Sorrowful Mysteries—The Agony In The Garden [11 of 20]
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| El Greco reflects Christ's Passion in the Agony in the Garden |
irst Sorrowful Mystery—In His anguish, He prayed with all the greater intensity, and His sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground. Then He rose from prayer and came to His disciples, only to find them asleep, exhausted with grief (Lk 22:44-45).
In Christ's deepest agony and grief, Mary was there too—in the height of fear. Mary must have remembered the fateful day when she and Joseph presented the baby Jesus in the temple and the piercing words of Simeon like a sword gashing the heart and soul of Mary. She is afraid that the prophecy is going to be fulfilled soon. The ever obedient Mary has been asked by God to surrender and to trust. But Mary is faced with a very different scenario from that of the Annunciation of the Angel Gabriel. If at that time it was a greeting of life, this time it is a greeting of not just death but failure. Death is preferable, even if it is a brutal one. What is insurmountable is the impending failure. Mary's heart is ripped between obeying God and protecting her beloved Son from a humiliating death on a cross. But of course, she realizes that she cannot get in the way of her Son's final fulfillment of His true mission. This time Mary's fiat (be it done) takes the form of Jesus's total surrender to the will of His Father in heaven.
What can a mother feel and do when faced with the situation that her son has been abandoned by his closest friends at a time when he needed them the most?
Wow! The painting of El Greco is really amazing! It clearly depicts the Agony of Jesus... ...
ReplyDeleteWhenever I meditate on this particular text from the Gospel according to Luke, I always imagine Jesus exactly as in this painting... "In a white robe marred with blood... From His deep fear and anguish, He sweat with blood..." Thanks for sharing this, I will use it for my Visio Divina...
Yet, I cannot, or maybe do not want really to imagine, Mary to be right there in front of Him in this particular event... This might have been too much for her to behold.. Her only Son, in Agony, left alone by His so-called friends and worst betrayed by a kiss which supposed to be an "intimate expression of love"...
I will pray much fervently today for those who are in Agony at this moment...
Thanks, Fr. JM... May you be always strengthened by your love for Mary and Jesus... Keep safe... Take care... I am always praying for you... ☺
Hi, thanks much for your prayers and kind thoughts about our Lord agonizing with those around the world at this difficult moment. You are right, Mary has been spared but only at this first step of the sorrowful path of Jesus. The mother will know everything the moment her son is arrested. GBU!
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DeleteThank you very much again..
I would like to share this link to you... Maybe you know this song already...
https://youtu.be/ghrkDTbZAa0
Take care always... GBU!
I enjoyed so much this music video! Very moving! GBU!
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