy great sufferings!
My beloved Lord, I repent of having offended Thee, I am sorry for my sins, but my sorrow is not great; I would wish for sorrow that would take away my life. Ah! through the bitter agony which Thou didst suffer in the garden, give me a portion of that abhorrence which Thou didst then feel for my sins. And if my ingratitude was then a cause of affliction to Thee, grant that I may now please Thee by my love. Yes, my Jesus. I love Thee with my whole heart. I love Thee more than myself, and for Thy love I renounce all the pleasures and goods of this earth. Thou alone art, and shalt always be, my only good and my only love.
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