Scripture
for reflection: Psalm 43:5
My soul is very
sorrowful.
Scripture
for meditation: Mark 14: 33-35
And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be
greatly distressed and troubled. And he said to them, ‘My
soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch’. Going
a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible,
the hour might pass from him. Pope Benedict XVI instructs us: Jesus’ words to the three disciples he wills to remain close by during the prayer in Gethsemane reveal the fear and anguish he feels in that “Hour”; they reveal his experience of an ultimate, profound solitude precisely at the time God’s plan is being realized. And in Jesus’ fear and anguish, all of man’s horror in the face of his own death, the certainty of its relentlessness and the perception of the weight of evil that laps against our lives are recapitulated. Jesus falls face to the ground: It is the prayer posture that expresses obedience to the Father’s will -- a total, trusting abandonment to Him. It is a gesture that is repeated at the beginning of the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday, as well as at monastic professions and diaconal, priestly and episcopal ordinations in order to express in prayer, and also in a bodily way, the complete entrustment of oneself to God, and reliance on Him. Jesus continues by asking the Father that, if it were possible, this hour might pass from him. This is not only the fear and anguish of a man faced with death; it is the inner turmoil of the Son of God, who sees the terrible flood of evil that he must take upon himself in order to overcome it, to deprive it of its power. Dear friends, in prayer we too must be capable of bringing before God our struggles, the suffering of certain situations, of certain days, the daily undertaking of following him, of being Christians, and also the weight of evil that we see within ourselves and around us, so that he may give us hope, that he may make us feel his closeness and give us a little light on the path of life (General Audience, Feb.1, 2012, translated by Diane Montagna, www.zenit.com).
Prayer: Psalm 43: 1-4
Do me justice, O God, and fight my
fight against a faithless people; from the deceitful and impious man rescue me.
For you, O God, are my strength. Why do you keep me so far away? Why must I go
about in mourning, with the enemy oppressing me? Send forth your light and your
fidelity; they shall lead me on and bring me to your holy mountain, to your
dwelling-place. Then will I go into the altar of God, the God of my gladness
and joy.
My thoughts: As we prepare our souls for
lent, it is good to remember that we are traveling a path, for forty days, of
penance and forgiveness, of fasting and prayer. Lent is the time of the year
where we put aside worldly pleasures (fasting) to remind ourselves that these
things don’t own us; we have control over them. We add more prayer to our daily
lives to help us convert our weaknesses into strengths, and we give alms, to
show our solidarity with our fellow struggling brothers and sisters. Our souls
are often sorrowful, as was Christ’s, and we need comfort and care during those
times. Jesus did not want to be alone in His agony. That is reason enough to
give up TV shows or radio programs and spend that time with Christ. Remember,
He goes on to say, “Can you not watch with me one hour?” to his sleepy
apostles. Let us not be sleepy this lent. Rather, let us answer the call to
stay with Christ throughout the agony of these forty days, being always
thankful that He stays with us all our lives.
Our prayer to God:
Lord, Who Throughout These Forty Days by Claudia F. Hernaman
Lord, who throughout these forty daysFor us didst fast and pray,
Teach us with Thee to mourn our sins
And close by Thee to stay.
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